The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade (Ghost and the Goth #1)

I've been wanting to read this one since I first read about it last October.  (Yes, I know, I'm WAY behind the times on this one!)  The whole idea of the popular girl ending up a ghost who can only talk to other ghosts or the ostracized goth boy from school is really interesting. Here's the Goodreads blurb:

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a great read that while it was about ghosts and a person who can see them, is not at all spooky.  I loved that Will is the only person who Alona can still have real contact with.  She'd never have spoken to him if she were still alive and it makes it funny that she has to "humble" herself.  Alona is a cool character in that she is so realistic.  She starts the story out as the popular girl who wants everyone to believe that she has a perfect life and that bad things don't happen to her but as the story goes on, you see just how imperfect Alona's life was.  This is a really great October read as we are looking forward to Halloween.  I'd suggest this one for readers 14 and up but some middle graders would probably be able to handle it.

You can find out more about Stacey Kade by checking out her website.  You can also find her on Twitter and MySpace.  The second Ghost and the Goth book is already out so be sure to check out Queen of the Dead on Goodreads!  The third book, Body and Soul, will be out next year so you have plenty of time to catch up.  You'll find the series on Goodreads here!

The Ghost and The Goth earns 4 Fairies for cool characters and funny dialogue.