Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe

Title: Give Up the Ghost
Author: Megan Crewe
Stand Alone
Format- Hardcover
Published: September 15th 2009
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Pages: 241
Source: Library

Overview:
For four years Cass has been able to speak to ghosts. It all started when her sister died and she was able to see her while her parents were not. She was seen acting crazy later on and treated accordingly like an outcast. But that was only after her best friend stabbed her in the back when she didn't have her way. So alone with ghosts she stays away from the "breathers" in her life.

Now she uses her friendship with two ghosts at school to get the scoop on everybody who's ever hurt her. That way they can never hurt her again. Things suddenly shift in her world after the brooding VP of Student Council discovers her little secret. She can only try to help him so he won't blab her secret to the whole student body. And she might be able to get something out of it for herself... She starts to feel like maybe the "breathers" aren't so bad after all.

Review:
I was instantly wary of this book because when I read the summary I didn't read it carefully. I thought she gets close with the Vice Principal. Silly mistake but a big one. I didn't think of course that they were getting together. I just was disappointed that there would be no love interest but of course there was. I actually didn't read the summary of this book until I had it in my hands. I got it based solely on the cover and the theme for a challenge on Goodreads. Boy am I happy that I did that. This book ended up being a great read that I was impressed I was even able to pick it out!

Cass is the girl who wears dark clothes and looks a mess. She's an outcast and even the lowly of the lowly nerds would not maintain eye contact with her. When she comes towards you, you know things are going to go down because it turns silent and she drops a major gossip bomb that she just couldn't know. I absolutely loved this girls spunk. The love interest, Tim, would follow her around because he needed her help and she called him on being a stalker. She also called on him for him asking her personal questions when she didn't even know him! The "stalker" thing was actually pretty funny because of her and it isn't as bad as it sounds.

Tim lost his mother and figured that she could help him so he was always desperate to see her and not only that he was starting to realize what jerks his friends really are. So he needed someone who he thought cared even a little about him. I really felt for him sometimes. I feel like a lot of people would read about him and wouldn't like him. I just saw the positive parts of the story but it can go either way with you.

Cass's sister died tragically. It's actually really messed up as is her life. Her best friend who she was as thick as thieves with turned on her when she won over her to go to a competition. Also, the guy she liked asked her if she wanted to get something to eat or something like that. I honestly think Cass lucked out because her former friend apparently does nothing but make out with her boyfriend and giggle about stupid things. If I had a choice I'd definitely would be friends with Cass.

Cass has attitude but in a good way. She hangs out with two ghosts at school - Norris and Bitzy who are also quite the characters. Norris sounds like he must have lived through the times where clothes from Grease were cool. Bitzy always wanted to be a dancer and twists and twirls all the time but had issues with her weight. There both a-okay in my book. I wish there was more than two ghosts that were her friends but I guess you wouldn't be as close to them as a reader if it was a whole bunch of ghosts. Anyways these two really cared about Cass especially since before they didn't have her they didn't have anything fun to do and they now have something to do with their afterlives.

Her sister hangs around in her house. She forgets a lot like ghosts do if they haven't been around for that long. She constantly pines for her mom who's never around and always traveling to write for this magazine. Her father is around but is very quiet to almost nonexistent in the book. They used to be close but her sister grew up and didn't want her little sister hanging around her anymore. Now they are as close as they can possibly be. It's kind of weird because Cass is about to become older than her. What'll happen when she leaves for college? Her sister's really clingy to Cass and worries about her. She also likes to bestow her expertise in fashion to her little unknowing sister. But does she take that advice? Yeah, no.

I really had a problem with her mother because the one time she did come around she was a total witch to her daughter and Cass didn't have to say so for me to know. It kind of gets all familyized at the end where everything is alright but I didn't really mind. Hopefully you know what I am talking about. I really loved this book like I do so many others and I am eternally grateful I can even find books on a whim and still get winners.

You know Cass is great. I'll stop trying to tell you. The only problem I really felt was Tim. He wanted answers from her and he annoyed me sometimes. He was a little too intense. Cass thought that she was the problem and she did learn some things from him but honestly she was the better person. It's so great when there is a female protagonist as fantastic as her... okay I'll stop. Crewe wrote wonderfully and has made me want to read more YA ghost books. She's also, if you didn't know, the creator of The Way We Fall which I've seen around so many times. So that about wraps it up with another satisfying read.