Suddenly Supernatural: School Spirit by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

From the back of the book:  Kat's mother is a medium, and not the kind that fits between small and large; Kat's mom sees spirits and communicates with them.  And, even worse, Kat has just discovered that she can see spirits, too.  Now, it's up to Kat and her best friend Jac to help a spirit trapped in their school cross over successfully.  The question is, can they do it without having to switch schools themselves?  In this first Suddenly Supernatural book, Elizabeth Cody Kimmel brings humor, heart, and a little supernatural charm to the trials and tribulations of finding out who you are and who you want to be - all while surviving middle school.

From Heather:  I am a sucker for a beautiful book.  I'll admit that right now.  I love beautiful cover illustrations and the feel of a well-made book.  I love the little details inside that make the book beautiful.  So I absolutely loved the Suddenly Supernatural series, even before I read the first page.  And after I read the first page, I loved it even more! 

I wasn't going to like the book.  I had seen it at the library many times and thought, "There's a beautiful series of books...you should read them!"  (Have I said I'm also a sucker for a good series of books too?  Well I am!  I love knowing that if I fall in love with a character, they live on in another book!)  But I wasn't at all sure that I wanted to read about the supernatural.  Didn't think it was my style.  Not sure that I especially want to believe that there are creepy spirits of dead people walking the earth trying to communicate with me.  The whole idea sorta creeps me out.  But I fell in love with the idea through this book.  Kat and her mother are wonderful characters and they make the spirits into real people.  It was remarkably well written and even sort of believable.

And there was a lot of the story that didn't revolve around the spirits of the dead.  It was fun to see Kat trying to find herself throughout the story and learn about friendship through a girl that was just exactly a perfect friend. 

I've checked out the next three books in the series and can't wait to read them.  I may even encourage my girls to read them.  I love books with imperfect heroines that somehow figure out how to make it through hard things.  (I feel like we are ALL imperfect heroines in our OWN stories and we have to figure out how to muddle through the best we can!)  I love what Elizabeth Cody Kimmel has done with this series and the characters she has created.  I can't wait to read more!