Suddenly Supernatural – School Spirit

by: Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Published by: Little, Brown and Company

Reviewed by Stephanie Boyd

Kat just wants to be normal, to fit in, but this is very difficult if your mother is a medium–and you have started seeing ghost yourself. Ever since Kat turned thirteen, ghosts have been appearing unexpectedly, and strange things have been happening around her. Kat has tried to ignore the problem by refusing to let the ghosts know she sees them–but the problem appears to be escalating. Now she is even seeing at least one ghost at school, and this one seems determined to get her attention. It isn’t that Kat wants to be mean and refuse to help the ghost, but she doesn’t want anyone to think she is weird, so she can’t acknowledge her.

Author Kimmel has done a brilliant job of illustrating the trials and tribulations of a young teen girl’s life in middle school while she comes to terms with the fact that she is not an average teen. Neither Kat nor her best friend Jac are average–both are very gifted, each with their own unique talent. But being gifted means “different,” and for Kat that is like “the kiss of death.” She’d rather go unnoticed than to be singled out.

Unfortunately, ghosts don’t care about Kat’s problems, they just want their problems solved and mediums are the only people who can help them. It has always appeared to Kat that her mother must be a very generous, caring person to put up with being a medium. It isn’t so much the ghost that Kat objects to, it is that people ask for her mother’s help but them ignore her in public because they are not willing to acknowledge that they know the weird medium lady. Kat is resentful of this kind of treatment and is determined to be normal so she isn’t treated that way.

I found this story very cute and charming. A sequel is planned to Suddenly Supernatural–School Spirit, and I am looking forward to reading about more adventures of Kat, middle school life, and the ghosts.

Armchair Interviews says: Nice addition to any Young Adult library.

Author’s Web site: http://www.CodyKimmel.com