Shadowland
This is the first in a series of books by Jenny Carroll. It concerns a sixteen-year old girl named Susannah who has the ability to see and communicate with the dead. Her role, basically, is to help the dead move on to whatever it is they move on to next rather than being stuck in some kind of limbo.
Her mother gets remarried, so they have to move to California, upsetting enough for Susannah, but she also gets stepbrothers that she doesn't really like. One of them she calls Dopey, the other one Sleepy.
Her ability, of course, has caused her a variety of problems so she isn't happy about getting to California, moving into her new home, and almost immediately seeing a spirit. Not the best way to start off her new life.
It turns out, though, that the spirit is that of a very attractive male, one who becomes her friend and protector (and, if he had been alive, probably much more than that, as she's really attracted to him.)
Another area seen often in the series is the school she goes to, the Junipero Sierra Catholic Academy whose principal is Father Dominic who becomes her mentor, much as Giles was to Buffy.
Things start getting bad when Susannah spots a female ghost by her locker, quickly followed by a problem in one of her classes with another (live) student. Then the girl ghost begins her personal vendetta against her former boyfriend, Bryce (still alive). The girl, Heather, starts out by trying to kill Bryce, starting another problem for Susannah. She has to find ways to explain the odd events going on without drawing attention to herself or what she does in communicating with the dead.
The level of violence escalates and Susannah not only must find a way to deal with Heather, but she must manage to keep from being killed herself.
This is a really good sort with interesting characters, interesting plotlines and lots of action and even a little romance. An excellent beginning to her Mediator series.
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