Give Up The Ghost - Megan Crewe

Cass McKenna much prefers ghosts over "breathers." Ghosts are uncomplicated and dependable. They know the dirt on everybody. . . and Cass loves dirt. She's on a mission to expose the dirty secrets of the poseurs in her school.
But when the vice president of the student council discovers her secret, Cass's whole scheme hangs in the balance. Tim wants her to help him contact his recently deceased mother, and Cass reluctantly agrees.
As Cass becomes increasingly entwined in Tim's life, she's surprised to realize he's not so bad--and he needs help more desperately than anyone else suspects. Maybe it's time to give the living another chance. . . .

Title: Give Up The Ghost
Author: Megan Crewe
Genre: Young Adult, Ghosts
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
My Rating: 4/5

Though I enjoyed this book, I didn't love it immediately. At first I didn't care for Cass, but I grew to like her after I realized that she wasn't completely vindictive; she didn't want to destroy everyone by telling all of their secrets, she just wanted to be left alone. I could identify with her character then. Though she can see ghosts, the story is not completely a ghost story, it's more of a coming of age novel about the trials of an outcast who is befriended by an unlikely ally, the ever popular vice president of the student council; though she doesn't want to help him, doesn't trust him (not that she trusts anyone), she opens up to him, and genuinely starts to care for him and his well-being. It was an original tale involving ghosts, but it didn't focus solely on them. I liked how the characters were developed, I just wished that we could have seen more character development between Cass and her ex-best friend, Danielle. Their hatred, while there, seemed tenuous at best. All in all, I did enjoy the book, and look forward to reading more from this author in the future. This was an excellent debut novel.

This book counts toward the 2010 100+ Reading Challenge hosted over at J. Kaye's book blog.