Ghostgirl

"Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I should die before I awake, I pray the popular attend my wake."

ghostgirl is a book series written by Tonya Hurley. The first book in the series, simply titled ghostgirl, was published in 2008. It was followed by two sequels, ghostgirl: Homecoming and ghostgirl: Lovesick.

The series is about an ignored girl named Charlotte Usher who's starting her final year at Hawthorne High. Trying to get noticed by her peers, especially by her crush Damen Dylan, Charlotte starts this year off on the other foot. While trying to be Damen's lab partner in Physics class, Charlotte accidentally chokes on a gummy bear and dies. After dying, she is required to attend an alternative high school for dead kids called Dead Ed. She later finds out that no one is able to see her. But, she's used to the feeling of rejection. That is, until she finds out her idol's sister Scarlet is the only living person who can see her. While using the Possession incantation she learned, Charlotte begins to use Scarlet as a way to communicate with Damen, but Damen thinks he's talking to Scarlet and he falls in love with her. But, Charlotte's classmates noticing what she's doing and it begins to take its toll on the class.

These books provide examples of:
"Charlotte: You and me, our soul makes three...me and you, our soul makes two...we are me inside of YOU."
 * All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Petula's endless number of admirers (as revealed in ghostgirl: Lovesick) basically defines this trope.
 * Alliterative Name: About half the Dead Ed kids in ghostgirl.
 * Alpha Bitch: Petula.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Scarlet annoys Petula to no end, but that's just their conflicting personalities acting up.
 * Blondes Are Evil: Petula.
 * Celestial Bureaucracy: right after Charlotte dies, she has to fill in a form.
 * Chalk Outline: Stated in "A Wake." It was her "last, and well as lasting, impression on the Hawthorne student body."
 * Cruel and Unusual Death: most of the ghosts suffered ridiculous deaths:
 * Charlotte choked with a gummy bear.
 * Co Co drowned in her own vomit.
 * Maddy.
 * Piccolo Pam swallowed her flute.
 * Toxic Shock Sally died because forgot to change her tampon.
 * The Cheerleader: Petula, The Wendys, and, for a few chapters in ghostgirl, Scarlet.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Scarlet is actually pretty nice though she dresses in black.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Scarlet.
 * Dead to Begin With.
 * Deceased Parents Are the Best: Charlotte's parents are dead.
 * Dude, She's Like, in a Coma: In ghostgirl: Homecoming Scarlet and Petula both get put into comas, and Damen kisses Scarlet while she's in her coma.
 * Dying Alone: Charlotte dies alone. In her Physics classroom.
 * Freaky Friday Flip: Scarlet agrees to switch bodies with Charlotte using a special incantation -- the results are that Scarlet becomes a ghost and Charlotte takes possession of Scarlet's body.


 * Gender Blender Name: Charlotte's full name is Charles Usher.
 * Girl Posse: Petula and her BFF's The Wendys.
 * Go Into the Light: subverted, Charlotte sees a very bright light that is actually coming from the classroom.
 * The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Petula and Scarlet.
 * Goth: Scarlet and Prue (to some extent)..
 * He Had a Name: After Charlotte dies, nobody knows. Everybody just goes about their daily lives. That is, until . Then, everyone knows her.
 * I Am the Noun: "You can't ban me from the dance! I AM THE DANCE!"
 * I Just Want to Be Special: Charlotte, so freaking much.
 * I See Dead People: Scarlet is, for some reason, able to see the Dead Ed students. It's never explained why.
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch: Petula in ghostgirl: Homecoming
 * Manipulative Bitch: Maddy in ghostgirl: Homecoming
 * Matter of Life and Death: The very slogan of the series. "Sometimes, High School really is a matter of life and death."
 * Mundane Afterlife: Apart from their newly gained powers, the Afterlife is basically the same as our world.
 * Name's the Same: You know, Damen, there's another Damen right around the shelf from you, why don't you go and have a chat?
 * Nice Guy: Damen.
 * Of Course I'm Not a Virgin: Petula actually insults Scarlet for being a virgin. It's also hinted that Damen and Petula have had sex before; his car was reportedly parked out in front of her house "all night" sometimes.
 * Our Ghosts Are Different
 * Pet the Dog: Petula gets her moment in ghostgirl: Homecoming.
 * Prophet Eyes: Charlotte.
 * Soul Power: Charlotte can possess, phase, shapeshift, teleport, and move things telekinetically. Kind of makes dying not sound so bad.
 * Shout-Out: In ghostgirl, the Wendys suggest dumping a bucket of blood on Scarlet at the Fall Ball. Petula tells them it's already been done.
 * Stringy Haired Ghost Girl: Charlotte's hair was so unruly, "she'd only been able to tame with [it] with an entire drugstore shelf of conditioners, detanglers, and spray-holds."
 * Took a Level In Kindness: Petula in ghostgirl: Homecoming, and even moreso in ghostgirl: Lovesick.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Charlotte died at age 17, and she talks like a prophet.