Customer Reviews

The Mediator #1: Shadowland

5 star:		(107)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ever since she saw her first ghost at the age of two, Susannah Simon has been a mediator - in other words, a contact person between the living and the dead. It's her responsibility to help troubled spirits move on to the next world. And it's a responsibility she has always resented. At sixteen, Susannah just wants to be a normal teenage girl, worried about clothes and boys, not dead people. And now that her mom's remarried, she's had to leave New York City, the only home she's ever known, to move all the way to northern California. Her new stepdad's not too bad, but her three stepbrothers are a pain, and on the first day of school, she's confronted by the angry ghost of Heather, a girl who committed suicide over Christmas break. Susannah figures it won't be too hard to get Heather to move on - until it becomes clear that she's the most violent spirit Susannah has ever encountered. Heather won't rest until she gets revenge on her ex-boyfriend for breaking up with her.

This book starts off a great series by Meg Cabot that is one of my favorite series ever. The next five books are just as great. This series combines mystery, suspense, humor, and romance, and so will appeal to teens with various tastes in reading. I also highly recommend that all of Meg Cabot's fans give it a try - even though this series is very different than her other books, in my opinion, it's her best ever.

I enjoyed SHADOWLAND so much that I immediately ordered the second book and WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES, a non-Mediator book by Jenny Carroll. Susannah doesn't just see dead people: she touches them, talks to them, and occasionally deals with them much more firmly. She's a mediator, someone who can set things right between the dead and those people still living the dead want to communicate with. For some reason this makes her life a little more difficult than most. People call the cops on her when she enters their yards to pass on messages, or when she damages property in her efforts to send a really troublesome spirit on its way (did I mention that being dead means you can learn to move, and throw, heavy objects?). Sh's just left her beloved New York and her best (and only) friend for California, a stepdad and three step brothers, and the very handsome ghost who haunts her bedroom. Susannah is definitely a grrl for the new century, trying to fit into a new family, a new school, and a new culture. She's believable in her struggles with dating, school, her old-fashioned roommate, and the death of her dad. And a number of the secondary characters are interesting, funny, and their own people: intellectual CeeCee, hormone boy Adam, Susannah's step-brothers, her mother and step-dad, Jesse the ghost. My favorite at the moment is Father Dominic, the head of Susannah's new high school, a priest who's kind, clever and idealistic without being syrupy. He's trying to teach Susannah that sometimes a gentler approach with people works far more efficiently than a right hook to the gut . . . He's got his work cut out for him! Great fun, a great read--now I just have to be patient and wait for the third Mediator book!

Suze Simon is starting a new life. She has just joined the rest of her family in Carmel, California. The rest of her family consists of her mother, a new step-dad and three new step-brothers. This would be hard enough if it wasn't for the fact that Suze sees dead people.

Suze is a mediator. That means she is able to see and interact with ghosts. These are people with some unfinished business. As a mediator she is to help them cross over. She came upon this talent at the age of two and has had a hard time dealing with it. Her personal record has been far from spotless as she tries to be a mediator and not look insane to the rest of the world.

Now in her new home with her new family, Suze has new challenges. One is a 150-year-old ghost named Jessie that lives in her bedroom. The other is a new ghost at her new school. This one is very angry and bent on destruction and mayhem. Suze must protect the lives of others, the lives of herself and her family, and try not to look completely crazy in her first days at school. But Suze manages to get some help from two unexpected sources.

A pretty good story. I would like to know more of Suze's pre-Californian adventures but there are only vague hints. What we do get is a fast and wild story that is sort of a cross between Fearless and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A good read.

Sixteen-year-old Susannah is a mediator, meaning that she can see and talk to ghosts who, for one reason or another, have not passed on to the next world. Having been plagued by these spirits for the past fourteen years, Suze had hoped that moving from New York City to a quiet town in Northern California would offer her a fresh start. However, the moment she steps into her new bedroom, Suze knows that that isn't going to happen, because she finds herself sharing her room with a 150-year-old ghost of a boy named Jesse. Not only that, but the first day of school brings more trouble: Susannah's locker comes accompanied by the ghost of a girl who killed herself and who is now out for revenge on her ex-boyfriend. Suze is determined to persuade the girl to pass on, but when it seems the usual methods aren't working, will more unconventional action be required?

Shadowland, the first book in the series, is one I really recommend as an ideal book for any teens into fiction with a supernatural theme. I found it impossible to put down and can't wait to get started on the next instalment in the series. Definitely worth five stars.

~Jenna~

Susannah Simon is not your average 16 year old girl, although she would very much like to be. That is because Suze is a mediator, a contact person for people who have died with unfinished business. Having left Brooklyn, New York (her home) to move to Carmel, California to live with her mother, her new step-dad, and those stupid boys also known as her step-brothers Suze hopes to make a fresh start by putting up the facade of being a normal teenager. However Suze is not to get her wish because as soon as she steps into her bedroom she meets Jesse. Jesse is a ghost. A very HOT ghost. To top it off accompaning Suze's new locker is Heather, a very pissed ghost who committed suicide over the Christmas break. Heather is hell bent on getting revenge on her ex-boyfriend. On the up-side though Suze makes friends (a very rare occurance for her) and finds a fellow mediator in her principal.

This series is AWESOME! READ IT!!! Suze is hilarious...

Ever since she saw her first ghost at the age of two, Susannah Simon has been a mediator - in other words, a contact person between the living and the dead. It's her responsibility to help troubled spirits move on to the next world. And it's a responsibility she has always resented. At sixteen, Susannah just wants to be a normal teenage girl, worried about clothes and boys, not dead people. And now that her mom's remarried, she's had to leave New York City, the only home she's ever known, to move all the way to northern California. Her new stepdad's not too bad, but her three stepbrothers are a pain, and on the first day of school, she's confronted by the angry ghost of Heather, a girl who committed suicide over Christmas break. Susannah figures it won't be too hard to get Heather to move on - until it becomes clear that she's the most violent spirit Susannah has ever encountered. Heather won't rest until she gets revenge on her ex-boyfriend for breaking up with her. This is a great read for teens who enjoy supernatural-themed shows such as Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

This was a thrilling and humorous yet scary first book of THE MEDIATOR series, and the author Jenny Carroll writes with a very intriguing expression. Suzannah was born a Mediator, a person who can see and talk to ghosts -- and using this power , she must help ghosts to the place they're supposed to go when they die. But she has never considered this power a gift. She thinks it's a horrible curse she has to live with forever. But her life , weird as it is, is about to change. Now that she's moved with her mom to Northern California to live with her new stepdad and her annoying stepbrothers, Suzannah will face danger greater then she knew. Besides for the ghost Jesse that won't leave her room, there's an angry ghost at her new school -- Heather -- and she's not to happy about her death. She wants revenge, and she is so powerful Suzannah knows Heather will prevail. Somehow Suzannah needs to stop Heather. But that would take more then an ordinary human, wouldn't it? This was an excellent and frightening read and I can't wait to read the rest of THE MEDIATOR series by Jenny Carroll.

As you can tell this is the first book in another series by Meg Cabot. They were originally published under another name and have just been reissued with spiffy new covers and everything. I bought the first two books and the series and got right to reading the first one.

The books about Suze who is a mediator and she can talk to ghosts. She is supposed to help them move onto the next phase or plane or whatever they are supposed to do when they die. She also just moved to California to live with her mom, new stepfather, and new stepbrothers. She also has to deal with the fact that her room is haunted by a hottie ghost.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. Meg's familiar humor is laced throughout the book, which is wonderful. The best thing though is that this book is about something a little more substantial than some of her other stuff. It also lacks a bit of the angst that some of other books have, which for me is a plus.

If you like Meg Cabot's books and you like her humor I would definatly recommend this book!

This is my first book by "Jenny Carroll." I've read all the Princess Diaries book, but I didn't know that Jenny Carroll was Meg Cabot until after I finished the book.

IN "Shadowland" (the first of the Mediator books), Suze Simon moves to sunny, bubbly Californa with her mom. She's moving into an old, historic house that her stepdad and three stepbrothers (Doc, Dopey, and Sleepy) live in. When Suze finds out it's an *old* mansion, she freaks out. You see, Suze has powers. She can talk to ghosts, in fact, she has to help them go to the afterlife. Suze is right ~ there's a Spanish cowboy from the 1800's (named Jesse) living in her room. At first, shes kind of alarmed, but soon she becomes friends with Jesse ~ he watches out for her, and seems to have an attraction to her.

At Suze's new school, there is also a ghost. Heather, the pretty, popular girl who committ suicide the week before Suze arrived. Heather is jealous and seeking revenge on her ex-boyfriend Bryce, and will stop at nothing to kill him.

Suze keeps trying to prevent Heather's attempts to murder Bryce, but in the end - will she succeed?

This was a great book, even better than the Princess Diaries. It's a book that you won't want to put down, and won't be upset at the end. Everything comes together. Overall grade: A+

Okay the first thing i have to say is that the Mediator series is one of the best series i've read in a long time. I loved it. It's about Susannah (Suze) Simon who is a Mediator. Which means she can see, talk to, touch, and even...kiss the dead. They are almost like real people to her. Her job is to help them move on. Of course sometimes the goasts try and kill her or people she knows and she applys her brute strength...well basically she applys her fist to their jaw lol. Susannah really didn't even like her job all that much until her mother remarries and she gets shipped off to California to live with her mom, her new stepdad, and her 3 new step brothers. She finds in her room the hottest dead guy she's ever seen. Well each book is an adventure in it self. I mean if you're more of a romance kinda person...don't worry i am to, and i loved these books. Yeah they are alot of adventure...but Jesse (the hott dead guy) could possibly be the love of her life. You got to read the series just to find out how that works out lol. YOU HAVE 2 READ THEM IN ORDER! Do NOT i repeat DO NOT read the last one first or the 3rd on first. You will be much more happy if you read them in order. Meg Cabot did a splendid job with this try it out you'll love em.
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