The Ghost in Me

by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger

Like any other fourteen-year-old, Myri Monaco has problems that she doesn't know how to deal with: a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, a mother who's dating her science teacher, and a "punishment" for a science-project-gone-wrong that lands her in the last place she wants to be--in auditions for the school play. But most girls don't have what Myri has--a ghost named Wren who not only lives at home, but who is willing to "trade places" whenever she is needed. Although Myri is reluctant at first, Wren's offer becomes a quick and easy solution when her problems collide. However, this experience in ghostly possession soon takes Myri's life to new levels. How much will Myri lose to avoid the problems mounting around her? How much will Wren take to fulfill her own desires?

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult, Ghosts, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Ebooks, Humor

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 18, 2010

About the author

Shaunda Kennedy Wenger is co-author with Janet Kay Jensen of The Book Lover's Cookbook, Recipes of Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages That Feature Them, which was featured as a 2003 Holiday Gift Pick on National Public Radio. Her niche cookbook, From Rivets and Rails, Recipes of a Railroad Boarding House Cookbook, is based on her great grandmother's 1900s cookery journal. Her self-published books include two middle grade novels, The Ghost in Me and Reality Bites, Tales of a Half-Vampire, as well as a chapter book, Little Red Riding Hood: Into the Forest Again, which earned the 2011 KART Kids Book List Award and the 2012 Purple Dragonfly Honorable Mention Award. Her other work includes stories, poems, and articles with educational publishers and magazines. When she is not writing, she is either teaching, spending time with family and friends, or seeking outdoor adventure. She can be visited online at her blog, www.shaundawenger.blogspot.com.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This is a work of fiction. All cockroaches, names, characters, places, organizations, and events portrayed in this book are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to any organization, event, actual person, or bug, living or dead, is unintentional." This is on the copywrite/acknowledgement page, and I'll be honest with you it made me laugh out loud til I snorted. (yes I do that.)
The first line of the book is, "A cockroach can live for eight days with its head cut off." If that doesn't get you to keep reading the book, I'm not sure what will! That line will lure kids into reading the book just to figure out what they are going to say about cockroaches. If anything the kids will have fun saying the word. ;o) (I know cause I'm childish and immature like that...still :O)
I'm not very far in but I wanted to stop and write a few things down before I forgot about them. (I have horrible ADD so sorry in advance)
For me, the font is a big part of "liking" a book or not. I think the font with this book is adorable. It's fun, appealing to younger kids, which is what the book was written for, and easy to read. Some kids don't like to read because they don't like staring at words on a page. So, personally, I feel a "fun font" will help that.
At the begining of each chapter there is a cute little picture. From what I can tell so far, the picture goes with what is talked about in that chapter. (Pretty proud of myself that just hit me) For instance, Chapter 2 has little playing cards and in the chapter the girls are playing cards.
I could however go withOUT the discription of Myri holding one of the roaches. It was so detailed I could actually feel the bugs legs wrapping around my finger. ick. I am quiet curious to find out if anything will happen to "the one that got away!" but again. ick.
So far it's making me giggle! It's always fun to read a book and say, Oh I bet my niece would love this! (she can get her own copy)
I giggled (outloud) through the whole book! It was brilliantly written! So many details really makes me wonder if Miss Shaunda doesn't see ghosts herself???
I love Wren's sayings. They cracked me up! I read her parts with my best Irish accent.
When Myri and Wren make the agreement for Wren to "step in" all week at school, I thought oh no. Then when Wren said, "Til death do us part." I thought OH NO! They had a list of rules. My favorite, rule one. Very broad...but to the point.
As Myri was blocked from going back into her body by Wren, I thought if Wren kisses Duey will Myri be stuck? Will Wren have enough "power" to keep Myri out of her body?! Myri is able to jump into her body at the end of the play...mid kiss. So Wren DOES kiss Duey! So is Myri stuck? Did the kiss give Wren enough "power" to keep Myri out of her body? That I will NOT give away! ;o) Get the book.
I thought the added ghosts really made the story great.
At first I was worried the story might be a tad too scarey, it does involve ghosts. All the movies and books I read (for my age) are scarey. But this was a very fun happy book about ghosts. It took the "fear of ghosts" out of ghosts.
I do have a few questions???
1. How did Wren die so young?
2. What happened to the cockroach that got away?
3. Was the cockroach project really a project someone did in Miss Shaunda's science classroom?
This book would be good for ages 10-15. Might be a little "young" for the older kids but still cute. I'm an adult and I thought it was great! From page one I did not want to put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up The Ghost in Me, I thought it had a very cute, eye catching, creative cover design. You could tell that a lot of time went into designing and creating it. The cover is appealing for ages 10-14. When you look inside, the pictures used for the begining of each chapter are cute and go along well with the main idea for each chapter. The page set up is also very easy to read and eye friendly. Even though this book is self-published, the author did a very well-organized, appealing and great job at creating this book. Kudos to the author and her hard work and dedication for self-publishing!

The plot for this story is enjoyable. It has a well structured plot line with a rising action, climax, and falling action that flow smoothly throughout the entire story. Its not to intense but had just the right amount of suspense and humor to balance the entire book out. It definetly kept my children (ages 6, 10, and 12) and myself on our toes and reading all the way through. Throughout the book we laughed at the humor used and enjoyed every moment that we read. The book definetly had us hooked when we first started reading. The characters are very fun, their names are very unquie and creative, I loved how the ghost had a Irish accent. It kept my kids interested in what she would be saying next and laughing out loud at the creative choice of words the author used. I have no negative remarks or critisim for this enjoyable fun-filled book.

I recommmend this book for anyone who is looking for a good reading adventure. Kids ages 10-14 can connect with the events, happening and feelings the main character experiences throughout the book with their own everyday lives. Even adults such as myself can find enjoyment in reading the pages of The Ghost in Me. I will most definetly be recommending this book to others and rereading it with my children many numerous times for sure.

[Readinista · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, I would like to thank Shaunda Kennedy Wenger for the opportunity to read and review her book.

Myri is terrified of public speaking. Science fair presentations, theater productions, and speaking in front of the class gives her the heebie jeebies. When Myri is forced to join the drama club for required extra curricular course credit, her worst nightmare has become a reality. To make things even worse, she is required to audition for the school play. Enter Myri’s friend Wren, who also happens to be ghost. To avoid the thing she fears most, Wren steps in and poses as Myri. This seems like an ideal solution to all of Myri’s stage freight problems, until things start to go wrong.

Myri goes through a lot of things that many young girls can relate to, including self esteem issues, liking boys that other girls like, and embarrassing moments. How she handles all these issues may not be exactly how she should but it’s fun to watch her work through things. There’s a lot more to Myri than she realizes and her friends, Roz, Wren, and Duey, help her to see there is no need for her hide.

The Ghost in Me is a fun story with a little bit of moral and I highly recommend this story to middle school age readers. It may not be a middle grade novel that adults will want to read but it’s certainly one that they would want their children to read. Wenger does a great job weaving the story as well balancing humor with more serious moments. The chapters are short and the pace move quickly. Throughout the book, the story holds your interest and frequently makes you smile. Overall, The Ghost in Me is a very cute read.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new Utah author and we are thinking of having her come to the Writers Fest, so I read her book. It was fun, easy and a cute plot. I think that students will like it. *** stop here for spoilers*** The young girl in the story lives in an unusual home. Her mother is a mortician and there are spirits around often. One young girl, a ghost, has stayed and made friends. The live girls decide to try letting her take control of their bodies. This comes in handy when the protagonist tries out for a play and is really too scared to do it. The ghost does a great job. The problem comes when they let her take over so much that they don't really have the power to make her leave so that they can control their own body. It is a fun climax and the "kiss" in the play. is a key part of the power. Fun story, I'm excited to meet the author.

[Marianne Sandling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be able to review this book for my site, and was extremely pleased with the authors ability to take you into a world, drop you off, and make you stay.
I like teen lit, but this book really brought back memories of being a teen myself, and it drew me in.

You can view my full review here

This is a book that I'm glad I read, and is on my re-reads in the future.

-I received the book in exchange for a published review on my site. This review (goodreads) was simply because I loved the book-

[Tobyann Aparisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book to read. Not what I was expecting really. But all the same I really enjoyed it and the message it brings. I would hope this book would be used in schools as part of ciriculum or at least as a choice. the study of character building and writing the flow of the story and how the author ties things together. This was very well done.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myri Monaco has problems she doesn't know how to deal with: a crush on her best friend's boyfriend, a mother who's dating her science teacher, and a "punishment" for a science project that lands her in auditions for the school play (the last place she wants to be). But most girls don't have a ghost living at home who is willing to "trade places" whenever she's needed. Will

[Shannon Baas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a neat book. It is about Myri, a middle school student, and Wren, a ghost. Myri is forced to join a drama club and gets the lead of the play. It describes how Wren helps her and is able to move on. i would recommend it.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I always liked lighthearted ghost stories growing up and still do. Wenger provides plenty of humor along with suspense.

[Amy Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from the goodreads giveaways. I loved the way the author took the Myri and showed her how to be herself in a different way. Great book for middle grades.

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love, love, love.
:)

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written, easy to read middle school read. It has drama and makes you think about what how strong you are in the face of others.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came to make my review here, but scanned other's thoughts first. I got this book forever ago when it was free on the Kindle, so I've totally forgotten it. I've been trying to work through some of my older d/ls lately, so when I added this to the Kindle, I didn't realize it was a juvenile book. So.

This was Gym Reading, aka free or cheap on the Kindle. The story was engaging enough and it was SUPER quick. Supposedly this book is right around 200 pages, but it read so quickly, it felt like 100 or so. I'd probably recommend this to my daughter (who is 10), but for an adult, not so much.

[ILoveBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the ghost's Irish accent, probably my favorite character in the novel. I was surprised that the characters actually acted as if they were in eigth grade. The main character was relatable for young teen females. I liked how structured the whole book seemed, I was able to predict the next events easily. Some of the scenes were funny, some geared towards intrigue, some to send chills up the reader's spine, etc... Overall, this was a good novel to read, especially in a plane or on the beach.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book through the goodreads first reads program. I read this book during my exams (which is why it appears as though I've been reading this book for weeks) and I found it was a fast, funny read. I liked the little twists and turns of the plot, and I especially liked how the characters personalities came through. I learned interesting little facts (like the cockroach thing) and I thought it was clever how I could hear Wren's Irish accent as I was reading the book. Maybe it would be better for people a little younger than me, but I thought it was a good book overall.

[Carien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is meant for the age group 10-14, but can certainly be enjoyed by older readers as well.

The story is fun and recognisable. Ok, not the ghost part obviously, but anyone who's been young once, can relate to how Myri feels. Her fears and uncertainties are more than believable and I can understand why she makes the choices she does and I rooted for her from the start.

The writing is pleasant and the characters feel real. The obstacles Myri encounters could have been a bit more challenging in my opinion, but even without that challenge this is a very enjoyable and fun read.

[David Corbet · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Ghost in Me is an excellent little book. A fun read that keeps the reader guessing. I was surprised by the twist at the end, caught me completely unawares. I would recommend this book for middle school aged children, especially girls.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun twist involved

[Kelly Rodrigues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book to read to early teen. My daughter and I enjoyed it

[Jen Cooley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was thrilling and it made you think "what's going to happen next"? Is Myri going to get her body back or no? The book was excellent!

[Sarah Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read. The ending seemed a bit rushed, but it was an interesting coming of age type tale.