Book Review: THE MEDIATOR SERIES
*Note: this blog was created for a class at TWU
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Cabot, Meg. 2000. THE MEDIATOR 1: SHADOWLAND. New York, NY: Avon Books.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
In this series, high school sophomore Suze Simon wants to be a normal teen, but since she's a mediator, a liaison between the living and the dead, in a new town with a new stepdad and three new stepbrothers, and residing in a 200-year-old house fraught with ghosts, her life is far from simple.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Fans of Meg Cabot's other series (PRINCESS DIARIES, ALL-AMERICAN GIRL) and fans of the TV Series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Heroes" will enjoy the adventures of Suze in THE MEDIATOR.
With her usual talent for capturing the witty, sarcastic, voice of a teen girl, Cabot hurtles the reader through one adventure after another, stopping only briefly to interject some romance, friendship, school politics, and family dynamics. THE MEDIATOR SERIES is a really relaxing, fun read, but I grew a little tired of Suze's boy crazy yearnings toward almost every guy in the book - her stepbrother, who had a "defined six-pack," Bryce the high school student she saves from an angry ghost, who had "curly, soft-looking hair, the kind of hair I could picture myself running my fingers through," and even the resident house ghost Jesse, whose face had "perfectly sculpted planes" to match his smoldering eyes and dark hair.
Apart from the over-the-top (for me) romanticism, the fantasy lover in me enjoyed Suze's brave yet rash "whooping" of wicked ghosts, and the knowledge that since this is a series, Suze will always manage to get out of any predicament and live to fight spirits again. THE MEDIATOR series was challenged at our middle school a few years back, because of the way the Catholic faith was portrayed (Suze attends a Catholic school), and even I thought that she could have refrained from saying "Oh, God," as much as she did while at school since it didn't really add to her character or the story.
THE MEDIATOR will appeal to many female teen readers who like lots of action with a heavy dose of romance and don't mind a few ghosts.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Publishers Weekly: "As a narrator this teen is a bit too tough-talking and cocky to be credible. Still, the intriguing premise of a 16-year-old with a sixth sense may stand more than a ghost of a chance at snaring teen readers."
5. CONNECTIONS
* Girls who enjoy this series might also enjoy the VAMPIRE KISSES series by Ellen Schreiber, the DAUGHTERS OF THE MOON series by Lynne Ewing and maybe Scott Westerfeld's MIDNIGHTERS.
*Note: this blog was created for a class at TWU
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Cabot, Meg. 2000. THE MEDIATOR 1: SHADOWLAND. New York, NY: Avon Books.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
In this series, high school sophomore Suze Simon wants to be a normal teen, but since she's a mediator, a liaison between the living and the dead, in a new town with a new stepdad and three new stepbrothers, and residing in a 200-year-old house fraught with ghosts, her life is far from simple.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Fans of Meg Cabot's other series (PRINCESS DIARIES, ALL-AMERICAN GIRL) and fans of the TV Series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Heroes" will enjoy the adventures of Suze in THE MEDIATOR.
With her usual talent for capturing the witty, sarcastic, voice of a teen girl, Cabot hurtles the reader through one adventure after another, stopping only briefly to interject some romance, friendship, school politics, and family dynamics. THE MEDIATOR SERIES is a really relaxing, fun read, but I grew a little tired of Suze's boy crazy yearnings toward almost every guy in the book - her stepbrother, who had a "defined six-pack," Bryce the high school student she saves from an angry ghost, who had "curly, soft-looking hair, the kind of hair I could picture myself running my fingers through," and even the resident house ghost Jesse, whose face had "perfectly sculpted planes" to match his smoldering eyes and dark hair.
Apart from the over-the-top (for me) romanticism, the fantasy lover in me enjoyed Suze's brave yet rash "whooping" of wicked ghosts, and the knowledge that since this is a series, Suze will always manage to get out of any predicament and live to fight spirits again. THE MEDIATOR series was challenged at our middle school a few years back, because of the way the Catholic faith was portrayed (Suze attends a Catholic school), and even I thought that she could have refrained from saying "Oh, God," as much as she did while at school since it didn't really add to her character or the story.
THE MEDIATOR will appeal to many female teen readers who like lots of action with a heavy dose of romance and don't mind a few ghosts.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Publishers Weekly: "As a narrator this teen is a bit too tough-talking and cocky to be credible. Still, the intriguing premise of a 16-year-old with a sixth sense may stand more than a ghost of a chance at snaring teen readers."
5. CONNECTIONS
* Girls who enjoy this series might also enjoy the VAMPIRE KISSES series by Ellen Schreiber, the DAUGHTERS OF THE MOON series by Lynne Ewing and maybe Scott Westerfeld's MIDNIGHTERS.
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