The Mediator: Shadowland by Meg Cabot

Suze sees dead people.

However, unlike the little kid in The Sixth Sense, Suze isn’t scared of ghosts. She finds them annoying, really. They come to her all the time asking for help, trying to resolve problems so they can pass on into the afterlife.

So when Suze moves from New York to Carmel, she figures its time to take a break from specters and enjoy the land of palm trees and sunny beaches. Then she finds the ghost of a very handsome cowboy living in her bedroom and the ghost of a psycho cheerleader possessing her new school. Looks like Suze has her work cut out for – again.

Suze does for ghosts what Buffy did for vampires: she talks nice for a while, but if the ghost gets nasty, she just might have to get a little rough. These books are perfect summer reading – funny, engaging, and just a little bit spooky.

P.S. - This series was written under two names: Meg Cabot, and Meg Cabot's pen name, Jenny Carroll. Kind of confusing, but just so you know....

The ultimate indoor games book : the 200 best boredom busters ever! by Veronika Alice Gunter

The great outdoors are calling, so there's really no reason to be bored this summer. But just in case you DO find yourself surrounded by bored kids, or if you're a bored kid yourself, then this book is for you.

This book is full of great games, made all the more fun by their simplicity and adaptability. Some are old standbys, but many are new, or new twists on old favorites. Although some games may not find an audience (I was never allowed to play Hot Lava in our house - something about not climbing on the furniture), the book is so full of great ideas that you're sure to find something to fit your family and keep them entertained.

The Girl, the Dragon, and the Wild Magic by Dave Luckett

This book was specially requested by a library patron, and I’m so glad he thought to tell us about it. Dave Luckett’s first book of the Rhianna Chronicles is sure to delight fans of fantasy, or anyone looking for a great book to read this summer.

Rhianna Wildwood lives in a world filled with magic. Nearly everyone uses magic for everyday chores, like cleaning or farming and every child in the village attends school to learn magic. Rhianna, however, is the worst student in school. Every spell she does goes wrong. Then, a real wizard comes to town and discovers that Rhianna isn’t bad with magic – the trouble is, she’s too good. She’s the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen – and her power may get her into trouble.

This short book reminded me both of Ella Enchanted, with its fun, spunky heroine, and of the Harry Potter series, with its magic school and everyday use of magic. My only complaint is thatI wanted the book to be longer so I could read more about Rhianna and her adventures. I hope Mr. Luckett writes many more books in this series, because I can’t wait to read more.

The Wish by Gail Carson Levine

When Wilma’s two best friends move away, she goes from having friends to being invisible, and then from being invisible to becoming the most unpopular, most teased girl at her school. So when a kindly fairy offers her a wish, Wilma wishes to be the most popular girl in her jr. high.

Instantly, everyone loves Wilma – they have to. But then, Wilma realizes that her wish has a loophole – and her fairytale is about to end. The question is, who will still like Wilma when the spell is broken?

Half Magic by Edward Eager

Edward Eager’s Half Magic is a wonderful book, and I find myself eager (pun intended) to discover the rest of his works. Half Magic is an older book, set in the 1920’s, but the story is remarkably timeless.

One summer, four siblings find a strange coin on the sidewalk, a coin that grants wishes…sort of. The coin only grants HALF of every wish. So if you wish you were a hundred miles away, you’d be fifty miles away. If you wished to be on a desert island, you might find yourself only in a desert. It doesn’t take long to see that half a wish leads to twice as much trouble.

In the end, the children must band together to undo the mistakes of their wishes. With plenty of wry humor, crazy magic and terrific characters, Half Magic is a book that both kids and adults will enjoy.