I am going to review this series altogether rather than book by book. The Mediator series is about Susannah Simon (Suze as she likes to be called), a sixteen year old girl who is a mediator, which means she can see and speak to the dead. She helps them with any unfinished business they have on earth so that they can pass on, and sometimes she has to kick ghost butt.The story starts with Suze moving from New York to California to live with her mother's new husband Andy and his three sons, David, Brad and Jake or as Suze calls them, Doc, Dopey and Sleepy. On arrival at her new house, she discovers that her bedroom is occupied by the ghost of Jesse, a hot guy who died about 150 years previous, around the age of 20. When she starts at her new school, she meets another mediator, the first one she's ever met, and they, with the help of Jesse, kick some ghost butt throughout the series. These books were a fantastic read. I really liked Meg's writing style. Suze was a great character, witty and sarcastic and she was accompanied here by many great characters, I liked them all, even the ones that weren't supposed to be liked lol. The first three books were enjoyable but I felt the series really took off from book 4. A new character is introduced and a kind of weird love triangle begins. The ending to this book was just perfect. It really finished up the series very well. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone interested in paranormal romance. I LOVED it. I would like to give 3.5 stars to this book. This book is actually two books in one, book one would get 3 stars and book two 4 stars. I really looked forward to reading this book. I haven't read that many books about ghosts, so I was really looking forward to it. I like this book and story, but I just don't like the beginning. The book begins whenn the lead character Suze is moving from New York to California. In the beginning it is really slow, with many details that aren't really necessary to the story. So the first 90 pages are pretty boring, after that the story get's really interesting. Suze is a mediator who has to guide ghosts who are still in the living world to the world thereafter. This sounds really peacefull, but in fact Suze can "kick some serieus ghost butt", as she likes to state. She actually get's in fights with the ghosts. She quickly adapts to her new home and has two ghosts to bother with.One is an agressive ghost of someone who recently died and now haunts the school. The other one is Jesse, who haunts her new bedroom. The text on the back of this book makes it sounds like she falls instantly in love with him, while in fact this is a really slow process. I like it that they don't fall in love immediately.Further I have to say that I like Suze, she is not afraid to get in fights with the ghosts she has to guide to the hereafter. And doesn't back off easily.To conclude, this book starts off really slow and there are too much details and descriptions that are unecessary to the story. After the first half of the book this seems to disapear and it becomes a really good story about Suze, a likeable character who helps ghost to the afterlife in a sometimes gressive way. Altough she also helps ghosts the normal way, by talking to them. I like the fact that this book is about ghosts, because it something different and I think ghosts are an interesting supernatural creature that can use some more attention in this genre. I am definitely reading the rest of this series. I am looking forward to read more of Suze's adventures.
What do You think about The Mediator: Shadowland / Ninth Key (2010)?
Suze is no ordinary teenager. Oh sure, her mom has remarried and moved her daughter from New York to Northern California to be with her new family. And yes, her new family has three step-brothers, a dog and an overly enthusiastic step-father to cope with. And she has been enrolled her in a catholic school with a dress code. But all of that is nothing compared with the fact that Suze can talk to the dead. Turns out Suze is a mediator, one who is fated to help the dead transition between life and the other side. Often this takes the form of telling a loved one something important or doing something to sooth the spirit, but Suze sometimes has to resort to some more complicated measures. She frequently ends up beating the dead into submission and forcing them to move on whether they like it or not.Trying to incorporate this role into her life without looking like she's crazy is what makes Suze's life so complicated. Well, that and the 200 year-old hottie ghost that lives in her room.Meg Cabot returns to writing for the age group that made her famous and wealthy, but this time with a supernatural romance/thriller. This volume contains the first two books of the series, giving readers two adventures to follow Suze through. And while this isn't up to the calibre of the Heather Wells or early Princess Diaries, it is still a good book with some great twists and turns that will leave most readers satisfied and fans very happy. I wish Goodreads would let me give half stars, because it is better than 3 but not quite a 4.
—chels
Susanna is one of my favourite female characters, if not my number one favourite character. I always enjoy books more when the female roles are badass and strong willed (I have some feminist traits) and Susanna is definatley both of these. It even had the whole forbidden love thing going on which is always a bonus.And even though I've never been much of a Meg Cabot fan, I absolutley adore these two stories.
—Jflower123
