Remember Me (Turtleback)

"Big Beth", as Jo calls her. The big-breasted tart who recently has been showing more than a passing interest in Shari's man. Not that Dan, her superficial boyfriend, seems to mind. Why even go to the party? No. Why should she let them ruin her good time? The others will be there. Jo Foulton, her best and oldest friend, an intelligent girl who is obsessed with the occult; Amanda Parish, her brother's girlfriend--they aren't very close, but she's willing to try being friends for Jimmy's sake. Then there's Jeff Nichols--the brother of her old crush Peter, who died two years ago in a motorcycle accident. The party couldn't be that bad...

She had no idea.

The bash winds down, until only the small circle of friends remain. Tensions are high, and people say and do things they probably shouldn't. Then Jo has an idea, and the seance begins... and something goes horribly wrong. Overwhelmed by the evening, Shari retreats to the balcony to collect her thoughts. Suddenly, she's falling. Headfirst into the concrete, four stories down. Did she jump? Or had she been pushed? If so, who was responsible? Could it have been planned by more than one person?

Shari doesn't get the chance to find out--at least, not in the conventional way. Shari Cooper is dead. Almost everyone assumes it was a suicide, and they begin to move on with their own lives... However, Shari isn't resting. In fact, she isn't even gone. Invisible, inaudible--in every sense of the word, a ghost. Unbelieveable, but true. She still exists! Shari knows she didn't kill herself, and is determined to discover the truth.

But, how will she solve the crime if no one can hear her--if she can't ask questions? And what does it matter? If she's dead, how will her loved ones ever learn the truth? Somehow, she's got to try. She can't just be forgotten... She must be remembered.

As you may well know, "Remember Me" is a Christopher Pike classic. And with good reason! The story is OUT THERE. Once again, Pike manages to present an otherworldly and strange concept in a way that is totally believable and makes sense. Who else could? My hat comes off to you, sir. The hype is yet again deserved.

Shari is a wonderful character, full of life and spirit--even though she is deceased for much of the book. The idea that a normal girl must solve her own murder is a fantastic one, and it's pulled off with the cleverness and wit we've come to expect from Mr. Pike. It's just great! I was really stumped as to what actually happened at Beth's party--oh, I had my suspicions. Most of them were red herrings or shots in the dark. The real truth is something so wild, I could hardly believe it! You won't either! Trust me.

The character of Detective Garrett was my absolute favorite. Sorrowful, beaten--yet keen and perceptive. He emotes this wonderful sadness. You can't help but be drawn to him. His desire to solve the Shari Cooper case resounds deep in his bones, fueled by more reasons than the obvious ones. But then, no one is exactly as they seem in the Wonderful World of Christopher Pike! ;)

The way in which Pike handles the idea of an afterlife is an intriguing one at least. As a non-religious person, I was expecting it to fall flat on me. It does not. Christopher Pike writes through the reader--forcing one to infuse a bit of themselves in every character. It's something that authors other than Pike sometimes struggle with. It is his gift. He is amazing. This book is amazing.

Classic cover art is provided by Brian Kotzky--a hard artist to top when it comes to the sheer essence of Pike... Danilo Ducak's scary ghost-hands cover falls completely flat and is almost... dare I say it? UGLY. I think, though, that the new photo cover really depicts the bittersweet-haunted lovliness that permeates this book. I got the cover scan from Amazon.com, so I do not know the artist. I will make an attempt to get one of these covers for myself so that we can all give accolades to the artist! Kudos to you-dos, my friend!

I was planning on waiting a while before starting the sequel to "Remember Me": "Remember Me 2: The Return." Don't be surprised if I review it soon. I was moved by this story, and would really like to see what becomes of the characters I have grown to love. Read it today. You won't be able to put it down.

After all--No one does it better than Christopher Pike!