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It’s no fun for Mary Hellick at Eastern Snyder High, where most of the student body calls her “Scary Mary.” They consider her a freak because she’s clairaudient—she hears ghosts. The only person who thinks that Mary is cool is her best friend, Rachel Pillar, but she’s a bit of an outcast herself.
When the new kid in town, Cyrus Asher, turns his attention toward Mary, she finally finds some happiness and acceptance—that is, until Cyrus finds out what a freak she truly is.
On the night that Cyrus invites Mary over to watch a movie, the most popular girl in school, Vicky Nelson, shows up with a date (Cyrus’s brother) and a Ouija board, hoping to make Mary look bad because she wants to date Cyrus herself. Unfortunately, Mary angers a nasty ghost named Rick, who wants to punish anyone who sets foot in Cyrus’s house. Now Cyrus is in danger, but he’s no longer interested in Mary—and she’s the only one who can stop Rick.
With its memorable characters, a creepy ghost, and a paranormal premise that hasn’t been done to death, Scary Mary beckons you into the pages of a mesmerizing read that’s incredibly hard to put down. Even I got the chills reading certain scenes in Scary Mary—and that doesn’t often happen to me these days.
Mary is a seriously tough-minded teenager who would rather punch someone in the nose than listen to them call her names or allow them to abuse her. Yet you’ll like her because you’ll want to punch the other students in the nose, too, for being so mean to her. She’s not disreputable, even though she almost has to be in order to handle all of the bullying—and that makes her even more likable.
Cyrus’s reaction to Mary is understandable—angering a ghost to the point of tossing stuff around the room can be off-putting. However, he tries to understand Mary’s position, even though he doesn’t really want to hang around with her anymore. And the fact that he sees right through Vicky’s shallow personality makes him a pretty good guy in my book.
Out of all of the young adult paranormal novels flooding the market these days, Scary Mary, with its wonderful characterization, unique paranormal ability, and truly creepy scenes, is definitely one that you’ll want to check out.
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