Cabot, Meg. The Mediator. Harper Teen, 2005. ISBN 978-0060724696 312 pp. $

***

She sees dead people. Talks to them, too. In fact, her boyfriend is one (and he just happens to haunt her bedroom). As a mediator, Suze is a liaison between the world of the living and dead. Her skills are still developing, as are those of her classmate and fellow mediator Paul, who relentlessly pursues Suze in spite of the fact that she is love with Jesse, a 150 year old ghost. When Paul discovers that one talent of mediators is the ability to time travel, he decides to eliminate his competition by going back in time to warn Jesse of his impending violent death, thus preventing his spirit from lingering and meeting Suze. The newly single Suze will then have no choice but to fall in love with Paul, and become his date for the upcoming Winter Ball. Will Suze find a way to stop Paul or to get back to the 1850s before he does?

It’s refreshing to see that Cabot has another voice inside her besides that of Princess Mia Thermopolis. Somehow, this light and entertaining read also addresses issues of moral behavior, teen abstinence, and the nature of life and death. Although I haven’t read other titles in the series, I got the gist of what was going on, and now want to go back and read the other five. The graphic cover art is modern and as appealing as the story within the pages.