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Kate McMurry has an undergraduate degree in sociology and political science and has completed graduate studies in English education, creative writing and counseling psychology. She has taught in the public schools, at the college and university levels, and in private seminars, and she has worked as a family therapist, a business consultant, and a paralegal. During many decades as a freelance writer she has produced hundreds of articles and in-house training documents on the subjects of parenting, education, health and healing, the environment, business and legal issues, computer software use, and fiction writing. In addition, she has published poetry, and she is a Top 500 and Vine Reviewer on Amazon.Girl vs Ghost co-authored with her daughter Marie August, is Kate's first novel.
Marie August has been encouraged to pursue her dream of writing fiction since middle school by her mother, Kate McMurry, a writer and English teacher. Marie has also been interested in art her whole life. Shortly before her 20th birthday in 2005, she completed a BA in Arts and Visual Technology with a concentration in drawing from George Mason University of Fairfax, Virginia.
Marie and Kate have written as a team since 2006. Girl vs Ghost is their first novel. Because of her artistic background, Marie has been commissioned to be the illustrator for Girl vs Ghost and the other two books in the Misdirected Magic trilogy.
Reviewed by Brenda Casto for Readers' Favorite
Isabel Lindley and Tripp Macauley have been friends for seven years. Isabel is the practical one, and Tripp is always coming up with different things to try. Normally Tripp's quirkiness doesn't bother Isabel, but Tripp's newest hobby of Witchcraft and performing spells is something Isabel isn't really gung ho about. However, when Tripp asks her to help with a spell, what's a best friend to do but go along? When the spell goes awry, landing a ghost smack dab in the middle of Isabel's bedroom, a ghost only Isabel can see, she demands that Tripp fix it, but she isn't sure how. Isabel has other problems to deal with, too...namely Parker Hamilton, a boy who keeps complaining that Tripp copied his book of magic spells. When it becomes apparent Parker has something to do with the ghost that Isabel sees, they are going to have to work together to help get rid of the ghost. Can they put their bickering aside long enough to come up with a solution?
This is a spellbinding story whose plot never drags and had enough twists and turns that held my attention until the final word. I found the characters quite believable. The girls are really opposites, Tripp is a bit flighty, and her home life consists of babysitting her siblings. Isabel, on the other hand, is ever practical, and takes things quite seriously. I thought the secondary character of Finn was quite interesting, and his role as a spirit guide of sorts is something that I hope develops further in future books. I found myself drawn to this book because of the paranormal aspect, but the mystery and humor woven in really makes this story shine. I also liked that the story ended in a way that I really never expected. This is a nice clean paranormal read that's perfect for teens as well as pre-teens, but adults will certainly enjoy this one as well.
The author certainly whet my appetite for the next book in the series by including the first chapter at the end of this story. I for one can't wait to read it!
