The Ghost in Allie's Pool -- Sari Bodi

Allie and her best friend Marissa spent the summer talking about how great eighth grade would be.  'Course, then eighth grade actually comes around:  Marissa ditches Allie for the popular girls and Allie starts communicating with a ghost.

Marissa doesn't just ditch Allie (which would be bad enough).  She ditches her, hooks up with Crystal, the meanest girl possible, and then hangs around on the sidelines giggling while Crystal torments Allie. 

Allie's ghost begins appearing to her when she starts a family ancestry project for English class.  The ghost, Dorothy May, was the first wife of William Bradford, who is believed by some to have committed suicide by jumping off of the Mayflower deck.  Allie is actually related to William Bradford's second wife, but to the chagrin of Allie's ancestry-nut mother, even before the appearance of the ghost Allie is much more interested in Dorothy May's story.

This one hit close to home in a couple of ways.  First, I went through the getting ditched process -- twice.  Fifth grade, was easily the worst, and it was very similar to the situation in the book.  The harassment never got physical (it does in the book) but it's safe to say that I went home crying from school for the better part of a year.  I'm just thankful that I grew up in pre-Instant Messenger days. 

Second, coincidence of coincidences, I'm also a Mayflower descendant, with a mother who is way into her heritage.  (Hi, Mom!)  Not as much as her father was, but she can rattle off our lineage faster than... well, it's fast.

So.  Decent read, with the school/friendship story being the strongest element.  Allie's attempts at fitting in with Marissa's new friends were especially well done, and (if memory serves) emotionally dead-on.  The sections with Dorothy May talking about her life on the Mayflower, though, felt a little too "Here's Some History!" for my taste.  I do love fiction that I learn from, but I prefer to not notice that I'm learning.

Readers of the Mean Girl sub-genre needn't be scared off by the paranormal element -- the relationship with Dorothy May is more of a subplot, a way for Allie to reflect on her own life and to move on.