In a school where the students have special powers, unexplained deaths are popping up around Ginger High. All of the victims have bite marks on their necks. After having to back to their parallel, supernatural world of Animist, supernatural beings, Matthias, Taeru, and Amanta, are brought back to h... more

In a school where the students have special powers, unexplained deaths are popping up around Ginger High. All of the victims have bite marks on their necks. After having to back to their parallel, supernatural world of Animist, supernatural beings, Matthias, Taeru, and Amanta, are brought back to help solve the mysterious deaths. After her old school burns down, Daisy Fisher starts at Ginger. As if learning to control her newfound supernatural powers wasn’t enough, she discovers a deep, family secret. She soon makes friends with Amanta and teams up with him to try and solve the deaths, but could the family secret and the deaths be somehow connected? Will the 4 people be able to solve the mystery before they too wind up victims? This book has a great concept and a unique plot, especially with the parallel universes. The characters were likable and entertaining, but needed fleshed out more. The plot was fast-paced, but had a few holes and the transitions weren’t smooth. It also would have been nice to have a little more detailed description in some parts. The story was a fun read, however, and well worth the time. Overall, a pretty good book for a first-time young novelist.

I was hesitant when I asked to review Ginger High. I had never reviewed Young Adult fiction, nor had I reviewed an author as young as Melissa Burmeister. However, to my delight Melissa Burmeister is a remarkable young author. She has brought to life a school filled with colorful characters, myste... more

I was hesitant when I asked to review Ginger High. I had never reviewed Young Adult fiction, nor had I reviewed an author as young as Melissa Burmeister. However, to my delight Melissa Burmeister is a remarkable young author. She has brought to life a school filled with colorful characters, mystery, murder and the paranormal with a talent usually seen by much more experienced authors of this genre. I had so many ‘Oh My Gosh moments’ and ‘I didn’t see that coming’ moments that I quickly got swept away with the storyline. I gave Ginger High to my younger sister following reading it and she loved it, so much so that I haven’t gotten it back off her.

As a freshman in High school, Daisy Fisher was surprised to be paired with a senior during in-school detention. Befriending Fredrick Ramsey changed her life, first she witnessed his part in the school burning down, then she finds that he would be attending the same school as her. Mixed feelings an... more

As a freshman in High school, Daisy Fisher was surprised to be paired with a senior during in-school detention. Befriending Fredrick Ramsey changed her life, first she witnessed his part in the school burning down, then she finds that he would be attending the same school as her. Mixed feelings and thoughts about him and many of her new friends at Ginger High are compounded with the new understanding that everyone at this new school has special powers. When several deaths occur shortly after her arrival at school, a healer (Amanta) from the parallel universe of Animist arrives, between him and his best friend (Matthias) they are determined to help find the person responsible. The answers may not be as easy as they would like with Amanta in a weakened state and Matthias keeping secrets. Is anything what it appears to be? I understand this was written by a 14 year-old, keeping that in mind, I really enjoyed the concept of the story. The parallel universe, the special powers that each of them possess has a bit of an original twist in it. The introduction of a similar situation from 1901 seemed a good way to start, even though some of it was unnecessary. There was a lot of familial characters and that did make it a little easier to follow. I would have liked to get to know the important characters a bit better. Daisy accepted thing way to easy and without question, Fredrick did things just because and seemingly without a second thought. While the little bit of back story for Amanta and Matthias was helpful in understanding these characters, there was still huge holes in the characters. I like to get attached to the characters and had trouble getting attached to any of these. There was also holes in the story, the conclusion only answered one of the dozen or so questions that came to my mind. There is several parts that I wondered how exactly they got to that position and would have liked more definition, action, conversation, description, history - something, just more of it. Decent first attempt at a novel - concept, story premise, even characters are great, the work needs to be done in the presentation of the story, the ‘painting of the picture’ and getting the story to flow so that it comes through with fewer holes and dropped sub-plots.

Ginger High BY: Melissa Burmester PUBLISHED BY: Infinity Publishing.com PUBLISHED IN: May 2009 ISBN: 0-7414-5363-0 Ages: teen & up Reviewed by Billy Burgess Growing up in the 90’s, I was a big fan of teen horror novels - Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine and Lois Duncan were some of my favor... more

Ginger High BY: Melissa Burmester PUBLISHED BY: Infinity Publishing.com PUBLISHED IN: May 2009 ISBN: 0-7414-5363-0 Ages: teen & up Reviewed by Billy Burgess Growing up in the 90’s, I was a big fan of teen horror novels - Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine and Lois Duncan were some of my favorite authors. The teen horror/thriller trend has died down, except for the ones where vampires sparkle. I found Ginger High a breath of fresh air. Teen girls will easily connect with the main character, Daisy - a smart, strong young woman. The novel begins in 1901 where a series of murders take place. All of the victims have bite marks on their necks. Could it be vampires? The story jumps forward to modern days and focuses on teen Daisy Fisher. After her school is burnt down, Daisy is sent to a new school in New York.. Ginger High is a private school for students with extraordinary powers and abilities. She befriends some of the students who can teleport, heal others, and create fire. She soon finds out that people came to Earth from a parallel world called the Kingdom of Animists. A murder occurs at Ginger High, bringing the supernatural beings Amanta, Matthias, and Taeru from the parallel world. While they investigate the death, Daisy struggles with her supernatural powers, and with her mysterious new friend, Fredrick. Amanta must deal with a long time, buried family secret. Fourteen year old, Melissa Burmester has written a fast paced debut novel; combining horror, mystery and fantasy. I love the cover of the book - it reminds me of the horror movie posters of the middle 80’s. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. The author has a bright future in the world of writing.

Ginger High is no ordinary school. It is a school for students with special “powers.” Many years ago people came to Earth from the Kingdom of Animist, a parallel universe. Two long time friends, Matthias and Amanta, attended the school and then returned home to Animist. The school has had ma... more

Ginger High is no ordinary school. It is a school for students with special “powers.” Many years ago people came to Earth from the Kingdom of Animist, a parallel universe. Two long time friends, Matthias and Amanta, attended the school and then returned home to Animist. The school has had many unexplained deaths. Daisy Fisher attends the school after her old school burns down. Matthias and Amanta are called back to the school to help solve the mysteries. What are powers? And what is with this crazy school? Welcome to Ginger High.