This is not a bad book. It's firmly 2.5 stars, and whilst in earlier times I would've rounded that up to 3, I'm a grumpy old woman now so I'm rounding it down to 2.

This is a wonderfully unpretentious novel - it doesn't take itself too seriously, and seems presented as an escapist read, and that's fair enough. Still, escapism can be difficult to achieve: It has to be light enough to distract the reader from their personal troubles, but with enough heart to actually connect with the reader. And I didn't connect with Poltergeeks at all.

Admittedly, magic is not my favourite part of urban fantasy, but I figure that's only because I haven't read the kind of magic that would best suit my logical/scientific inclinations. That's no reason for me to blacklist all novels featuring magic, so I am willing to try instead of giving up completely.

And yes, apathy is often a symptom of my mental illness, but I felt pretty good around the time that I read this (and that's continued since then - so far, so good).

So Poltergeeks is squarely middling territory for me: I didn't particular like it, but I didn't particular dislike it, either.

Reportedly these two Poltergeeks books aren't selling as well as the author's self-published adult novels. And I don't really think that has anything to do with this duology being traditionally published (by the now-closed Strange Chemistry) and young adult. Maybe it's just that this book doesn't really appeal.

That said I still plan to read the sequel, Student Bodies. After all, maybe it is my fault for failing to connect with Poltergeeks, and it's only fair to give a second chance.

DNF'd within a couple of pages. I knew instinctively that this was a male author and this type of author is the reason I tend to be wary of male authors. He kinda took the show don't tell rule and stamped on it, leaving the whole story feel like an unedited self published work and me feeling like I was reading a story too young for me. And I agree with something someone once said - if you feel too old for a story, there's a fault with writing there.

I have this thing with sequels. Either I loved the first book and the second book, or I loved the first book and thought the second book was just... meh. STUDENT BODIES, though, is one of those cases that the sequel really surprised me - in a good way!

One of the reasons POLTERGEEKS didn't make it into my absolute favorites list was because it seemed to... happy, I suppose, for me. That's alright with me - after all, I still enjoyed the plot - but it's not my absolute favorite because it's still your classic hero story, with your brave heroine, sidekicks and mostly-happily-ever-after. Again, nothing particularly wrong with that. But not exactly too original or dark either, which is why the first book was something I'd still recommend to middle grade readers.

What I liked about STUDENT BODIES, though, is that it really goes into darker and more "mature" subjects. You still have that fantastical spell chanting and potion making - just more things that I thought made it more of a YA novel. In case you couldn't tell from the blurb, Julie now has a boyfriend, Marcus, and has to deal with how to balance that with her duties as a Shadowcull and her parent. While I'm sure none of us have her powers, I'm sure we could all relate to Julie's frustration at times, which I didn't see in the last book. Other than that, there are heavier themes about bullying, though that still seemed a bit middle-grade to me (think: wedgies and dumpsters).

On that note, I'm still in love with Julie's voice! It has just the right amount of sass and smarts in it, and just a bit of teenage angst for realistic-ness. On the other hand, she’s still the bad-ass, magic-wielding heroine. Cumming’s balance of the two was great, and I really enjoyed her character! 

Other than Julie, my favorite part of the book was Twyla! They’re quite different characters, but at the same time, they’re also very similar in their drive to investigate. I loved how they worked together as a team, so hopefully we see more of them in the next book! At the same time, though, I also felt that Marcus’s character wasn’t as enjoyable. Maybe it’s because of the romance, or because of Twyla’s addition, but I didn’t really feel his pull as much. 

Nonetheless, STUDENT BODIES is a fun and quick sequel that I’d easily recommend! In fact, even if you felt like POLTERGEEKS was a bit too happy or juvenile, I still feel as if STUDENT BODIES is an improvement from the first. Otherwise, fans of the series or urban fantasy magic definitely should check this series out! (:

* A free review copy of this book was provided for the blog tour. This did not affect my opinion of the book.

Pre-review:

What an.... interesting title. Can't wait to see what comes next though!

For more of my reviews, visit Books For YA!Student Bodies by Sean Cummings is an explosion of supernatural badassery at its finest! After surviving a life-or-death situation with the Witchfinder General in Poltergeek, Julie is back and she needs to defeat a more powerful and sinister enemy to save the entire population of her school including the one she loves.Julie and Marcus was supposed to have a movie date but instead, they spend their Saturday night saving a schoolmate from killing himself. You see, he was possessed by a very evil spell know as Soul Worms. Once infected by this supernatural worms they will slowly eat their victim's essence until the person became an empty shell and become a mindless puppet to whomever cast the spell. Julie will discover that when his father gave her the title of being a Shadowcull, he wasn't only giving her a title or the responsibility to protect people from paranormal stuff, he was also giving her his unfinished business. Now, his father's past caught up with her and she's not sure if she can defeat it. So, with the help of new allies, Julie will face her most toughest enemy yet and prove to everyone that she's one powerful Shadowcull you wouldn't want to mess with.I read Poltergeek a year ago and I loved it. It was one of my favorite read of 2012 because it was jampacked with paranormal activity, awesome spell-vs-spell fight-scenes and hilarious and likable characters. Dull moments was nonexistent in that book. Multiply all of that by two and you will get Student Bodies. This book did not only exceeded my high expectations, it pulverizes it.I loved that Julie and Marcus were finally together. I mean, I will seriously throw a tantrum if they weren't. This two knew each other since they were toddlers and they became each others secret-keeper, supporter, and body guard. With the help of each other, they exorcised a lot of wayward souls and recently, defeated a Witchfinder General. They've been through a lot yet they survived it all. I know this might sound corny, but they were each others soulmates and if you read Poltergeek, you'll agree with me.But Julie's mother was worried about Julie and Marcus' new status and I totally got her concerns. Julie was not just a white witch anymore, she's a Shadowcull which means bigger risks and threats to everyone especially to Marcus who was a non-practitioner. But Julie, just like every teenager at her age, felt like her life was being controlled. She just wanted to experience normal teenage stuff and enjoy her first romantic relationship with Marcus. I understand and sympathized with her too. Both of them have a point and it's tearing me apart because as much as I love to see them together, I know that her mother was right. Anyway, there's a new addition to the gang and her name was Twyla. She's Native American and she's one badass kid. I'm itching to tell you why she's awesome but I can't because I might spoil it for you. You just have to believe me when I say that you should never underestimate her or her grandfather. They will easily kick your ass without even breaking a sweat, if you do. Overall, Student Bodies is a read you wouldn't want to miss. If you like witches, magic, and paranormal/supernatural stuff, with relatable characters and fast-paced action-packed story, then this is the book for you