Haint She Sweet

Freshman year in high school is tough enough without another ghost in the mix. Ghost handler and high school freshman Heather Tildy seems to have it all-an older sister who is popular, a hot guy who deemed her date-worthy over the summer, and coursework just hard enough to keep her parents, administrators, and college admissions counselors happy. But as the school year begins, bad boy Zac returns to Alabama, taking the "cool" factor he lent her with him. Her luck sours. Her freshman schedule includes first period P.E., which means she's all sweaty when she sees her first love, hunky Drew, before second-period Spanish. And the only other freshman with her lunch period is pseudo-friend Suzanne, who doesn't really like Heather. So when a bossy lunch lady ghost in a hairnet pushes her healthy-eating agenda on Heather-before she'll even consider moving on to the next realm-Heather knows she'll lose what few cool points she has left. She'll have to think fast to overcome her guy and ghost troubles. She's determined not to become Pecan Hills High's sweaty, nutrition-pushing freshman weirdo-not to mention the girl who talks to ghosts. Although Georgia author Maureen Hardegree concedes to having all the usual baggage of a middle child, she is NOT a ghost handler. She does, however, believe in connecting with her inner teenager and in feeding her active imagination. It likes Italian food and chocolate. When she's not writing, she's wasting time on Facebook . . . or doing the bidding of her husband, daughter, and cats Pixie and Turnip Ann. Visit her at www.maureenhardegree.com