What Lurks in the Heart of Shari? The Shadow Knows
Customer Rating: 
This was one of the first Christopher Pike books I ever read and it is probably one of his best. The plotline is interesting, the characters are fun to read about, it's everything the back summary promises it to be and more.
First of all, let me say that Pike has a habit of writing about characters who are quite stereotypical. The characters in this book are no exception, though I feel like the stereotypes work better here than they would in other books of his. Shari's view of the world was always somewhat black and white, and, in some ways, it remains that way even after death. I suppose that is the way things are to many teenagers. This book won't enlighten anyone about the complexities of human nature (except in a somewhat cursory way) but it is still quite an interesting read for young teens who are looking for a simple, yet unique, murder mystery that is also quirky and intelligent (well, intelligent compared to many other books of its kind). The concept was somewhat different. I don't really know how original an idea it is but it certainly felt refreshing to a 13 year old me. And then there were the characters. Shari was just bursting with personality and I liked her. Some of the things she said were very witty. She admits that she can be a bit phony, and this makes her seem real in a world that often doesn't feel that way. Maybe this is why I didn't mind the stereotypical characters so much. Sometimes I felt like Shari was mocking the ways in which we can sometimes focus on the things that seem important at the time but really aren't. Anyway, the characters were never boring. They were certainly memorable, in my opinion.
The book also makes its own statement on the after-life and while it may or may not conflict with the reader's own religious views, I have to admit that it's an intriguing look at one of life's greatest mysteries---where we go when we die. Well, it was intriguing to me. I've read/heard of other books that dealt with the afterlife, and I have to say this one had the most interesting perspective, in my opinion. The fact remains that we'll never know exactly what it's like to die until we actually do so, in the meantime, all we can do is question.
Anyway, Remember Me does deal with some mature themes and, for that reason, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than 13.
A great book to start with if you're looking to venture into the world of Christopher Pike. But you don't really have to bother with the rest of the series unless you're interested in the spiritual questions the first one raises and want to read more on that. The other two have weaker storylines. They seem far more into the more complex questions of life and death and, I must admit, much of it went over my head.
No "The Last Vampire", but still amazing!
Customer Rating: First let me say that this book, in my opinion, is a 4 1/2 stars. This is by no means Christopher Pike's best book, which would be "The Last Vampire", no doubt.
Christopher Pike has an incredible talent and precision for details. I love the way he can make the smallest of detail into a major part of the plot, an excellent technique... especially in a murder mystery.
This book had everything in a good mystery, and more, when considering the fact that the main character was a ghost trying to solve her own murder.
As the book progresses, the storyline thickens and one cant help but be enthralled with it. I dont want to give anything away, but the end revelations are shocking, and you wont believe who the killer is. You wont be dissapointed!
The diolouge and characters are more than extraordinary, and all his books hold you captive and dont let go till the end, but I think there could have been some improvements.
During the novel, I felt little danger for the lives of the characters in "Remember Me", until the last 50 pages... where the story really takes off. Since they were ghosts, it wasnt like they could be harmed again.
Also, I was hoping for some more "spooky" interaction. Shari was a spirit, yet she couldnt do any of the cool things mosts ghosts are mythed to do, like fly, travel through doors and walls, and somehow communicate with the living. It was almost as if we were reading about an ordinary girl.
Although the story bagan a little slower than I'm used to with most Pike novels, I still loved it very much, and would reccommend it to people of all ages.
