Remember Me by Christopher Pike

Released: 1989

Christopher Pike is the author of nearly 100 books, most of which are written for teens and young adults. His first novel, Slumber Party, was published in 1985, and Pike has been cranking out numerous fun and terrifying novels ever since.

Remember Me is the story of Shari Cooper, a young woman who wakes up dead the morning after a party. Shari, along with her friends and family, think she may have committed suicide by jumping out of a building. Shari strolls around town like Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense (and a Haley Joel Osment because yes, she can see other dead people!) and watches her family mourn her death in an all-too disturbing and realistic manner, which, if you're a child or a teenager reading this book, will influence and affect you for years to come.

As the hours pass, Shari begins to suspect that she wasn't suicidal at all, but in fact, was murdered. Shari then spends the remainder of the novel trying to identify her murderer with the help of her old friend Peter Nichols, whom she meets in the afterlife and is also dead. Eventually, Shari realizes who her murderer is, and justice is rightly served.

Remember Me is the first Christopher Pike novel I had ever read. From that point on, I was hooked on buying and reading all of Pike's novels that that both followed and came before Remember Me. I was initially drawn to and intrigued by the cover art for Remember Me, which I included in this post for sentimental reasons, although the packaging for the book has since changed. Realizing I had stumbled upon a new genre that opened a world of magic, possibility, life after death, and horror, I began to devour every novel that existed in this genre; including those by R.L. Stine and L.J. Smith. I was 9 years old at the time.

Remember Me is extremely touching; melodramatic and sad, but in the most tasteful, classy manner. Intelligently written, Remember Me will invoke in every reader feelings of love, sorrow, and appreciation for your friends and family. It encompasses every thought and feeling you could possibly have regarding what takes place after you die.

Although Remember Me was written over 20 years ago, its cadence and style is absolutely classic. With the new packaging and cover art, readers may never guess it had been written so long ago if they hadn't checked the copyright date.

Christopher Pike is the perfect author to read if you need a breezy, yet horrifying Halloween read. My other favorite novels by Christopher Pike are Chain Letter (1986), Scavenger Hunt (1989), and Witch (1990).