History Literature / TheMediator

* UsefulNotes/{{California}}: Suze and her mother move from New York to Carmel, California at the beginning of the first book. Some of the ghost-related incidents in the book, like the damaged condition of the school at the end of the first book and a fallen breezeway, are blamed on earthquakes. The author also emphasizes the natural beauty and quaintness of Carmel.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: Marcus Beaumont]] in the ''Ninth Key/High Stakes''.
* ClassClown: Adam Mc Tavish. His introduction to Suze takes place outside the principal's office, where his very first lines are as follows:

* BigBrotherInstinct: Sleepy, albeit inconsistently. He rescues Suze at the end of the ''Shadowland/Love You To Death'' and balls her out like a parent would. He believes that Suze is in some sort of gang, which comes up occasionally, such as when he believes that Jesse is a gangbanger from the valley. When he finds out she borrowed his keys to sneak out, Sleepy tells her that he doesn't think gangs are cool, but whatever she's doing is her business and to put gas in the car. On the other hand, he's very protective when Micheal Meducci comes along in ''Reunion/Mean Spirits'', and when he offers to deal with Paul if he's bothering her in ''Darkest Hour/Young Blood''.

--->'''Suze:''' [inwardly, not surprised or perturbed in the slightest] ''Freakin' crybaby.'' [outwardly, and a lot more callous than she intended] So?

* ManipulativeBastard: ''Paul Slater''. In ''Darkest Hour/Young Blood'', not only does he [[spoiler: team up with one of the most irredeemable characters of the entire series in order to exorcise a harmless ghost]], he manipulates his own clueless baby brother into doing it, whilst making poor Jack think he's doing something nice for the [[CoolBigSis girl who not only helped to assuage all of his fears]] about the outside world, convincing him that hes not a 'freak' because of this gift that he's has had for years and no one has explained to him [[spoiler:(much less his own ''brother'', who has the same gift)]], helping him to be finally free to act like a normal kid, but done nothing but help him where everyone else has failed to. And this is the exact ''opposite'' of what she wants. Oh, and the kicker? He managed to manipulate Suze into a courtesy date so that she was none the wiser and couldn't interfere. And that's still not the worst part. ''He made Jesse think that it was what Suze wanted all along.''

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the case of Suze's three stepbrothers- their names are mentioned, but they're easy to miss, especially due to Suze's narration. It gets easier to know who's who when she starts calling by their real names, at least overtly. The easiest is Doc, who Suze has the most interactions with and even begins to consciously try to refer to him by his real name, David, after he helps her uncover [[spoiler:Jesse's identity]] out of respect, though whenever she does slip up he doesn't seem to mind. Sleepy slowly becomes Jake as both his maturity and Suze's regard for him (mostly due to his concern for her) increase; Dopey, however, the one Suze is closest to in age and fights with the most, is hardly ever called Brad.

** Ghosts generally have the appearance of when they were at their most 'alive', their most 'vibrant', which is not always around the time that they died. They have a distinctive supernatural glow about them that helps mediators to tell between living people and dead, and by the comments made in [[spoiler:''Twilight/HeavenSent'' about Jesse]], they're usually paler versions of themselves, implied to be slightly translucent.

*** Being tangible to mediators, it's also fully possible to cause painful injuries as if they were alive, a tactic that Suze usually takes, especially early on, thanks to some unpleasant encounters (including one [[NoodleIncident where she was apparently hit in the back with a railroad tie]]). It's mostly only beneficial as the spirit's remember the sensation of pain at it at least hampers them for a little while- their injuries heal very fast.

** It's also implied that spirits can 'sense' things that other people, even mediators, can't. They can apparently sense when a mediator is calling them, something [[spoiler:that grows increasingly strong between Suze and Jesse as time goes by.]]
* OurTimeTravelIsDifferent: After it's revealed [[spoiler:that Suze is not just some ordinary mediator, but a 'shifter' and is therefore able to move through the fourth dimension]], she researches a little about time travel, contemplating [[spoiler:making sure that her father doesn't die (until she realises that her father lived her life and he tells her that he's okay, and how happy her mother is with Andy)]]. She discovers that for it to work, she has to know a ghost from the era, be standing in the place she wants to go back to, have a possession that came from that time, and [[CantTakeTanythingWithYou cannot take anything with her]].

* ParanormalRomance
* ParentalObliviousness: Suze has a fairly easy time lying to her mother. Though her mother obviously cares deeply for Suze, at times her mother seems to be willfully ignoring Suze's odd behavior. She tolerates her daughter's dislike of old buildings, conversations with her dead father, frequent injuries, and knack for trouble without looking into it too much.
* PsychoEx: Heather and Maria, though Maria is less concerned with Jesse and more concerned with her own family's reputation. [[spoiler:The latter is portrayed as especially psychotic as her motivations for murdering her cousin/fiancé were incredibly selfish, and her motivations for murdering an innocent historian were to protect her reputation, which as Suze points out, no one cares about since she's just 'some skank who loved a century and a half ago'.]]

* RedOniBlueOni: A few. Father Dominic and Suze are the most obvious, being blue and red respectively; he is generally a lot more level headed and prone to peaceful approaches, whilst Suze acts impulsively and resorts to using her fists more often than not.

* StayInTheKitchen: Jesse to Suze, especially in the first few books, and despite his relatively modern views. To be fair, Jesse's somewhat sexist attitude can also be explained by his nineteenth century upbringing. Suze says at one point that she's working on him.

* BadassPreacher: Father Dominic. He's ''very'' protective of his students, especially Suze, despite being a pacifist and openly distasteful of Suze's general 'kick ass, ask questions later'' approach to uncooperative spirits. He ended up getting seriously injured saving one of his students from a heavy falling crucifix in ''Shadowland/Love You To Death''.

* RetGone: Paul intended to do this with [[spoiler:Jesse, by going back in time to ensure that he never died and, therefore, making it so that Suze would never meet him. She]] insists that she would feel his absence, and know that something important was missing, even if she never found out what it was. [[spoiler:Furthermore, she says that Paul could never replace Jesse, ever.]]

* EmbarrassingFirstName: ''Jesse'', as a matter of fact. When Suze asks Doc to dig up some information on the house and its former guests, they discover that his real name is ''Hector'' De Silva. Jesse is actually a nickname given to him by his mother, and presumably only used for those close to him.

** Once or twice, he refuses to translate- either because there is 'no word in English for it' or because it simply is too crass to speak in a language Suze understands.

** He generally begins to use more and more solidly English phrases once he meets and warms up to Suze, presumably because she's the first person he's talked to on a regular basis in a good few hundred years. He still uses ForeignCussWords when frustrated, and consistently calls Suze ''querida''. Until a few books in, she has no idea what it means because she took French- something she often laments in [[spoiler: the climax of ''Twilight/Heaven Sent'']].

* ManupulativeBastard: ''Paul Slater''. In ''Darkest Hour/YoungBlood'', not only does he [[spoiler: team up with one of the most irredeemable characters of the entire series in order to exorcise a harmless ghost]], he manipulates his own clueless baby brother into doing it, whilst making poor Jack think he's doing something nice for the [[CoolBigSis girl who not only helped to assuage all of his fears]] about the outside world, convincing him that hes not a 'freak' because of this gift that he's has had for years and no one has explained to him [[spoiler:(much less his own ''brother'', who has the same gift)]], helping him to be finally free to act like a normal kid, but done nothing but help him where everyone else has failed to. And this is the exact ''opposite'' of what she wants. Oh, and the kicker? He managed to manipulate Suze into a courtesy date so that she was none the wiser and couldn't interfere. And that's still not the worst part. ''He made Jesse think that it was what Suze wanted all along.''
** Not to mention his actions during ''Haunted/Grave Doubts''. He blackmails her into spending time with him, [[ForcefulKiss kisses her and almost stops her from leaving by calling upon a dead minion to block her path]], steals her hairclip just so that he can get a jealous reaction out of [[spoiler:Jesse]] and gleefully nudges the ghost of a resentful brother into killing the one who survived the sailing accident that killed him.

* BetaCouple: Cee Cee and Adam, arguably. They spend the entirety of the first five books [[WillTheyOrWontThey flirting around each other and being firmly established in the friend zone]] before, at the end of the sixth book ''Twilight/Heavensent'', he ''finally'' asks her out. When Cee Cee calls Suze about it, asking for advice on what to say whilst Adam is still waiting in the Coffee Clutch where he just asked her, Suze yells at her to go back inside and say yes already.

** One of the most prominent, and important by the end, is one Jesse gives to Suze. Upon first meeting her, he takes to calling Suze ''querida'', to which she snaps for him not to call her stuff in Spanish ([[RunningGag she took French]]). As they grow closer, she begins to let it slide. Only halfway through the books, when she starts to realise that she has feelings for him, does she actually bother to look up what it means- ''sweetheart'' or ''dearest one''. She quickly tries to convince herself that she has no idea about it's context, and that he could have easily called his ''sisters'' by the word, so it means nothing. It's implied that it was originally designed to derisive ("I don't think so, sweetheart"), slowly becoming more genuine as [[spoiler:Jesse fell for her]].

*** Father Dominic never calls her 'Suze' because he thinks it sounds vulgar. With Jesse, it appears to go back to their very first meeting- he overhears her mother call her 'Susie' and assumes that it's short for Susan. She corrects him that it's Susannah, as in 'don't you cry for me, to which Jesse comments that he know that song. Later, Suze hears a snatch of the song as she drifting off to sleep. It could easily be his favourite song. Or maybe he's just old fashioned.

** Suze and her family. When Doc was threatened by a malevolent spirit in ''Shadowland/LoveYouToDeath'', she promises that if she lays so much as a hand on her little brother, she'll kick her bony ass back into that grave she crawled out of. [[spoiler:And ''does''.]]

* DeadpanSnarker: Most main chaacters get in on this once in a while. Father Dominic's and Suze's snarking matches are usually the most fun to read, though Suze usually borders on SnarkKnight territory during the earlier arcs.

* EvilDetectingDog: Subverted. The Ackerman's family dog Max in particular retreats anytime Jesse or Suze's father shows up (to the point where he refuses to go in Suze's room at all because of Jesse's constant presence and the supernatural going on there), but Jesse's not evil- [[spoiler:and after he's accidentally restored to life, Max takes quite a liking to him.]] Suze, however, utilises this at one point when she's anticipating an attack from a malicious ghost, locking him in the room with her so that he'll alert her if a spirit is about to materialise.

* [[spoiler: FirstGuyWins: Jesse gets the girl.]]

** He generally begins to use more and more solidly English phrases once he meets and warms up to Suze, presumably because she's the first person he's talked to on a regular basis in a good few hundred years. He still uses ForeignCussWords when frustrated, and consistently calls Suze 'querida'.

* SiblingRivalry: Constant, especially between Suze and Dopey/Brad. Suze and Dopey are always trying to gain leverage on one other by threatening to expose the other's secrets. Dopey threatens to tattle on Suze for sneaking a guy into her room if she tells their parents about his party plans.
* SoCalization: Averted. Suze lives in Northern California, just south of San Francisco

* StayInTheKitchen: Jesse to Suze, especially in the first few books. To be fair, Jesse's somewhat sexist attitude can also be explained by his nineteenth century upbringing. Suze says at one point that she's working on him.

* SternNun: Sister Ernestine

* UptownGirl: Averted with Suze and Paul. Even though Suze is an employee at the resort where Paul and his family are staying, she points out that she's not exactly poor herself.

* BetaCouple: Cee Cee and Adam, arguably. They spend the entirety of the first five books [[WillTheyWontThey flirting around each other and being firmly established in the friend zone]] before, at the end of the sixth book ''Twilight/Heavensent'', he ''finally'' asks her out. When Cee Cee calls Suze about it, asking for advice on what to say whilst Adam is still waiting in the Coffee Clutch where he just asked her, Suze yells at her to go back inside and say yes already.

** Gets even more interesting in ''Reunion/Mean Spirits'' when Suze's best and only friend from New York comes to visit for the summer, especially with the two older step-brothers, Sleepy (Jake) and Dopey (Brad), chasing her.
* DisappearedDad: Suze's father died when she was six, leading her mother to marry Andy ten years later and move to Calfirnia. Subverted in that though her father is dead, Suze sees him more often than she does when he was alive.

* TheStoner: Sleepy, according to the WordofGod.

* BettyAndVeronica: Suze between Jesse (Betty) and Paul (Veronica). However, as a ghost, Jesse is not exactly a safe choice. In fact, on the surface Paul seems like a safe choice for someone like Suze. He's a mediator, he goes to school with her, he's conventionally attractive, and he makes it clear that he's interested. It's Jesse who seems forbidden.

* BetaCouple: Cee Cee and Adam, arguably. They spend the entirety of the first five books [[WillTheyWontTHey flirting around each other and being firmly established in the friend zone]] before, at the end of the sixth book ''Twilight/Heavensent'', he ''finally'' asks her out. When Cee Cee calls Suze about it, asking for advice on what to say whilst Adam is still waiting in the Coffee Clutch where he just asked her, Suze yells at her to go back inside and say yes already.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: Marcus Beaumont]] in the ''Ninth Key/High Stakes''.#
* ClassClown: Adam McTavish. His introduction to Suze takes place outside the principal's office, where his very first lines are as follows:

--->'''Father Dominic:''' [coming out of his office] Mrs Ackerman, what a pleasure to see you again. And this must be Susannah Simon. Come in, won't you? [noticing Adam for the first time] Oh, no, Mr McTavish. Not on the first day of a brand new semester.

--->'''Father Dominic:''' Kindly do not refer to Sister Ernestine as a broad, Mr McTavish.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler: Marcus Beaumont]] in the ''Ninth Key/High Stakes''.

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] somewhat with Father Dominic, Suze's principal at [[OverlyLongName Junipero Serra Catholic Academy]] (most people just call it Mission Academy); he's a mediator too, and winds up becoming a much-trusted confidant for Suze, often helping her work out her problems the way a therapist might. It has mixed results, mostly thanks to their opinions on God (she has little opinion on God and [[Atheism often doubts if he even exists]], he is a devout Catholic), their 'gift' (most of the time, Suze views it as a curse for the way it messes up her life), and the age difference (she's sixteen when the series begins; he's in his sixties). [[NotSoDifferent Still, they both naturally assume that it's their job to help lost souls to the afterlife]], and not all mediators do.

** Ghosts generally have the appearance of when they were at their most 'alive', their most 'vibrant', which is not always when they died. They have a distinctive supernatural glow about them that helps mediators to tell between living people and dead, and by the comments made in [[spoiler:''Twilight/HeavenSent'' about Jesse]], they're usually paler versions of themselves.

*** Being tangible to mediators, it's fully possible to harm them and cause painful injuries as if they were alive, a tactic that Suze usually takes, especially early on, thanks to some unpleasant encounters (including one [[NoodleIncident where she was apparently hit in the back with a railroad tie]]). It's mostly only beneficial as the spirit's remember the sensation of pain, and mot injuries heal very fast.

* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: [[SubvertedTrope Subversion.]] When Suze [[spoiler:'shifts' (i.e. time travels) back to Jesse's era and meets the real live him]], she has a lot trouble convincing him that [[spoiler:she knows him from the future]].

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and somewhat [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] by Suze right from the beginning. Ghosts generally have the appearance of when they were at their most 'alive', their most 'vibrant', which is not always when they died. They have a distinctive supernatural glow about them that helps mediators to tell between living people and dead, and by the comments made in [[spoiler:''Twilight/HeavenSent'' about Jesse]], they're usually paler versions of themselves. They're only tangible to mediators, who can see and touch them as though they were alive, although they can interact with the real world and occasionally cause 'cold spots' [[spoiler:such as at the end of ''Shadowland/Love You To Death' when Doc/Dave describes how Jesse managed to tell him that Suze was in danger]], and also have telekinetic powers that generally get stronger the older that they are (i.e. how much time has passed since they died) that range from being able to unscrew several heavy bolts, rip the head off a hollow bronze statue, boil water and subconsciously cause things to shake when upset.
** It's also implied that spirits can 'sense' things that other people, even mediators, can't. They can also apparently sense when a mediator is calling them, something [[spoiler:that grows increasingly strong between Suze and Jesse as time goes by.]]

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] and somewhat [[LampshadedTrope lampshaded]] by Suze right from the beginning. Ghosts generally have the appearance of when they were at their most 'alive', their most 'vibrant', which is not always when they died. They have a distinctive supernatural glow about them that helps mediators to tell between living people and dead, and by the comments made in [[spoiler:''Twilight/HeavenSent'' about Jesse]], they're usually paler versions of themselves. They're only tangible to mediators, who can see and touch them as though they were alive, although they can interact with the real world and occasionally cause 'cold spots' [[spoiler:such as at the end of ''Shadowland/Love You To Death' when Doc/Dave describes how Jesse managed to tell him that Suze was in danger]], and also have telekinetic powers that generally get stronger the older that they are (i.e. how much time has passed since they died) that range from being able to unscrew several heavy bolts, rip the head off a hollow bronze statue, boil water and subconsciously cause things to shake when upset, such as mirrors and dressers.

* NewTransferStudent: [[TheProtagonist Suze]], and later [[RomanticFalseLead Paul]]. However, over the course of the books, far more people leave Mission Academy than transfer in.

'''Suze:''' [inwardly, not surprised or perturbed in the slightest] ''Freakin' crybaby.'' [outwardly, and a lot more callous than she intended] So?

* OutnumberedSibling: Suze, who goes from an only child to having three stepbrothers. Jesse is also an example of this trope, as he is the only boy of seven.[[spoiler: From the letters recovered in the back garden when digging the pit for the hot tub in ''Darkest Hour/Young Blood'', it's clear that he adored each and every one of them.]]

* PsychoEx: Heather and Maria, though Maria is less concerned with Jesse and more concerned with her own family's reputation.
* RealMenCanCook: Andy
* RunawayBride: Except Maria doesn't just run away. [[spoiler: She has Jesse killed]]
* ScenicRoute: Suze lives close to Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1), which runs along the coast of California and is incredibly beautiful.Suze remarks on this often.
* SexyPriest: Father Dominic is frequently commented on by Suze to be attractive, even in his 60s.
* SiblingRivalry: Constant, especially between Suze and Dopey. Suze and Dopey are always trying to gain leverage on one other by threatening to expose the other's secrets. Dopey threatens to tattle on Suze for sneaking a guy into her room if she tells their parents about his party plans.

** In addition, Jesse is usually right.

* TeenGenius: David/Doc

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] somewhat with Father Dominic, Suze's principal at [[OverlyLongName Junipero Serra Catholic Academy]] (most people just call it Mission Academy); he's a mediator too, and winds up becoming a much-trusted confidant for Suze, often helping her work out her problems the way a therapist might. It has mixed results, mostly thanks to their opinions on God (she has little opinion on God and [[Atheism often doubts if he even exists]], he is a devout Catholic), their 'gift' (most of the time, Suze views it as a curse for the way it messes up her life), and the age difference (she's sixteen when the series begins; he's in his sixties). [[NotSoDifferent Still, they both naturally assume tha it's their job to help lost souls to the afterlife]], and not all mediators do- as evidenced with Paul.

* ArrangedMarriage: Jesse and Maria, which[[spoiler: neither of them were exactly happy with, though they handled it differently. Though he didn't really know her Jesse was willing to marry her out of honour, until he found out about her secret boyfriend, and decided to break it off; Maria got said boyfriend to kill him.]]
* BadassPreacher: Father Dominic. He's ''very'' protective of his students, especially Suze. He ended up getting seriously injured saving one of his students from a heavy falling crucifix in ''Shadowland/Love You To Death''.

* BlessedWithSuck: Suze's initial opinion of being a Mediator. Father Dominic has rather different opinions, being Catholic, which is one of the biggest things they clash over.

* DamselInDistress: Often averted, but sometimes played straight with Suze. Not because Suze is incapable of protecting herself, but because she has a tendency to take on a bit more than she can handle. Jesse has a knack for stepping in just when Suze needs him.

* GratuitousSpanish: Jesse. However, his English is unaccented, presumably thanks to years of practice.
* HauntedHouse: Technically Suze's house, a former boarding house which Jesse is haunting. According to Suze, most old buildings are this in general...which is why she hates old buildings.

* MagneticMedium: The entire plot of the books revolves around her unwelcome encounters with ghosts.

* NewTransferStudent: Suze and later Paul. However, over the course of the books, far more people leave Mission Academy than transfer in.
* OutnumberedSibling: Suze, who goes from an only child to having three stepbrothers. Jesse is also an example of this trope, as he is the only boy of seven.

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] somewhat with Father Dominic, Suze's principal at [[OverlyLongName Junipero Serra Catholic Academy]] (most people just call it Mission Academy); he's a mediator too, and winds up becoming a much-trusted confidant for Suze, often helping her work out her problems the way a therapist might. It has mixed results, mostly thanks to their opinions on God (she has little opinion on God and [[Atheism often doubts if he even exists]], he is a devout Catholic), their 'gift' (most of the time, Suze views it as a curse for the way it messes up her life), and the age difference (she's sixteen when the series begins; he's in his sixties). [[KindredSpirits Still, they both naturally assume that it's their job to help lost souls to the afterlife, and not all mediators do- as evidenced with Paul.]]
* AlliterativeName: Susannah 'Suze' Simon
* AlphaBitch / LovableAlphaBitch: Zigzagged with Kelly.
* ArrangedMarriage: Jesse and Maria.
* BadassPreacher: Father Dominic
* BettyAndVeronica: Suze between Jesse (Betty) and Paul (Veronica). However,as a ghost, Jesse is not exactly a safe choice. In fact, on the surface Paul seems like a safe choice for someone like Suze. He's a mediator, he goes to school with her, he's conventionally attractive, and he makes it clear that he's interested. It's Jesse who seems forbidden.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Sleepy, albeit inconsistently. He rescues Suze at the end of the first book and balls her out like a parent would. He believes that Suze is in some sort of gang, which comes up occasionally, such as when he believes that Jesse is a gangbanger from the valley. When he finds out she borrowed his keys to sneak out, Sleepy tells her that he doesn't think gangs are cool, but whatever she's doing is her business and to put gas in the car. On the other hand, he's very protective when Micheal Meducci comes along.
* BlessedWithSuck: Suze's initial opinion of being a Mediator.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Marcus Beaumont in the Ninth Key.

* DumbJock: Brad/Dopey.

* InSeriesNickname: Suze refers to her new stepbrothers as [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Sleepy, Dopey and Doc]].

* LatinLover: Jesse

** [[AvertedTrope Averted]] somewhat with Father Dominic, Suze's principal; he's a mediator too, and winds up becoming a much-trusted confidant for Suze, often helping her work out her problems the way a therapist might. It has mixed results, mostly thanks to their opinions on God, their 'gift', and the age difference. Still, they both naturally assume that it's their job to help lost souls to the afterlife.

Suze Simon has a problem: She's been able to see and speak to ghosts all her life. Things have gotten especially bad now that her mom has remarried and Suze has three new stepbrothers...and a very sexy guy hanging out in her bedroom. Too bad the guy's been dead for a hundred and fifty years.

* Shadowland
* Ninth Key
* Reunion
* Darkest Hour
* Haunted
* Twilight

* AllTherapistsAreMuggles: Suze's mother has put her in therapy when they live in New York, but Suze can't really confess everything.