Hex Hall by Hawkins

This is a fun, sometimes creepy supernatural mystery. It takes place in Hecate Hall which is a boarding/reform school for kids over aged 12 with extraordinary powers. Here there are fairies, shapeshifters, dark and white witches, vampires and the like. All have used their powers with spectacular results in front of folks without special powers. These displays draw hunters of supernatural beings out and cause slaughters. So the kids are taken to this school and kept safe by various magics until they are adults. Sophie didn't know she had such powers. She didn't know her father was a powerful member of the school's board. Then she tries a disastrous love spell on her friend which gets her sent away, fast. A murder has just taken place at the school. A vampire is blamed though she is innocent. Sophie becomes involved in a round about way. The ghost of her grandmother appears to her and begins to teach her magic saying Sophie's powers are extremely great, greater than any of those of the other witches in the school. Sophie has detention with a hunk of a young man after an altercation in front of a teacher. He eventually turns out not to be who people think him to be. There are two more attempted murders and another successful one until Sophie figures out who the bad guy is and why. She also finds out what her true powers are and those of the father she has never met. I think Ally Carter's fans would like this one. I enjoyed the humor in it and in Carter's books. jdw 8/3/10