The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki. August 1, 2012. Scholastic Press. 372 pages. Ages 10 - 14.
Summary
After their father abandons the family to pursue his dreams of Hollywood and their mother sinks into a deep depression, Neil Cady and his sister Bree are sent to live with their aunts in rural Pennsylvania.
Once there, Neil is befriended by a local boy named Wesley who tells him about the legend of Graylock Hall, an abandoned psychiatric hospital where several teenagers died mysteriously. A nurse who worked the graveyard shift, Janet Reilly, was believed by some to be responsible for the deaths. Legend has it she hung herself before the investigation was completed and that her ghost now haunts Graylock Hall, looking for new victims.
Neil and Wesley plan to explore Greylock Hall, and are joined by Wesley's older brother Eric. After Bree sees Eric, she decides to go as well. The foursome finds the abandoned hospital to be dirty and very creepy. As they look around and get briefly separated while checking different rooms in the youth wing, Neil finds Bree in Room 13, acting strangely. After he goes inside, the door mysteriously slams shut, trapping them and Neil feels something brush up against him, then he sees a mysterious female figure dressed in white with long brown hair. Finally, the door opens and they all eventually find their way out of the building.
Once safely back at their aunts' house, Neil convinces himself it was just his imagination. But then strange things start happening. Neil and Bree have the same nightmares of being drowned in the lake surrounding Graylock Hall, and awake finding puddles beside their beds. Neil thinks he's sees the mysterious girl in their house and in town. Neil and Bree finally come to the conclusion that they did not leave Graylock Hall alone. Who or what is it, and what does it want with Neil and Bree?
My Thoughts
This is a very fast-paced and creepy ghost story, perfect for the older kids who can handle it, or for adults such as myself who are not a fan of true adult horror, but like a good ghost story with a happy ending and no gore. This would not be a good book for more sensitive or suggestible readers. The suspense starts to build immediately as the tweens & teens break into Graylock Hall in the second chapter and have their first encounter with the ghost, and continues throughout the book. I thought the characters were relatable and I liked how they stood up to their self-absorbed father in the ends.
I decided to read this book after one of the tweens in my middle school book discussion group suggested it as a read-alike for Holly Black's Doll Bones. I found The Ghost of Graylock to be even creepier and spookier than Doll Bones, partly because it starts out with them exploring the creepy asylum right in the beginning. Also, I think what made it even scarier is that in Doll Bones the identity of the ghost and what she wanted were known right away, whereas in Graylock, they do not know who the ghost is or why she is haunting them until the latter part of the book.
I would recommend this for anyone requesting a good, scary story.
Other Books By This Author
Dan Poblocki has written several other supernatural thrillers for older readers, including The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, The Stone Child, and The Nightmarys, as well as a milder mystery series for slightly younger readers, The Mysterious Four, in which four friends solve all kinds of mysteries in sixclues or less.
Doll Bones by Holly Black. May 7, 2013. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 256 pages. Ages 10-14.
Summary
Zach, Poppy, and Alice have been best friends since they were little, engaging in a continuous "game" where they imagine and act out all kinds of adventures with characters they make up. These characters are represented by dolls and action figures, and headed by The Queen, an old porcelain doll Poppy's mother keeps locked in her curio cabinet.
But now that they are twelve, things are changing. They are all growing and changing, both physically and emotionally, developing other interests, and they are all dealing with issues at home. Poppy's parents are never home and her older siblings are known for getting in trouble, Alice must live with her strict, over-protective grandmother after the tragic death of her parents, and Zach struggles with accepting the re-appearance of his father after a 3-year absence. His father is overly-concerned with what other people will think of Zach hanging out with girls and playing with "dolls", and throws Zach's action figures away.
As all this is going on, Poppy shows the others that she took The Queen out of the cabinet, and since then has been having strange dreams about a dead girl named Eleanor whose ashes were used to make The Queen. She believes the spirit of the dead girl is attached to the doll and is haunting her, asking Poppy to return her to her home and bury her in her family plot. At first Alice and Zach think Poppy has made up a new game, but agree to go along because it sounds like a great adventure. But as they embark on their quest, strange things happen that make them wonder if the doll really is haunted.
Will they be able to complete their quest and maintain their friendships? Is the doll really haunted?
My Thoughts
I first read this book after it was named a 2014 Newbery Honor book, and re-read it recently in preparation for a middle-school book club discussion group. This book has a fast-paced plot that is part coming-of-age story, part thriller. The first time I read it was around the time the movie "Annabelle" came out about a possessed doll, and I would liken this book to a PG version of "Annabelle" for kids. I really enjoyed this story, that is both character- and plot-driven. The characters are relatable to other kids around that age who are also experiencing similar "growing pains" as their bodies, relationships, families, and interests change. The story behind the doll is creepy and a little gruesome, but gives the story a nice edge without being too much.
Another little detail that I appreciated was the references to several other books of children's literature: Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, The Witches, and The Twits; Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and Rick Riodan's Percy Jackson series.
Having both male and female characters, and having the story told from the male characters point of view, will make it appealing to both boys and girls. I think this book would appeal to a large range of readers with it's different layers, but I would recommend it in particular to those looking for something with a little more complexity to the plot, or specifically asking for something spooky or dealing with friendships and coming-of-age. I would encourage all readers to at least give it a try.
Other Books By This Author
Holly Black is also the co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and the author of two other fantasy series, Modern Faerie Tales and The Curse Workers.
In The Shadow Of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. April 2, 2013. Harry N. Adams. 400 pages. Ages teen & up.
Summary
1918 was a terrible year for much of the world. Between The Great War and the Spanish flu epidemic, disease, destruction, and death where everywhere. In a time filled with fear and loss, people were desperate for comfort and security, which led to a renewed interest in Spiritualism, often turning to questionable sources such as seances and so-called "spirit photography". There was also a pervasive fear and distrust of anything German or remotely "un-American".
It was during this horrible year that sixteen-year old Mary Shelley Black, named after the Frankenstein author, found herself escaping Portland following the arrest of her father for treason, and fleeing to San Diego, to live with her aunt. Coincidentally, her childhood sweetheart's family had also relocated to the area previously, though Stephen was now gone to fight in the war. Stephen's older half-brother Julius remained, and was now engaged in the questionable business of spirit photography, which provided desperate people some comfort. Mary Shelley does not like or trust Julius, and believes his supposed photos capturing the spirits of deceased loved ones are a result of tricks of photography, not actual spirits.
Tragically, they soon receive word that Stephen has been killed in battle, and Mary Shelley finds herself overcome with grief. Worse, she begins to be haunted by visions of Stephen and sometimes hears his voice whispering in her ear. At first she believes these are dreams or hallucinations brought on by grief and fears she may be losing her mind, since she does not believe in ghosts. However, she is soon convinced that she really is being visited by Stephen's spirit, and that he is very troubled and needs her help to find peace. Stephen does not seem to understand that he is dead or how he died, and is terrified of horrible bird-like creatures that are torturing him.
The more Mary Shelley is visited by Stephen's spirit, the more she begins to question what happened to him and if the version of his death they were told is really the truth. Will she be able to help him find peace, before she falls victim to the flu epidemic? What is the truth?
My Thoughts
I initially chose this book because the name of the main character caught my attention, first thinking "Mary Shelley...wasn't that....?", then realizing once I started reading that this was not a coincidence. I really enjoyed this relatively fast-paced novel that is part history, part ghost story. It had so many components, the historical point of view reflecting the fear and grief of the times and the interest in Spiritualism, the love story of Stephen and Mary Shelley, photography, and mystery. It made for a good story that had just the right degree of spookiness for a good pre-Halloween read (as I'm not a fan of horror). I loved how smart, strong, and independent Mary Shelley was, believing in science and not superstitions.
Another thing I appreciated was how the book tied the realities of WWI and the Spanish flu pandemic together. Although I was aware that each had happened around that time, I had always had them compartmentalized them in my mind, always thinking of them singularly, never really thinking about them going on simultaneously, and what that world would be like. I would imagine not one family escaped being touched by death from one or the other, or both. I also like how it incorporated actual photographs from the era, including some alleged spirit photos. They added another element of spooky to the book.
I think this book could appeal to a wide range of readers, having something to offer fans of historical fiction, romance, mysteries, and ghost stories alike. I would encourage anyone looking for something subtly-spooky or something a little different to give it a try.
Other Books By This Author
In The Shadow Of Blackbirds was Cat Winters' debut novel. Her second young adult novel, A Cure For Dreaming, was released October 14, 2014, followed by her first novel for adults, The Uninvited, in August of 2015. She has two novels due to come out in 2016, a young adult novel titled The Steep And Thorny Way, and a second novel for adults titled Yesternight. She is also a contributor to the 2015 horror anthology Monster Girls and Slasher Boys.
Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar. August 4, 2015. Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 192 pages. Ages 10 and up.
Summary
To fifth-grader Tamaya, the rules seem to be changing, and she seems to be the only one who doesn't know what is socially acceptable anymore. Marshall, the 7th grade boy next door who walks with her to school is also having problems at school thanks to the new kid, and bully, Chad, who has targeted him for some reason and turned all his friends against him.
In order to avoid the fight Chad challenged him to, Marshall decides to cut through the woods. Tamaya doesn't want to go, but she is not supposed to walk home alone, so she reluctantly accompanies him. Soon, it become apparent that Marshall is lost, and to make matters worse, Chad has followed them. Chad begins beating Marshall, and Tamaya tries to defend her friend and grabs a handful of strange, fuzzy mud and throws it in Chad's face, allowing her and Marshall to escape, but not before Chad threatens both of them.
Later, Tamaya's hand begins to feel strange, and breaks out in a rash. By the next day, her hand is covered in bloody blisters, and the rash is spreading up her arm. She is certain it has something to do with the strange mud in the woods that she threw in Chad's face. Then, she is learns that Chad is missing and fears he could be in real danger from the mud and sets off to search for him, feeling responsible.
What will Chad do to her if she finds him? What is in the strange mud?
My Thoughts
I found the story to be fast-paced with main characters that many kids could relate to. It is part sci-fi mystery-thriller, but it also has an underlying theme about bullying and coming of age as it shows how both Marshall and Tamaya struggle to negotiate the ever-changing rules of the tween social structure and in the end explains what led to Chad's bad behavior and bullying. Of course, being a middle-grade novel, in the end the three of them become friends and all is forgiven.
Having read Sachar's Holes, Small Steps, and There's A Boy In The Girls' Bathroom, I expected this book to be more along those lines, realistic fiction with young male protagonists dealing with difficult situations, and was a little disappointed. Fuzzy Mud is fine for what it is, but I found it to be much more similar to R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series than the Sachar books I was familiar with (not having read the Wayside School books). This book would definitely appeal to Goosebumps fans. As it deals with the dangers of scientific research gone amok due to carelessness or arrogance, I would suggest readers who enjoy this might go on to enjoy some of Michael Crichton's works when they get older.
12-Year Old Son's Verdict
My son also read this book and said he really liked it and hoped Sachar would write more like it. He agreed with my assessment that it seemed very Goosebumps-esque, but a bit more realistic.
Sweet by Emmy Laybourne, June 2, 2015. Feiwel & Friends, 288 pages. Young Adult
Summary
Laurel has been invited to join her friend Vivika on an all-expense paid luxury cruise. And not just any luxury cruise, but a celebrity-filled "Cruise To Lose" to launch Solu, the breakthrough new artificial sweetener that enhances weight loss. But Laurel is starting to regret accepting Viv's invitation. Unlike her friend, Laurel is content with her curves, and she feels out of place among the B-list celebs and wealthy people that make up most of the passengers. Then, to make matters worse, she gets seasick and throws up on the feet of the hottest guy around, former child actor Tom Forelli.
Tom Forelli is no longer the cute, chubby child actor known for his role as "Baby Tom-Tom." Thanks to working with his personal trainer and focusing on eating healthy food, he is now a nineteen-year old heartthrob, but still waiting to be taken seriously as an actor. In the meantime, he has been booked as the celebrity host for the Solu "Cruise To Lose". Having been burned by a recent relationship with another celebrity, he is not interested in the shipboard "romance" his publicist has arranged, and instead finds himself drawn to a shy, curvy, non-celebrity passenger.
As Tom and Laurel get to know each other, they begin to notice that Viv and the other passengers who have been using Solu are starting to act strange, which reinforces their decisions not to try it. Soon they realize just how addictive Solu is, and the lengths their fellow passengers will go to in order to get it, and they must get to safety and get the word out before it is released on the open market. Can they convince Viv and Tom's publicist Tamara to join them?
My Thoughts
Sweet is a frightening thriller because it seems so plausible. I'm sure many people would be tempted to go on such a cruise to try some type of miracle drug, and it would be truly bad if things went wrong while people were trapped together in close quarters. This story served to further reinforce my lack of interest in ever going on a cruise. It also provides commentary on society's pressure to be thin versus accepting yourself and focusing on being healthy, as well as the dangers of the lack of regulation and testing of supplements.
I would recommend Sweet to readers who enjoy thrillers and mild horror, and I think it would also appeal to the zombie crowd as there are similar elements of people being changed into monsters, either figuratively or literally. It might also appeal to those who are into conspiracies, whether corporate or government.
Other Books By This Author
The Monument 14 series, about a group of 14 kids surviving apocalyptic events, and Expelled, a short e-novella that is the prequel to Sweet and details the original development of Solu.
It is also interesting to note that Emmy Laybourne is a former character actor, probably best known for her role as Mary-Katherine Gallagher's friend Helen in the film, Superstar.
