Beastly Bones

By William Ritter

In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R.F. Jackaby, are called upon to investigate the supernatural.

First, members of a particularly vicious species of shapeshifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens. A day later, their owner is found murdered, with a single mysterious puncture wound to her neck. Then, in a nearby Gad’s Valley, dinosaur bones from a recent dig go missing, and an unidentifiable beast attacks animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Policeman Charlie Cane, exiled from new Fiddleham to the valley, calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer.

This sequel to “Jackaby” is just as oddly cute as the first book. This book centers more on Abigail than Jackaby, however, and has a more definite young adult book feel to it. I enjoyed the first book because it was quirky and reminded me strongly of Doctor Who with the unconventional protagonist of R.F. Jackaby, who I’m convinced we will never know his actual first name (Coincidence? I think not). Abigail is fine as a narrator, but she does start to grate on my nerves a little in this one. She can be a little too contradictory in nature. She’s described as an independent thinker, but she also comes across as being slow. I understand that it can be difficult to write giving the reader more information than the characters have, but if not handled very well it makes the characters seem stupid when they aren’t. I wish the book focused a little more on the mystery of Jackaby. There are a lot of blanks to fill in with him that I would like to know about. It was rather disappointing to see this turn in plot for the series and I’m hoping that it won’t be exclusively about Abigail. She is slotted as the book’s ‘everyman’ that the reader will be able to identify with, but Jacaby is so much more interesting that it’s because of him that I’ll keep reading. While I didn’t like this sequel as much as the first, I still plan on reading the next book which is about another interesting character, the original owner of Jackaby’s house, the ghost, Jenny.

I give this a 3 out of 5

Lockwood and Co The Screaming Staircase

By Jonathan Stroud

A sinister Problem has occurred in London: all nature of ghosts, haunts, spirits, and specters are appearing throughout the city, and they aren’t exactly friendly. Only young people have the psychic abilities required to see—and eradicate—these supernatural foes. Many different Psychic Detection Agencies have cropped up to handle the dangerous work, and they are in fierce competition for business. In The Screaming Staircase, the plucky and talented Lucy Carlyle teams up with Anthony Lockwood, the charismatic leader of Lockwood and Co, a small agency that runs independent of any adult supervision. After an assignment leads to both a grisly discovery and a disastrous end, Lucy, Anthony, and their sarcastic colleague, George, are forced to take part in the perilous investigation of Combe Carey Hall, one of the most haunted houses in England. Will Lockwood and Co. survive the Hall’s legendary Screaming Staircase and Red Room to see another day?

In a future time when the world shifts and everything changes, ghosts, ghouls, revnants, and foul creatures of death haunt (literally) everyone. It’s called ‘The Problem’ and nobody knows why it happened. All anybody has been able to discover is that only kids under the age of 18 have the psychic know-how to see and deal with these unwelcome visitors from beyond the grave. Lucy Carlyle is new to London, and finds a job with the only agency in town that is exclusively run by adolescents. Anthony Lockwood is the owner of Lockwood and Co, and as enigmatic as they come. Lucy is a talented psychic and Lockwood doesn’t ask too many questions. So now they are three. George is their researcher, Lockwood their point-man, and Lucy is the Listener and backup for Lockwood. When on what seems to be a routine assignment at a haunting, Lockwood and Co discover a sinister ghost with serious power, and a grisly secret. Barely surviving the encounter, the team is lead to the most haunted house in England, Combe Carey Hall, and the rumors of the Screaming Staircase.

I’m a huge fan of ghost stories. I don’t like horror in general, but I like a good spooky old-fashioned ghost story. This was perfect for me. It wasn’t nightmare-inducing but it was creepy in all the right kinds of ways. There was murder, ghosts, revenge, creepy whispers, lights, and sounds. It was a mystery and an adventure. I don’t much care for Lucy, but Lockwood is a strange kid that I’m dying to know what happened to him and his family. I can’t wait to uncover his story. The Screaming Staircase was a fun eerie read with a good humor and late-night story with a flashlight kind of tale.

I give it a 3.75 out of 5

To Be Read at Dusk

By Charles Dickens

There isn’t really a synopsis for this short story by Dickens, so I’ll just summarize and review right here. This is a story about a man who is watching a beautiful sunset in the Swiss Alps and happens to evesdrop on five couriers as they tell a ghost story. While not particularly frightening for people who are used to gore and movies like Ouija and The Ring, it is a nice little ghost story for the time period and a quick fun read. I can’t really explain more without giving things away. So, if you like Dickens, if you like a traditional ghost story, then this is worth the hour it takes to read it. Oh, and I recommend taking the author's advice. Read it at dusk!

I give it a 3 out of 5- average.

An Unlikely Match

By Sarah M. Eden

It isn’t every day an impoverished young gentlemen inherits a sizable fortune and an estate. Nickolas Pritchard, not only impoverished and young, but a gentleman as well, felt his luck acutely the day just such a remarkable inheritance fell upon him.

The future has never looked brighter for once penniless Nickolas Pritchard. Now in possession of an unforeseen legacy from a distant cousin, he can finally woo the exquisite Miss Castleton, belle of the London Season. What better setting for matchmaking that Ty Mynydd, his ancestral home nestled in the untamed hills of Wales? Ideal indeed…except for the ghost.

For nearly four hundred years, Gwen has walked the halls of the home in which she lived—and died a mysterious death. But despite centuries as the reigning force within her ancient residence, nothing prepares her for the charm and unexpected appeal of Englishman Nickolas.

A deep and abiding affection grows between the two, tempered by the unbreakable barrier that separates them. They cannot possibly hope for a happily ever after. There can be no future between a man yet living and a woman long dead.

But how can Nickolas possibly give Gwen up? And how can Gwen face an eternity without Nickolas?

This was a fun concept for a romance novel. It’s set in regency times and takes place in Wales. Gwen comes from a time long gone, so this could probably be loosely in the historical romance genre. The interplay between Nickolas and Gwen, a man and a ghost, is the best part of this book. It’s a cute byplay, if a little too easily won romance, despite the obvious barrier of life and death. The mystery within the book still leaves me a bit mystified honestly. It all felt…fuzzy. That being said, it was a fluffy little piece that was pretty fun to read, but I do prefer Sarah Eden’s other novels that leaves the supernatural alone.

I give it a 2.75, because it’s just a little below average for the author and genre.

The Madness Underneath

By Maureen Johnson

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Roy Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggest she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory’s brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she’s become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city’s secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidenced that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it’s too late.

 

Oh where do I start? I enjoyed the first book in The Shades of London series, as the Jack the Ripper stuff really balanced out well with the silly and humorous doings of a White Chapel boarding school. Rory was always a bit over-the-top for me, but the undertones of ghosts and murders really toned her down. This second book however, felt like a romp on the un-believable and hormonal express. Rory is inexplicably jerking from one emotion to the next (even more so than is normal for a girl) and without suitable explaination does some truly idiotic decision-making. I was so out of patience with both the characters and the story by the end that I can tell you I won’t be reading any more of this series. Things happened in the plot that seemed to happen just because the author wanted them to, the characters felt a lot like marionettes that suddenly were jerked from stage left to stage right for no apparent reason. I’m disappointed, but no recommendation for this one. Skip it and be happy with the first.

I give it a 1.5 out of 5

The Name of the Star

By Maureen Johnson

 The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it’s the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper in the autumn of 1888.

Soon “Rippermania” takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man the police now believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was with her at the time, didn’t notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

 So I was obsessed with ghost stories as a kid, and this book was like going back to those times. I really enjoyed the tone and the story of this novel, which can dip into the darker themes at time (it is a book about Jack the Ripper).  I appreciated the history of Jack-the-Ripper with the map in the front with the area of White Chapel, it helped ground me. Also, having the protagonist from the U.S. going to London helped me get a feel for London in much the same way I would if I went, being from the U.S. myself. I enjoyed Rory’s point of view of living in London and the way people were the same and different from what she expected. There were plenty of funny moments that lightened an otherwise potentially dark book. I really enjoyed the mystery and the paranormal element and look forward to the next book, hoping it will keep the same tone, light, fantastical, and a little edgy.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5 but it’s really closer to 4!

Everlost

By Neal Shusterman


Nick and Allie don’t survive the car accident, but their souls don’t exactly get where they’re supposed to go either. Instead, they’re caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It’s a magical, yet dangerous place where bands of lost kids run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth.
When they find Mary, the self-proclaimed queen of lost souls, Nick feels like he’s found a home, but Allie isn’t satisfied spending eternity between worlds. Against all warnings, Allie begins learning the “Criminal Art” of haunting, and ventures into dangerous territory, where a monster called the McGill threatens all the souls of Everlost.
In this imaginative novel, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between.


So I've always been a sucker for ghost stories, and I really enjoyed Neal Shusterman's version of 'limbo' for kids. In the world of Everlost, it's only full of kids because, well, kids aren't really sure of things yet so they can get knocked off course before they "get where they are going". This is a really creative ghost world ruled and managed by kids who are just trying to figure out how to survive their afterlife. There is a lot questioned about death and purpose in his books and it's fun to go along with the protagonists Nick and Allie. Allie is more impulsive and adventurous, questioning everything. Nick is a lot more reserved but ends up being a very courageous and right-minded sort of kid. This book is the first in a series, the Skinjacker trilogy. I really enjoyed this first one and have the second in my possession, so I'll let you know how the next books stack up.

4 out of 5

The Graveyard Book

By Neil Gaiman


Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy—an ancient Indigo Man beneath the hill, a gateway to a desert leading to an abandoned city of ghouls, the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer.
But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under the attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod’s family…


This book was pretty cool. A kid who grows up in a graveyard with ghosts for parents? Talk about interesting reading. The fun thing about this book is it reads like a series of clips taken from Bod's life and experiences as he ages. It's only about 300 pages, but it feels like Mr. Gaiman took pains to make Bod's character sure. It covers Bod's experiences with goul gates, hounds of god, ghosts in general, hauntings, and fear. Body's story is both coming of age with a twist, a mystery, and a perpetual adventure.  It's a great spooky story about a kid who has to figure out what a living means while surrounded by the dead. Perhaps Bod knows what living is better than anyone else...

Wait till Helen Comes

By Mary Downing Hahn


Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we’re stuck with her…our “poor stepsister” who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire.
But now something terrible has happened. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home—a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond…to drown! I don’t want to believe in ghosts, but I’ve followed Heather into the graveyard and watched her talk to Helen. And I’m terrified. Not for myself, but for Heather…


Mary Downing Hahn was my favorite author as a kid. I was sort of a ghost story junkie and her books had just the right amount of creepy and weren't ever gory. This book was my favorite and I used to read it at least once a year. I decided to re-read it out of nostalgia, and I found that it is a bit of a low-level book for adults, but I still heartily recomend it for kids in elementary. Especially around this time of year when they might want a good ghost story that will leave them satisfied and a little shivery (but not completely freaked out!) They are great books for not giving nightmares, but delivering satisfaction for your little ghost lovers!