November 11, 2024
Three 12-year-olds find themselves in the center of a chilling mystery in this unsettling page-turner by Currie (The Mystery of Locked Rooms). To secure a position on next year’s school paper staff, budding journalist Josie enlists best friends Alison and Jackson, who is grieving a relative’s recent death, for a clandestine excursion: on Halloween night, the trio sneak into Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery to research the mythical Lady in White, an apparition purportedly photographed at the site decades ago. Startled by police, the group—joined by a charming yet disheveled boy also grieving the death of a close relative—flee the graveyard without paranormal evidence. They later receive horrifying texts stating, “I’m watching,” suggesting that “something evil” has returned with them from their trespass. The group’s warmly funny dynamic adds welcome buoyancy to the story as the preteens are harassed by a terrifying poltergeist. A phantom farmhouse, menacing fake news reports, and an ominous countdown accompany clues that propel the tweens into a frantic supernatural investigation that seems to reach back generations. It’s an eerie mystery boasting horror-movie scares with an assuring tale of friendship at its center. Main characters cue as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Shannon Hassan, Marsal Lyon Literary.
Starred review from January 1, 2025
Gr 3-7-Famed Chicago purveyor of spooky stories Currie sends three tweens to tackle the myths of Bachelor's Grove Cemetery on a Halloween night. Bachelor's Grove in suburban Chicago is one of the most haunted spots in Illinois. Budding journalist Josie and her friends hope to witness the infamous lady in white and the phantom farmhouse. The tweens take in more than they expected when spirits follow them home and harass them through their phones, sending shivers and inciting research. Can Josie and her friends solve the puzzle of the haunting before ghosts overtake her life? Currie pays homage to classic scary movies and includes fun Easter eggs like references to the haunted doll exhibit at the Chicago History Museum, as well as Roald Dahl's The Witches. Readers will be compelled to uncover more about the real-life historic cemetery and the horrific desecration of burial sites. Educators could use this text as a fiction companion to inquiry lessons, social-emotional lessons on civic mindedness, and responsible storytelling. VERDICT To remember is to honor the past, and Currie's Gothic problem-solving horror combines the best of local history with community action. Highly recommended for middle grade shelves.-Laura Dooley-Taylor
Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
December 15, 2024
When looking for ghosts, be prepared for what you might find. Josie and her best friends, Alison and Jackson, write "The Magnifiying Glass," an investigative column for their school newspaper. It's fine but not flashy enough to get them coveted editorial positions when they reach eighth grade next year. That's how they find themselves on Halloween night with a plan to visit the local cemetery to find out whether the "super-famous ghost" known as the Lady in White is actually real--a topic that, if well executed, will make their column unforgettable. The three carefully plan a weekend unfettered by parental supervision in order to conduct their research. Their paranormal encounter begins with all three receiving unsettling, ominous text messages: "I'm watching" and "You have 2 days." The haunting begins in earnest when the kids get home, intensifying from small, explainable things--dirt on the floor, a glitching computer--to clear signs that if the spirits aren't put to rest, the consequences will be dire. Adults remain on the sidelines, raising the stakes and keeping the focus firmly on the relationship among the friends, which feels authentic. The scares feel real, and the central mystery becomes even more interesting from the elements that are rooted in reality and described in the author's note, which includes photos. The three friends are coded white. A shivery, ghostly mystery.(Supernatural. 9-12)
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January 1, 2025
Grades 5-8 Best friends and budding reporters Josie, Alison, and Jackson want to write a groundbreaking article for their school newspaper. So, on Halloween night, they head to their town's old cemetery, hoping to prove the existence of ghosts. Their efforts seem fruitless at first, walking out with nothing but damp, dirty clothes and shattered nerves following a close call with a security guard. Then they start receiving sinister messages on their phones, and weird things keep happening wherever they go. An angry ghost has followed them out of the cemetery, they soon realize, and the intrepid trio must figure out why it's haunting them before the ominous countdown that's appeared on their phones runs out--or else. Brimming with creepy imagery and unsettling scenarios, Currie's latest supernatural mystery is bound to thrill. Historical details are woven naturally into the plot, adding a fascinating layer of fact on top of the haunted happenings, making this story appealing to fans of the curious and unusual. Pair with Holly Black's Doll Bones (2013) and India Hill Brown's The Forgotten Girl (2019).
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