Haunted

March 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-Near the end of Phoebe's sophomore year, her family abruptly moves from San Francisco to her stepfather's sprawling ancestral home in England. Phoebe is convinced the move is a result of something awful she did back in California, but her tense family won't talk about it-or much else, for that matter. The house itself seems to send out a dark and hungry vibe, putting the teen even more on edge. Feeling emotionally abandoned by her family, she enlists the help of Miles, a cute local boy who is surrounded by the same cloud of bewildered loneliness, to investigate the terrifying history of the estate. The reasons why Phoebe and Miles have such difficulty maintaining a firm grasp on the world around them is revealed about two thirds of the way through the story, allowing the characters to acknowledge what savvy readers will have already picked up on. The titular haunting is multilayered and centers on a grotesque villain who delivers camp and true horror. The writing sometimes wanders into flowery territory, and the tone is a little hard to pin down. The final showdown, however, involves a complex chain of heroics, redemption, and forgiveness that strikes the right cord of sincere emotion. The ending leaves things open, hinting at a love triangle that may be a bit of a stretch. VERDICT A slightly gruesome haunted house story that will appeal to paranormal romance readers who also crave light horror.-Beth McIntyre, Madison Public Library, WI

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Grades 8-11 Punished for something pretty awful, Phoebe is trying to deal with whatever she did, as well as her family's impending move to a crumbling castle in the English countryside. Their new home, though, is decrepit, and, because of odd noises in the night, probably haunted. Her suspicions are confirmed when she meets sexy Miles, who tells her terrible tales of her house's freaky, former residents. Worse still, she's certain the ghost of Madame Arnaud is out to get her little sister, Tabby, and she hasn't been able to get her parents to believe her or even talk to her since the move. Can she save her family from a terrible fate, even if she's already succumbed to her own? Carthage is a pseudonym for historical-fiction veteran Erika Mailman, and this is her first young adult novel. She takes a sharp, twisting turn away from the traditional haunted-house scares and happens upon something far spookier. Though horror aficionados may see the shocking surprise coming, newbies to the genre might still get the heebie-jeebies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)