School Spirits

October 28, 2013
Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick doesn’t have a typical home life. Her family hunts monsters, or at least they did until her sister went missing. Ever since the disappearance, Izzy’s head hasn’t been in the game. Hoping to provide her with a less challenging foe, Izzy’s mother sends her to a normal school to investigate a ghostly occurrence. But Izzy is soon distracted by her first experiences at high school. In this first person narrative, Cris Dukehart deftly captures Izzy. She skillfully handles the book’s quips and sarcasm, and perfectly portrays Izzy’s inner doubts and guilt. Dukehart’s voices for the book’s human characters are consistent and appropriate. However, the voices she lends the book’s monsters sometimes fall flat. Still, fans of Hawkins’s Hex Hall series will find this a lively and enjoyable listening experience. Ages 12-18. A Disney-Hyperion hardcover.

Starred review from April 1, 2013
Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick comes from generations of monster hunters. Witches, vampires, faeries, werewolves—her forebears have dealt with them all, and mostly come out on top. But ever since Izzy’s older sister disappeared a year ago while confronting a coven of witches, Izzy and her mother have become the last of the Brannicks. Keeping up the family business, the two of them move to a small Mississippi town to investigate a simple haunting. Naturally, nothing is quite that easy: the vengeful ghost is unusually powerful, the cute new boy in town has a mysterious aura of power around him, and homeschooled Izzy needs to learn how to make friends and survive her first high school experience. A charming and zippy paranormal mystery, Hawkins’s self-contained spinoff from her Hex Hall series is built around a likeable bunch of characters including a heroine who is smart, kind, and resourceful, and a team of refreshingly non-stereotypical friends. Ace plotting, snappy dialogue, unexpected twists, and an exhilarating finale will have readers eager for more. Ages 12–18. Agent: Holly Root, Waxman Leavell Literary Agency.