Behold the Bones

December 1, 2015
Following Beware the Wild (2014), Candy and the supernatural swamp have unfinished business. Practical Candy, determined to leave small-town Southern life and bumpkin stigmas behind her, wants nothing to do with the supernatural happenings of the local swamp. But after her birthday--a strange family celebration, as Candy is the latest to be burdened with their family curse, in which a new bearer is born the same day the last one dies--the ghostly activity starts picking up. This frustrates supernatural-repellent Candy, the only one who can't see ghosts or the Shine. It also lures in the King family, headed by a ghost-hunter television star and including three kids: a small child, a reckless teenage girl, and the prerequisite attractive new boy who will--as one does in paranormal novels--eventually warn Candy to stay away from him as he shouldn't be trusted. Happily, the romantic storylines are secondary to Candy's wonderful friendships and familial relationships. At a huge, fancy party thrown by the Kings, a spirit arrives and Candy banishes it, giving her an unwanted reputation and attracting attention, as the town is plagued by more and more ghosts. What to do? Ghost-handling fame would ensure that Candy would never be taken seriously anywhere else. Candy's practical motivations combine with a witty, inventive narrative voice, creating one heck of a heroine. Shines with spooky Southern charm. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Readers return to Sticks, LA, in this companion novel to 2014's Beware the Wild (HarperCollins). Seventeen-year-old Candy Pickens has an unusual relationship to the equally unusual swamp and the magic, or Shine, that dwells within it. Her family has always been a little odd. For generations, there always comes a time when a child is born at the moment an older relative dies. Candy is the most recent family member to share her birthday with a death date, and her family celebrates this "honor" with a graveyard ceremony each year. If that isn't odd enough, Candy is one of the few people in town who can't see the ghosts that are everywhere, and she has the unique ability to repel the Shine. Like many teens, Candy wants to be seen as normal, so she and her best friends, Sterling and Abby, enter the swamp in an effort for Candy to gain the ability to see as others do. The teen gets more than she bargained for when she discovers that not only can she see ghosts but she seems to be able to make them disappear as well. Unfortunately, her new gift is captured by television cameras and garners the attention of a famous ghost hunter and his family. Suddenly, Candy is in high demand. Less atmospheric and more rushed than Beware the Wild, this novel is at its strongest when conjuring ghostly images and madness. The television story line is less successful, often breaking the tension the author has worked to create, rather than adding to it. VERDICT Fans of the first novel will enjoy this, but some of the chills from the previous title are missing.-Heather Webb, Worthington Libraries, OH

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