Sydney Mackenzie Knocks 'Em Dead

February 1, 2017
A haunted house helps Sydney make friends in a new community.Eighth grader Sydney Mackenzie, a white girl, arrives home from school one day to the horrifying news that her parents have decided to move across the country to Delaware. She is forced to leave her life in LA so that her parents can run a recently inherited family-owned cemetery business. After a cross-country drive, her family finally arrives in the small town of Buttermilk River Cove, population 800. Their home is something out of a scary movie: an old, weathered Victorian, with cemetery plots serving as the front lawn. Sydney decides she must do her best to communicate her California cool to the kids at her new school. She quickly learns that the local kids couldn't care less about her being from California and are more intrigued about her living at the town cemetery. After admitting to some new friends that she believes her house is haunted, Sydney has a seance to investigate. What comes next is an unveiling of a deeper story about the Underground Railroad. Callaghan creates two stories; what at first seems to be a "new city-girl in a small town" story slowly slips from Sydney's desperation to make friends into the haunting tale of the ghost of an enslaved girl that seems to communicate with Sydney. The story's ending feels more than a bit contrived, stumbling badly with a tragic attempt at humor that makes a mockery of slavery and undermines what is mostly a solid book. A deeply flawed story of hidden history literally buried within a small white town. (author's note, recipes) (Mystery. 9-13)

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April 1, 2017

Gr 5-8-West Coast native Sydney Mackenzie is not ready to give up suntans and her friends when she and her family inherit a creepy cemetery in Delaware. It is not exactly the laid-back, chic location this California dreamer wants to call home, and, to make matters worse, the old Victorian house the Mackenzies move into is on the cemetery grounds. As Sydney begins to acclimate herself to this new life, she meets local kids who think living in the town cemetery is cool and exciting. After admitting to her new friends that she believes that the house is haunted, the kids hold a seance. In a surprising plot twist, they discover the story of an enslaved girl with ties to the Underground Railroad. The girl, Ivy Shaw, communicates with Sydney. Sydney feels compelled to learn the secrets of Ivy Shaw's life-leading her and her friends on a mystery worthy of the Hardy Boys. What starts as a "city mouse in the country" novel quickly evolves into an absorbing mystery exploring the history of American slavery. Though the narrative does deepen at this point, the inclusion of typical middle grade humor (fart jokes and silly pranks) often sits uncomfortably with the heavier themes. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries looking to increase their mystery offerings.-Brittney Kosev, Honey/Rush Elementary, Lubbock, TX

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