A Gust of Ghosts

April 15, 2012
Life is hard when you think like a scientist and your parents are ghost hunters. Graveyard visits are nothing new to Poppy Malone and her siblings--twin brother, older sister and 5-year-old brother. They're accustomed to moving from one place to another as their parents attempt to document ghostly apparitions and other paranormal incidents. When Poppy unknowingly "invites" a troupe of ghosts into their house, she seizes the opportunity to capture them on film and save her parents' grant funding from being cut off. But, how to get rid of them? The ghosts are stock characters: an older Shakespearean actor, a lone, heartbroken cowboy, two bossy women, a mischievous boy and even a dog. While the opening is chaotic and fairly predictable, hijinks ensue and Poppy's scientific explanations add a touch of reality. Pale on characterization, dependent on plot and urban myths, this "gust" is more of a light breeze. Second in a preteen series of spooky stories, the lure of ghosts will attract readers, particularly those who have read the first one (A Gaggle of Goblins, 2010). (Fantasy. 8-12)

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June 1, 2012

Gr 3-6-Nine-year-old Poppy Malone is beleaguered from the beyond in this sequel to A Gaggle of Goblins (HarperCollins, 2011). Fooled by a group of ghosts into freeing these creatures from the confines of a cemetery, Poppy, her siblings, and a friend must find a way to return them to their resting place before they wreak complete havoc on the Malone home. However, before they are spirited away, Poppy must also manage to get evidence of the ghosts to help her parents keep a grant to support their research of otherworldly events. This is a fairly entertaining read, with the best scenes belonging to the kids. The adults are annoying, and not in that humorous, grown-ups-are-so-weird way. Harper seems to handle her younger characters better, which is fine, since her audience will be more interested in them anyway. The book is a little slow to rev up, but once the plot is on the move, readers will laugh at the antics of the ghosts and cheer on Poppy's plan to rein them in.-Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR

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