Lockwood & Co - The Screaming Staircase
by Jonathan Stroud
Ooh, this is a scary one. It's marketed for 9-12s, but I'm not sure I'd give it to my just turned 11-year old yet! But if your child likes to be spooked, then go ahead. The whole book is on a par with the first chapter of Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney (a great series), which I also found quite scary and warn the young ones about (we keep it in our teen section at work).
Saying that, I really enjoyed this book. Lockwood & Co are a group of 3 children who are hired to dispose of ghosts, poltergeists, basically anything paranormal. It's set in modern day London where the 'Problem' (ie, hauntings) is rife. However, it is only children who have strong powers of sensing the paranormal, so they are trained to go out specifically to remove the Problem. The adults hover in safety at the front door.
After a job goes slightly wrong and the media backlash is brutal, Anthony, Lucy and George struggle to keep their business afloat. That is until they are approached by the famous Mr Fairfax, who employs them to get rid of many 'Visitors' from his ancient home. The only thing is, the previous children who've attempted the job have not come out alive. Will the 3 young ghost hunters survive the night's ordeal?
This is the first book in a series, and I look forward to reading the next one!
The Great Unexpected
by Sharon Creech
A wonderful tale of unexpected family ties spanning two continents - with a little bit of a ghost story thrown in too - oh, and a fairy ring!
Naomi and Lizzie are best friends in a small American village called Blackbird Tree. The main thing they have in common is that they are both orphans. Naomi is looked after by Nula and Joe - Nula came to America from her home country Ireland when she was a teenager. Lizzie is with foster parents - her only family is apparently a mad aunt living in Ireland. Thus the seeds of family ties are sown, and grow as the story grows. It is helped along the way by a mysterious young lad, Finn, who falls out of a tree one day in front of Naomi. He has a strange accent, and also a strange ability to appear and disappear at random moments - usually when Naomi is thinking of him. The stories of old Mrs Kavanagh and her friend Pilpenny in Ireland, and Naomi and Lizzie in America, are interwoven beautifully, helped along by all the other strange and eccentric characters in Blackbird Tree, each of them with their own secrets and stories to tell.
I just loved this!
The Haunting of Tabitha Grey
by Vanessa Curtis
Tabitha's dad has a new job as Keeper of Weston Manor, so Tabitha, her brother Ben, her mum and dad move into the flat in one of the manor's wings. It seems this move should be a 'fresh start' for the family, but we are not immediately told what has happened. Tabitha's mum is on medication and sleeping pills, Ben never speaks (he is five, Tabs is 15), and the Dad is easily distracted by the pretty young receptionist at the manor, Dawn. However, the manor is haunted, but only Tabitha sees the ghosts, and her dad doesn't believe her. Tabitha is all alone in her nightmare until the security guard, Sid, tells her a bit more about the manor and its past inhabitants. He says he too has seen the ghosts. The lady ghost is after something that Tabitha has and she must let it go. We are then told of the tragedy that occurred a year ago in Tabitha's life, and who she must finally set free.
Edgy, keeps you reading, not too scary.
Tilly's Moonlight Fox
by Julia Green
One for lovers of nature and animals, this is a sweet ghost story for 9+. Tilly has moved to a new house left to her mum by an elderly friend. Her mum is heavily pregnant, but due to complications is bed-bound. The worry of this, the house move, a new school, and lack of friends all lead Tilly to an anxious state of mind. She has vivid dreams and sleepwalks. The presence of a fox in the garden and the discovery of an old dolls house in the attic both lead Tilly to meet Helen in a newly made den in the old garden. Once Tilly's mum has the baby and all is well, Helen disasppears, Tilly makes a friend at school ,and there are no more strange dreams or sleepwalking.
Butterfly Summer
by Anne-Marie Conway
I loved this - I read it in a day. It's about Becky and her mum, secrets about a tragic past involving an older sister, a father who can't cope with the grief and runs away to Australia, but ultimately a ghost story about Rosa-May and her Butterfly Garden. An engrossing read.
A Dog Called Homeless
by Sarah Lean
I'm not really sure about the cover, but this is actually a lovely book. It's about overcoming loss, coming together as a family, patience, acceptance and friendship. Cally lives with her dad and her brother Luke. Their mother died a year ago on the dad's birthday. Cally wants to talk about her mother to make it seem she's still alive, but her dad seems to want to leave it in the past and move on. Cally struggles with her friendships at school and sees a sponsored silence as a way out of her troubles. She doesn't speak for over 30 days. Meanwhile, the father has trouble at work and they have to move to a flat where Cally makes friends with the downstairs neighbour and son, Sam, who is blind and partly deaf. Then Cally starts to see her mother's ghost but no-one believes her. The appearance of Jed, a homeless juggler, and his huge dog, who takes an instant liking to Cally and who she names Homeless, help Cally through this difficult time by answering questions - with surprising results.
A beautiful, moving story about mourning the loss of a mother. Look out for Sarah Lean's next novel out now A Horse for Angel.
