Genre: Middle
Grade/Paranormal Mystery/Ghosts
Description:
” A 6th grade class's weekly visit to their school library suddenly goes
sideways when an angry ghost attacks. Lights go off and on and air conditioning
vents blast icy wind, making books fly and terrified children run screaming.
The only ones not running are Joey Martinez and Elbie Bird.
Yes, Joey has autism, and Elbie has ADHD. But that's not why the boys
aren't frightened.
They've seen this type of thing before.
As resident of an actual haunted house, a haunted school library is no
big deal to Joey. It's also nothing special to his new best friend. Having
lived over a funeral home his entire life, Elbie has seen quite a few ghosts
himself.
But why is the ghost so mad, and what does it want?
The boys don't know, but if they're ever going to check out another
book, they'll have to solve this ghostly mystery. Luckily, Joey's sister
Theresa and her friend Kerry are there to help.
The second book of the series, Ghosters
2 is about pulling pranks, friendship, but most importantly, helping
others.”
Author:
“Diana Corbitt is a retired elementary school teacher living in
northern California. Her work has appeared in Bewildering Stories and
Encounters Magazine. She had a podcast on Manor House and one of her short
stories was anthologized in Wax and Wane:
A Gathering of Witch Tales.”
To learn more about Ms. Corbitt check out her website.
Appraisal:
Joey Martinez and Elbie Bird are sixth grade friends whose class is in
the school library when a ghost starts wreaking havoc. Neither of these two
boys are bothered by ghosts, they are part of their daily life. Joey Martinez
lives in a haunted house with his older sister, Theresa, and their father.
Joey, who narrates the story, is a high functioning Asperger's/autism spectrum
individual. He struggles with social cues, sarcasm, and takes things quite
literally. It is enlightening to watch as he works through his neurotypical
world for understanding. Elbie struggles with ADHD, and has lived over a
funeral home his entire life. Ghosts are nothing new to either of these boys.
The problem is finding a way to communicate with each ghost. Since
this ghost is holding a new book Joey wants to check out hostage, he has to
figure out why the ghost is angry and how he and his side-kick Elbie can help
set things right. Thankfully they have Joey’s older sister, Theresa, and her
ghost-chasing friend Kerry. It’s interesting and educational to watch how Joey
navigates in his neurotypical world as we are often in his head. This will
benefit all young readers understanding classmates who struggle with a similar diagnosis.
The story is engaging and has many twists that call for Theresa’s and
Kerry’s involvement. It is a complicated plot the kids need to work through.
There are plenty of humorous moments to ease the tension. The climax is
brilliant with lots of action as these four friends satisfy the ghostly entity’s
desires. And Joey gets the book he wanted.
In the aftermath Elbie and Kerry are having a difficult time keeping
things to themselves because of an ongoing criminal investigation. There are
some good things happening around their school library now. Then Elbie and Joey
are asked to come straight to Elbie’s house after school for a heartwarming end
of the book. These two supposedly challenged boys not only brought justice to
one spirit they also succeeded in improving the resting place for many other
spirits.
FYI:
Revenge
of the Library Ghost is the second book of the Ghosters series.
Format/Typo
Issues:
The book file I was given was a formatting nightmare and should have
been tossed. However, I liked the characters so I plowed through. In looking at
the version now available on Amazon it appears these issues have been fixed, so
no stars were deducted.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 50-55,000 words
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