Scritch Scratch

May 15, 2020
A ghost haunting prompts a Chicago girl to investigate her local history. Seventh grader Claire loves the predictability of science while her father relishes the paranormal, running a ghost-tour business in Chicago. Their worlds collide when Claire must help out her father at the last minute, and a ghost boy not only becomes an unwanted passenger on the bus, but follows her home and around the city. Currie's visceral descriptions of the boy's haunting--scratching behind walls, dripping water, icy air, scrawled notes, and more--exude creepy. Also scary to the middle schooler is losing Casley, her best friend and science fair partner, to Emily, the new girl in school who's preoccupied with makeup. When Claire can no longer keep the ghost a secret, she recruits her older brother, along with Casley and Emily, to help her discover his identity. As she tries to apply the scientific method to the paranormal mystery, Claire realizes as well that there's a human story behind every historical event. And as finding the ghost's story becomes her mission, she researches a true Chicago disaster that killed more lives than the sinking of the Titanic. In the process, she also learns that jealousy hinders female solidarity. The historical details are fascinating, and the lessons Claire learns are lightly delivered. All characters, including the ghost boy, assume the white default. Mary Downing Hahn fans will enjoy this just-right blend of history and spooky. (author's note) (Paranormal suspense. 10-13)

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September 1, 2020
Grades 3-5 The author of The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street (2017) ventures into Mary Downing Hahn territory with a mildly eerie tale that is as much about building trust and new friendships as it is about figuring out what a soaked, importunate ghost wants. After glimpsing a spectral child in antique dress on one of her father's Spirits of Chicago tours, 12-year-old Claire is terrified by nighttime scritching noises, whirling papers, a drawerful of wet clothes, and other manifestations. As the ghost has no compunction about performing such antics in front of others, Claire has no trouble convincing her older brother Sam, seemingly hostile new girl Emily, and drifting best friend Casley that she's not making it up. Their willing support helps Claire to conquer her fear and, being a lover of science, to launch a methodical search for the ghost's identity that ultimately leads to the 1915 Eastland ship disaster. The author cheats a bit?all the supernatural events are illusory?but bases her tale on actual historical records, and brings the story to an upbeat ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

October 5, 2020
Chicago seventh grader Claire Koster, 12, appreciates the predictability and comfort of science—which is why her father, an author obsessed enough with creepy Chicago history to quit his job teaching history and start a ghost tour bus company, is driving her up the wall. Equally aggravating is watching her best friend and fellow science lover, Casley, slowly replace her with new girl Emily Craig, who likes makeup and clothes. But when Claire assists her father on a tour one night, she is startled to discover an unexpected passenger: a pale, dark-eyed little boy, “six, seven tops,” who just may be a ghost. Claire must soon acknowledge that not everything can be explained by science; she discovers a scrap of paper reading “396” after boy disappears, and more paranormal occurrences follow. Currie’s vivid descriptions of the spirit (“His dark eyes. His dripping clothes and bloodless face”) conjure a chilling atmosphere. Engrossing snippets of Chicago history ground the novel, with references to real-life locations, including Hull House and the sunken SS Eastland, “right at the intersection of LaSalle Street and Wacker Drive.” A spine-tingling blend of hauntings and history. Ages 10–up. Agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary.