Circle of Secrets by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Circle of Secrets

Eleven-year-old Shelby has never gotten used to her mother's leaving her to go live in the Louisiana bayou where she grew up. Shelby lives with her father and grandmother and has vowed never to speak to her mother again. But when her father must leave the country for work and her grandmother goes to the hospital, Shelby is forced to stay with her mother in the bayou, which is a place both wild and mysterious to her.

Things get even more mysterious when a strange girl named Gwen turns up in the bayou. She and Shelby vow to become best friends, but something seems not quite right with Gwen. Why has Gwen's family disappeared and left her? Why does she live in a crumbling house on a deserted island? And why is she leaving mysterious notes in bottles in Shelby's mother's blue bottle tree?

As Shelby slowly starts to piece together the clues to Gwen's strange existence, she also learns to stand up to the bullies at her new school and to once again open her heart to the mother that she never thought she could feel close to again.

This is a heartwarming story of finding strength in unusual places, as well as an engaging tale of mystery and suspense. The author does a good job of creating a sense of place as she details the spooky character of the bayou. Recommended for lovers of ghost stories. 2011

P. Sassoon

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall

When Florence finds out that she is to leave Miss Medleycoate's Home for Orphan Girls to live on her great-uncle's estate in the English countryside, she is both excited and apprehensive. She is sorry to leave her friends at the orphanage but happy to get away from the meager existence and cruel grownups. She is sorry to learn that a cousin, Sophia, who was close to her age, died in an accident the year before. Sophia's younger brother still lives at Crutchfield Manor, so at least Florence won't be the only child living there.

Florence arrives at Crutchfield Hall and discovers that her uncle's sister, Great-Aunt Eugenie, loved Sophia almost obsessively and isn't happy that her brother has invited Florence to live with them. Furthermore,Florence's cousin, James, is a sickly boy and she is not allowed to visit or play with him, so she is very lonely in the big house that sits so far out in the countryside.

It doesn't take long for Florence to discover that Sophia's ghost roams the estate and that she blames her brother, James, for her death. She has plans to return to the world of the living and send one of those living at Crutchfield to their death in return. Can Sophia involve Florence as a pawn in her scheme?

Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories never fail to create eerie suspense and this one doesn't disappoint. 2010

Renee Rauch

The Hanging Hill, by Chris Grabenstein

In this sequel to The Crossroads, Zack Jennings and his stepmother, Judy, have traveled to the Hanging Hill Playhouse in Chatham, to stay for a few weeks, while Judy's play, Curiosity Cat, is being staged. Little do Zack and Judy know that the Hanging Hill Playhouse was built on the site of Hangman's Hill and is haunted by a variety of ghosts, many of them very evil spirits. Judy's play has been chosen to premiere there by a very evil group of people because the main characters are two children. This group of people who need two children to help them open a portal between the spirit world and our world, so that a bunch of evildoers can come back to life.

Another page-turning, spine-tingler for those ghost lovers! Next in the series is Smoky Corridor. 2009

R. Rauch

The Crossroads, by Chris Grabenstein

Zack sees ghosts all around him in NYC, including the ghost of his mother, who haunts his apartment. His dad's remarriage to a nice woman named Judy and their move to his dad's old hometown in Connecticut do nothing to relieve Zack of his contact with ghosts. A terrible bus accident 50 years ago has left the souls of the bus riders wandering the area. The malevolent ghost of the hot-rodder, Clint, who caused the accident, is trapped in the huge tree at the crossroads of Routes 13 and 31, on the edge of Zach's property. Gerda Spratling, Clint's fiancee, still mourns his passing and brings fresh roses to the the tree every Monday.

Zach's first friend in North Chester is Davy, himself a ghost, who is trying to free the spirits of the bus crash victims, although Zach doesn't realize that Davy is a ghost at first. Clint is determined to come back to life and to have his revenge on Zack, the descendant of his old nemesis, Zach's grandfather.

The chapters alternate between the characters' points of view and carry the action forward at a page-turning pace. As the relationship between Zack and his stepmother develops, it is a nice counterpoint to the spine-tingling suspense of the main plot. Definitely recommend this book to fans of ghost and mystery books. 2008

R. Rauch

Jade Green: A Ghost Story, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

This is a page-turning ghost story that will have readers hooked once they hear about the ghostly presence that haunts the house and the story. Judith Sparrow, the 15 year old narrator and heroine, moves to the town of Whispers, South Carolina, to live with her uncle, who was the only relative who agreed to take her in when she was orphaned. Judith has a sunny disposition and is inclined to make the best of whatever life hands her. She likes Uncle Geoffrey despite his stiff formality and she likes his housekeeper, the warm and loving Mrs. Hastings. She is not fond of her 40 year old cousin, Charles, and his unwanted attentions. But Judith does her best to be helpful around the house and finds a job in a local hatmaker's shop. It is in the hat shop that Judith hears the gruesome story of Jade Green, who once lived in Uncle Geoffrey's house. Jade Green died presumably by her own hand, three years earlier. Is it Jade Green's ghost that haunts the house or is it some other wandering spirit?
2000
R. Rauch