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cgrabber said: "If Grabensteins first YA book were to receive a one-word review, the word would be Coooool, a term that applies in a variety of ways—from the books cover image (a face peering out of the bark of a tree) and its hitchhiking, hot-rodding ghosts to its creepy atmosphere, believable story, and suspense that engulfs readers from the very first page. Even the characters are cool, including contemporary, doo-wop, and even Dickensian. Grabenstein, who has won the Anthony Award for his adult mysteries and whose writing career encompassed work for the Muppets, brings a great sense of timing to this mystery-fright ride. Zack Jennings, a kid uprooted following his mothers death and his fathers re-marriage, sees a leering face in a gnarled tree in the park near New York Citys American Museum of Natural History. A move to Connecticut doesnt extricate Zack from evil apparently lodging in trees. Readers soon learn that at a crossroads just behind Zacks new home theres an oak tree capable of branching out into murder—and a number of dissatisfied ghosts that prey on passing motorists. An absorbing psychological thriller (the ghost of Zacks malevolent mother plays a part) as well as a rip-roaring ghost story, this switches points of view among humans, trees, and ghosts with astonishing elan. Expect lots of requests."
—Connie Fletcher, BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW
tags: booklist, starred review, rip roaring, ghost story, cool |
