There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around - Hardcover

Grade 4-7-Vande Velde continues her string of historical ghost stories, this time focusing on the Underground Railroad. The first-person narrator, 11-year-old Ted, is certain that his house in Rochester, NY, can't be haunted because it has been in his family for generations and there have been no secrets to speak of in its past. Then his five-year-old sister Vicki's imaginary friend Marella and the "bad lady" who seems to be chasing her prove themselves to be all too real. Ted decides to get to the bottom of the mystery and finds a journal belonging to one of his ancestors. It recounts the tragic story of two runaway slaves, a mother and her five-year-old daughter, who drowned in the Erie Canal, which used to run through the family's backyard. The story culminates in Ted and Vicki being possessed by the spirits in order to help them move on. The secondary characters include busy parents barely present; a typical teenage brother; and a trendy, smart-talking cousin. However, the plot has original twists and the journal passages are nicely integrated into a story with some genuine chills. The penultimate chapter unnecessarily switches to present tense when Adah, the mother's spirit, possesses Ted. Nonetheless, there is sufficient humor, action, and scariness to keep readers engaged. A good choice for fans of Bruce Coville's "Nina Tanleven" series (Bantam).
Timothy Capehart, Leominster Public Library, MA
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