A Ghost in the Family - Hardcover

Grade 3-6-This mystery features Chad Weldon and Jeannie Nichols, characters from Wright's The Ghost Comes Calling (1994) and Too Many Secrets (1997, both Scholastic). While staying at Jeannie's Aunt Rosebud's boarding house in Milwaukee, the two children stumble upon a mystery when Chad senses the presence of someone in his room and begins to feel more and more unwelcome and frightened for his safety. The story is rather repetitive and predictable. The characters are not well developed, relying heavily on archetypes such as the eccentric aunt, the mysterious fortune-teller, the precocious girl, and the all-American boy. The dialogue and descriptive narrative are rather dull. Supernatural occurrences throughout the story are more strange than spooky, and the solution to the mystery, who stole a valuable diamond bracelet, is contrived and unconvincing. While Wright's fans may choose this title based on her previous books, it isn't one of the author's strongest stories.
Megan McGuire, Lake View Elementary School, Madison, WI
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