Tag Archives: ghosts

Felice and the Wailing Woman

Posted on by

by Diana Lopez

Felice, a twelve year old Mexican American girl, is being raised by her Uncle Clem since her mother and younger brothers drowned so many years earlier. As a result of her traumatic experience, she is extremely afraid of water and this fear holds her back in so many ways. One day, she discovers that her mother is the infamous La Llorona, a mythical creature that lives in the river and drowns anyone she can lure there. Believing that she can meet her mother, bring her some peace and overcome her own fears, Felice travels to Tres Leches, the border town where the tragedy occurred. Along with the mayor and two new friends, who also happen to be the offspring of monsters, Felice overcomes her fears and helps her mother accept her loss thus freeing the town from its curse.

This story weaves Mexican folktales and culture into a modern day fantasy piece that moves along quickly. The characters are well-written and quirky and the end is touching and magical. Recommended for those collections where a fantasy is appreciated.

There’s a Ghost in This House

Posted on by

Every day students ask me for scary books. Here is one that is more Casper the Friendly Ghost than Elm Street. A girl moves from room to room in her 18th century house looking for ghosts that she has heard live there, but she never sees one. The fun is when you turn the translucent page that overlays where she is looking to reveal the playful ghosts that are having fun hiding from her. Each page has one or two short sentences. This book appeals to young children who enjoy the surprise factor in “lift the flap” books. The illustrations of the rooms are done in brown and cream contrasting the girl who has bright yellow and green. This palette also allows the white ghosts to appear clearly. One consideration, is the translucent ghost pages are less durable that the paper ones. Readers will also want to flip these back and forth several times to make the ghosts appear and disappear, so they will have more use. This is a delightful, engaging book that is a perfect fit for early elementary students.

The List of Unspeakable Fears by J. Kasper Kramer

Posted on by

After watching her father die during the typhoid epidemic, 10-year old Essie is plagued by fears.  There are so many, in fact, that she keeps a list — a list of unspeakable fears. Her mother is now remarried to a doctor she believes to be sinister and cold.  He has moved them to an island off New Year City where they live in a creepy, possibly haunted, house with the beacon from the lighthouse scanning her room in the middle of the night. Her step-father is the head of the quarantine hospital for the incurable sick, including the infamous Typhoid Mary. Essie bravely battles her fears while trying to figure out why her step-father walks the ocean’s shores at midnight. Are she and her mother safe?

Fans of “A Monster Calls” will enjoy this psychological thriller by the author of “The Story that Cannot Be Told.”

Just Kill Me

Posted on by

Just Kill Me, by Adam Selzer, misses the mark. While the story starts off with the intriguing warning of the main character Megan finding the letters of D, I, and E remaining in her alphabet cereal, the rest of the premise is lacking. Megan, employed by a ghost tour company in Chicago, helps produce more ghosts by killing near-death people in a nursing home; in essence mercy killings. Implausible as this is, it’s even effective in that the murders are all talk without action: nothing is shown. This is the same problem found with the character development: there are references to bi-sexuality, but without action. This book just doesn’t engage the reader in connecting to the characters or to the plot.