Twins Grace and Connor are separated from each other in a storm that destroys their father's boat. They try to find each other and Connor must save Grace from her terrible fate aboard the vampirate ship. Despite it's title, this book is very enjoyable for older kids, especially if you love pirates and the Pirates of the Caribbean. This is the first in the Vampirates series. Look for Tide of Terror, Blood Captain, and Black Heart.

Reviewed by: St. Charles Reader

Date read: 11/20/2009

ISBN-10: 0316013730

ISBN-13: 9780316013734

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Ashley moved into a new house with her mother and then her neighbor said the garden was haunted. And it was!

Reviewed by: St. Charles Reader

Date read: 11/12/2009

ISBN-10: 0899198481

ISBN-13: 9780899198484

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Amy and her sister unravel the mystery surrounding a family secret, involving murders that took place years ago, with clues from a dollhouse they find in the attic of their family home. The dollhouse mysteriously fills with a ghostly light in the middle of the night, and the dolls move from where they had been placed.

Awards won: Rebecca Caudill Award

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 4/29/2009

ISBN-10: 0823404978

ISBN-13: 9780823404971

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Commenter: Grace, grade 5

Parker Baer, 15, has plenty of material possessions, but he is bored. Tara, who just moved in next door, is nothing like Parker expected. With her reflective sunglasses, golden dread locks, and mysterious personality, who could resist her? She quickly becomes the person to know at school, but those she takes an interest in fall ill with a strange sickness: their skin and eyes go gray, and they become tired easily until they slowly turn to stone. Tired of being alone, Tara decides to share her power with Parker, but Parker doesn't understand his gift until it's almost too late. Each time Tara twines his hair around her finger, Parker changes a little more. After Tara takes him on a death ride over a cliff, and neither is injured, the horror of her power becomes clear to him. By the time Parker realizes what's happening, he's already in too deep. Can he stop Tara, and himself, from getting their next victim?

Similar books: Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

Reviewed by: sc

Date read: 5/18/2009

ISBN-10: 0525475540

ISBN-13: 9780525475545

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Ignatius B. Grumply, famous author of the Ghost Detective series, needs a quiet place to write his 13th novel. The 'Victorian Lady' in Ghastly, IL seems like the perfect summer rental. He hadn't counted on an 11 year old boy being part of the bargain and he certainly had not counted on a temperamental ghost. How will he ever get his book completed when it is already 20 years overdue?!? This is a fun romp through a not too scary haunted house.

Awards nominated: 2012 Bluestem Award Nominee

Reviewed by: caroll

Date read: 10/13/2009

ISBN-10: 0152057277

ISBN-13: 9780152057275

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