Review: Spooky YA Addictive Fun!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 5, 2012
I am not usually into books about ghosts that are in the current, but this book was just fantastic. It was full of mystery, intense suspense and thrilling action. And romance of course.Ashlyn Caverhill thought she was a typical 17 year old until her Mother became ill and was admitted into a psychiatric ward near her Grandmother. Ashlyn is now living with her Grandmother in a little town called Prescott Junction, or Podunk Junction as Ashlyn calls it. There is a story about the Caverhill Women, beginning with her Great Grandmother back when the war began. Great Grandmother Catherine bought the radio to listen to the broadcasts and became obsessed. One night she discovers her Grandmother in the basement with the radio blaring and is holding a shotgun. She blasts the radio, but it just continues to broadcast. Ashlyn is horrified.There is a mystery in the town that nobody likes talking about. There is a ghost train that comes through the abandoned station at night. Nobody goes out at night, it's just not done. At night Ashlyn hears the train's whistle and music from the Radio. When she asks her Grandmother about it, she just tells Ashlyn to stay in her bed and do not go out at night.Ashlyn makes friends with Rachel, the witch or local loco and Caden, the boy helping her Grandmother with her dogs. Caden Williams is the most handsome boy she has ever laid her eyes on. She introduces herself and they soon become more than just friends.One Friday night Ashlyn sneaks out to visit the train with her friends. She is hoping it is all a hoax and tries to calm her nerves. But too soon they all hear the trains whistle coming down the tracks. Ashlyn and Caden cannot believe their eyes, it is a monster of a train, black and full of trapped souls. The conductor is part flesh and part bones, the most hideous creature Ashlyn has ever seen. Rachel is drawn to the train and Ashlyn and Caden are on a mission to not let Rachel get on board.Can Ashlyn stop her friend from boarding that train? Will Caden and Ashlyn's relationship last after the frightening events on that night with what they witnessed? Can Ashlyn find out the true story of the train, the radio and her father? Can the train ever be stopped and the souls set free?This is a wonderfully frightening story. The song "She'll be coming 'round the mountain" has been stuck in my head ever since starting the book. I go to bed at night with it stuck there and thinking about this black ghost train full of souls. Norah Wilson and Heather Doherty have created a very imaginative tale that you can't put down. I was laughing at Rachel's quirkiness and Ashlyn's attempts to seduce Caden; crying with tears streaming down my cheeks with Ashlyn visiting her Mother and her Grandmother's fear. You can't help but be drawn into the mystery and the frightening story behind ghost train. A must read!