The Haunted (The Hollow, Book 2)
This darker follow-up to The Hollow (2009) opens with 17-year-old Abbey Browning still mourning the death of her best friend, Kristen, and reeling from the discovery that her boyfriend, Caspian, is actually a ghost. Abbey initially resists Caspian, whose otherworldly status can only cause heartbreak; but as Abbey and Caspian fall deeper in love, they uncover Kristen’s murderer and learn the true meaning of “soul mates.” Verday deviates from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which she ambitiously tried to integrate into the first book, to introduce some sinister new characters who heighten the suspense of this drawn-out sequel. Grades 8-11. --Kimberly Garnick