The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder(Johnny Dixon)
Grade 5-8.  If imitation is indeed the finest form of flattery, John Bellairs would be very pleased with Strickland's newest novel of evildoings in Duston Heights, MA, in the mid-1950s. Fans will warmly greet again their old friends Johnny Dixon, Fergie, and Professor Childermass. Bored, Fergie looks for the last book in the town library (Dewey decimal number 999.99T). The Book of True Wishes, by evil spellbinder Jarmyn Thanatos, puts the boy under a spell that threatens not only his own life but also the lives of his friends and family. The mad sorcerer, in an attempt to achieve earthly immortality, has been kidnapping boys and taking possession of their bodies for the past 300 years. Fergie is his next victim. Can his friends save him? Replete with eerie details?swarming locust mummies, locked coffins, pealing bells, and ghosts?the tension escalates quickly in this sure-to-please page-turner for readers who might have graduated from Goosebumps yet are not quite ready for Stephen King. Perhaps what is eeriest of all is Strickland's perfect imitation of Bellairs. Could it be reincarnation or body snatching? Sounds like a potential Strickland/Bellairs novel.?Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, MECopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.