Rain of the Ghosts
Rain, who lives on an island close to the Bermuda Triangle, has special abilities—she just doesn’t know it until her dying grandfather bequeaths her a bracelet designed with entwined snakes. Suddenly the spirit world opens up to the eighth-grader, and her grandfather’s ghost, who appears to Rain as the young WWII fighter pilot he once was, leads her on a mission to resurrect the remains of his old plane and free the spirits of his crew, all of whom died in the crash. Meanwhile, a creepy man is seeking the bracelet, which seems to be connected to other talismans Rain and her sidekick, Charlie, will likely pursue in subsequent volumes. Action and the tropical setting will entice readers to this supernatural opener, though the omniscient narrator —revealed to be a seemingly immortal dog(!)—can at times be confusing, especially when he slips into first-person asides. Hopefully, the dog’s connection to Rain will be illuminated in the next book of what promises to be an interesting series. Grades 5-8. --Karen Cruze