Horseman #1 (The Hollow)
Grade 7 Up–After their mother's death, Aimee and Shane move with their father from bustling Boston to seemingly peaceful Sleepy Hollow, NY. Upon their arrival, strange occurrences begin throughout the town–starting with blown-out street lights and escalating to murder. Soon, sightings of an enormous black dog, a mysterious man on a dark horse, and a creepy talking tree are reported. An elderly woman is attacked by her house cats and the town librarian is beheaded. Aimee and Shane and their new friend, Stasia, witnesses to some of the weirdness, decide to take it upon themselves to figure out what's going on since none of the adults seem to believe that supernatural forces are at work. While the three scour books, old town records, and ancient copies of theSleepy Hollow Gazette, they begin to put together the clues that lead them to match what is happening now with the events in Washington Irving's famous tale. While the teens do find some answers, the book ends with many situations left unresolved (undoubtedly leaving something for subsequent books in the series), including a burgeoning romance between Shane and Stasia. Readers who enjoy R. L. Stine's Fear Street series will probably enjoy this book as there are many similarities between the two, but some content (such as underage drinking and sexual references) might not be appropriate for middle school readers.–Kimberly L. Paone, Elizabeth Public Library, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.