Spellbinder
Grade 5–7—Belladonna Johnson, 12, who has the family trait of seeing ghosts, appreciates the gift after her parents' car accident. They happily haunt the house, her mother still prepares meals, Belladonna still spends evenings watchingStaunchly Springswith them, and her daily chore is to pick up a newspaper for her father. But suddenly ghosts start to disappear, including her parents. Elsie Blaine, the young Victorian ghost that haunts Belladonna's school, is the only one around, and even Steve, her mischievous chemistry lab partner, can see her. He becomes Belladonna's amusing sidekick on a quest to discover the truth. In the Land of the Dead, they meet strange Dr. Ashe and discover that he has something to do with the disappearances. Magical creatures, amulets, and verses are all a part of this delightful tale that leads Belladonna and Steve on a deadly adventure. Stringer maintains the humor and logic of preteens who are awkwardly coming into their magical destinies, which makes for an amusing first novel.—Nancy D. Tolson, Mitchell College, New London, CTEND--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.