Throwback Thursday: Betty Ren Wright's The Pike River Phantom

Whether you are 9 or 99, there's always something magical about a scary story. Back in the Stone Age, I remember the brave girls (and it was always girls) carrying around scary story books like they were badges of honor. "Look at me, I'm not afraid of the Pike River Phantom!" their eyes would say. Meanwhile, other girls (like me) would take a quick peek at the cover and decide it was NOT the genre for me. Please, don't even leave it on my desk!

Now that I'm older, the cover of this classic reads more kitschy than frightening, and I can giggle that I was so afraid of this? Getting a good scare is still tons of fun, however, especially during Halloween, and especially when Betty Ren Wright is the author.

Betty Ren Wright (I just have to say her full name!) is a very efficient writer. In a book of only 153 pages, she manages to flesh out the story of 12-year-old Charlie Hocking, a Milaukee transplant new to the small town where his father grew up, and where all Charlie's troubles begin. His father is an ex-con, and his cousin Rachel, who also lives in the same house, is perfect. How can anyone compete with that? Throw in a ghost with a dilemma and a Fourth of July parade, and you've got one entertaining story. While I didn't encounter anything revolutionary in this book, Wright's skill as a writer of suspense kept me on my toes. Also, the way she portrays family relationships, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes baffling, always necessary and complicated make this book ring emotionally true. Yes, it's only 153 pages, and yes the cover has a picture of a ghost lady chasing some kids down the stairs, but it was a good read.

Overall, five stars. Come for the ghost story, stay for the happy ending. Wax nostalgic with your friends about book fairs, and for the time when kids were allowed to do scary things--like ride their bikes in the woods by themselves! (yes, Charlie does this often in the book!)

Haven't had enough? For more frightening fun check out an earlier review of middle-grade classic, Stonewords: A Ghost Story.

Photo Credits

The picture of of The Pike River Phantom came from here. Thanks!

Throwback Thursday: Old-School Middle Grade: Peg Kehret's Sisters Long Ago

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday! This week we are going to discuss Peg Kehret's Sisters Long Ago, published in 1992 by Minstrel Books.

On her thirteenth birthday, Willow Paige and her best friend go to the lake. While Willow is swimming, she gets a cramp in her stomach and nearly drowns. In her struggle to get her head above water, Willow has visions of an ancient Egyptian girl name Kalos, whom Willow is convinced is herself in a previous lifetime. Did she really live before, in ancient Egypt? Or was the vision brought on by the stress of almost drowning? Watch Willow's quest for answers unfold against the backdrop of Willow's sister's leukemia, friendship struggles, and catching a suspected dognapper! Whew!

I love this book. Usually middle grade books are about an ordinary kid who goes to another planet/universe/world/dimension and does extraordinary things there. This was probably the first book I read as a child that made me think about extraordinary events happening in the ordinary world. Because of the subject matter, the tone of the book is very reflective; we're inside Willow's head most of the time. But the pace of the story moves rather quickly, so one doesn't get bored. Still, if you or your child likes a lot of action, you won't find a ton of it here, though there are a couple of tense action scenes. (I won't ruin them for you!) Ancient Egypt fans will get a kick out this book as well, as there is a fair amount of history in a book of this length (149 pages).

Recommended for kids ages 10+. No sex, drugs, or violence, but Willow does struggle with questions of Life and Death, so be prepared to chat with your tween afterwards!

Print Media Monday: Gay Characters in Middle Grade Fiction

Vikki Vansickle wrote this wonderful post on her blog a couple of weeks back about the scarcity of gay characters in middle grade fiction. It's too late to wait for YA to introduce this topic, she argues, and I wholeheartedly agree. She includes a list of middle grade books with gay characters, for those who are interested in exploring more. You can read the post here.

Pride Month is over, but let's keep the love and support in our hearts all year long!

Photo Credits

The lovely photo of the rainbow flag was taken from this site. Thanks!

Throwback Thursday: Old-School Middle Grade-- Stonewords: A Ghost Story!!!!

Yikes!

Stonewords. Wow! This book was creepy with a capital "C"!!!! The back of this book (Book Club Edition published in 1992 by Scholastic) says "RL5" or "Reading Level, 5th Grade." There were definitely parts of this book that were very graphic (rotting flesh and the like) that I'm not sure I would expose a ten-year-old to. The campy illustration on the outside and the larger size of the book scream "middle grade" (not sure why middle grade books are wider than regular books. Wider for smaller hands?) but the content and themes are more reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series.

The story begins with Zoe retelling the story of how she was abandoned by her mother at age four. Wow! Way to hit the reader in the face with something heavy right at the beginning! Now, as an adult and a mother, my initial reaction was deep, deep sadness and empathy for the character. I wonder how a ten year old would take it? If he/she came from a similar background, this might be comforting and relatable. They might take it as, "Ah! Here's a girl like me! I was abandoned, too." Or, for a kid who's had both parents in his/her life, this might add another layer of scariness. Because what could be more frightening to a child than losing a parent he/she loves? I think it's interesting how Conrad used the character of the mother in this book. To fully understand it, I think I would need to re-read the book. And I'm not going to, because it's JUST THAT CREEPY (of course, this is a good thing for those of you who LOVE this genre, but I don't!)

Over the course of the novel, Zoe meets a ghost with her same name who lived in her house 200 years ago. They can travel to each other's world's using a staircase and...that's all I'm telling you, because you need to experience the creepy goodness for yourself! No, no, I don't get any renumeration from Scholastic, HarperCollins, or the Estate of Pam Conrad (I wish I did!) but I still recommend this book for the scary factor (if you're into that), crazy story (Remember? Middle grade readers still believe in the impossible!) and the poetry. Yes, the poetry! Here's the opening paragraph of Chapter Five:

Honeysuckle has been known to bloom in the snow. It has its own internal time schedule that has nothing to do with wind, weather, or season. It's as if honeysuckle were always daydreaming, coming out of deep thought to say something so off and disconnected that everyone around is confused and thrown off-balance. My mother was like this.

Bottom line: if your ten or eleven year old is used to blood and guts, this book might be okay. The beautiful language and heavy themes do make it a book worth picking up, but I think an older child, 12, or 13, would get more out of it.

Special thanks to Mikki R., for digging this out of her ancient middle grade fiction collection for me to read!