Reading Metrics
Description
After making contact with the spirit world during a near-death experience, Sarah moves to Houston with her parents and receives other-worldly messages about a murder committed in her house.
Quick Summary
If you're into ghost stories that actually give you chills without being overly terrifying, this one hits different. Sarah survives a scary accident and starts receiving messages from the dead about a murder that happened right in her own house talk about unsettling. It's got that classic Joan Lowery Nixon spooky mystery vibe, kind of like a YA version of those classic ghost mystery books kids love, with enough tension to keep you turning pages but nothing so graphic that it'll give your kid nightmares. The book does a great job balancing the creepy supernatural elements with Sarah figuring out who to trust and what's really going on, which makes it more than just a simple ghost story. Reluctant readers tend to gravitate toward this one because the mystery pulls you in quickly and the chapters are short enough to keep momentum going. Parents will appreciate that it deals with some heavier themes death, grief, figuring out truth from lies in a way that's accessible for upper middle schoolers and high schoolers without being preachy. If you've read other books by Lowery Nixon or enjoy mysteries with a supernatural twist, this is a solid pick, and it'll leave you thinking about the ending for a while.