Ghostsitter is a book for middle graders thirsty for a good, creepy read. As an adult reading the book, I was entertained by the twists and turns at the end. Just when you think you know what the ghosts want, you get to learn a little more about their histories, making it not only a spooky read, but a fun one.
The author has a great middle grade voice through her main characters Tiffany and Justin, and Tiffany carries the same, albeit perhaps obnoxious, middle grade hopes and worries as most kids that age I know. This helps to make the voice authentic and may even give you a chuckle. The narration oozes with middle grade attitude (the cute kind, not the scary kind.)
Both Tiffany and Justin have great character arcs. Tiffany embraces her weirdness and stops catering to her need for popularity and Justin learns to forgive himself. Why does he need to forgive himself? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.
I don’t want to give away too many spoilers here, but the most thrilling part of this book is when Tiffany and Justin work together to find out what the ghost children following Tiffany want. The results are haunting and lead to a thrilling climax, definitely geared toward children who like a good scare and are on the braver side.
About Ghostsitter:
Tiffany Hart dreams of one thing, to be class president. But dreams turn to nightmares when she ends up almost dead in an abandoned slaughterhouse and develops the gift of ghost-seeing. Unfortunately she only knows one person who can help her shake her ghoulish problem, her neighbor and the weirdest boy at school, Justin Henderson. Justin has been seeing spirits since he was nine, a creepy claim that has earned him the privilege of eating lunch by himself for years. Together they start to unravel a mystery with dead orphans, a white witch, and phantom spiders. To save their lives (and afterlives of innocent children) they must face a terrifying specter and a ghastly woman who isn’t afraid of hurting kids, dead or alive.
About Shelly Brown:
Unlike Tiffany and Justin in this story, Shelly Brown hasn’t seen any ghosts. But she has seen lots of movies, traveled to different countries, read hundreds of books, acted in oodles of plays, and made thousands of friends. She has worked as a comedian, a tour guide, and a shake-maker, but is currently a substitute teacher for some of the coolest kids ever. In her spare time she helps her husband, author Chad Morris, write awesome children’s books. Shelly also loves a little spooky in her life. When she was twelve-years-old, she kept her Friday nights open to watch the newest X-Files episode. Every Friday. With the lights off to make it extra creepy.
Now she’s married and has five kids and three chickens. And occasionally, she jumps out and scares them. Well, not the chickens.