Friday, April 24, 2009

The Ghost's Grave by Peg Kehret





1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Kehret, Peg. 2005. THE GHOST'S GRAVE. New York, NY: Dutton Juvenile. ISBN 0525461620

2. PLOT SUMMARY
With his mom and step-father out of the country during the summer, 12 year old Josh is sent to his Aunt Ethel's where he struggles to adapt, meets a ghost, and eventually gets held up at gunpoint. This was a summer he hadn't bargained for!

3. IMPRESSIONS
Peg Kehret has a way of writing that captures the reader right from the beginning. The characters are memorable and the plot is swift. I found myself liking both Josh and his aunt immediately. We don't have to wait long for the action to intensify as Josh is shocked upon his arrival at Aunt Ethel's when she shoots a bat...in the kitchen...and it falls through the cabinets and gets stuck...and she leaves it there!!!! What an impression! And what a great way to get boys interested in the book. That hook will get just about any young reader.

We follow Josh as he meets Willie, a ghost from 100 years ago who has lost his leg and want to be buried with it. In this process, Josh digs up a grave and gets Willie's bones. But he also finds a box full of cash and subsequently gets involved in an unsolved theft.

The action really heats up the last third of the book. I was turning the pages so fast to find out what happened that I skimmed the last few chapters just so I could get to the climax. I went back and read more thoroughly, but I just had to see how it all ended. Doing this as an adult reader, I can only imagine what a youth would do!

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
* Starred review in CHILDREN'S LITERATURE: "Josh is an intelligent young man but is he clever enough to escape a conflict with an armed and angry intruder? This book is very enjoyable. It is well written, fast-paced, and hard to put down; all of the attributes that many young people seek when selecting reading material."
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Ghosts-Grave/Peg-Kehret/e/9780142408193


* Starred review in KIDSREAD: "Josh feared his summer would be one big bore, but you'll be anything but bored as you turn the pages of this thrilling book.."
http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/0525461620.asp

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