A new girl in town is targeted by school bullies and a witch haunting her home in Kelly’s middle-grade spookfest.

Twelve-year-old Ursula Dionne isn’t happy about leaving her “cozy” apartment in Toronto, but her psychologist stepfather and pregnant mother are ready to start anew and move into Poisonberry Manor. Locals in the town of Starfell practically gasp when Ursula tells them where her family lives, and the mean kids at her new school dub her “Creepy Girl.” Ursula quickly learns that a witch once resided in this old, musty house but vanished nearly a century ago, which may explain the manor’s weird noises—and the portal to another world that Ursula stumbles onto. The more she explores this place, the darker it gets, and she turns to fellow outcast Max Da Silva for help. Is it truly the Poisonberry Witch who’s haunting Ursula’s home? Or is another sinister force creeping into the tween’s world? Kelly wastes no time establishing both an uneasy mood and the story’s dynamic cast. Ursula is an appealing protagonist—she can’t always hide her frustration over all that’s unfolding in her life, but she remains sympathetic. Many of the characters display depth: Ursula’s mom clearly isn’t overlooking her, despite what Ursula thinks, and the narrative eventually reveals multiple dimensions of one of the bullies. Descriptions of the manor are spine-tingling: “The wood under her hands grew icy. She jerked back, staring as the shadows leaked through the cracks, squirming over the door like ink pooling in water. They grew and shifted into the shape of something—of someone.” The best scenes involve the alternate world, which is somehow tied to Ursula’s memories of her beloved late father. With any luck, Ursula, Max, and the surprising allies they meet along the way will return in a sequel.

An engaging tale that blends adolescent hardships with delightful frights.

In Kelly’s novel, a vampire hunts for treasure on a haunted island in a desperate attempt to protect herself from those who want her dead.

Lola Monteux may look 16 years old, but she’s far from it. A vampire on the run from her old comrades, she lands on Duchesne Island in search of the Well of Souls treasure—rumored to grant invincibility to its possessor. In her attempt to locate the treasure, Lola meets Gael Smith, a teenage boy whose family is struggling to make ends meet amid his younger brother’s cancer diagnosis. His ancestor originally discovered the famed Duchesne Island treasure, but Lola soon convinces Gael that more riches must be buried deeper beneath the “treasure tree” on his property. The two embark on a secretive dig, despite the prying eyes of the suspicious Captain Greyson. Complications soon arise, both with the arrival of Lola’s vampire frenemies and their entering into an uneasy (and temporary) truce and by Lola’s growing romantic feelings for Gael. As her old humanity starts to present cracks in her soulless-vampire facade, Lola will be forced to make a choice between what she is and who she wants to be. Kelly manages to imbue Lola with the lofty air of an old vampire and the surliness of a teenager in equal measure—an unlikely combination that will surely endear her to readers. In a YA paranormal/supernatural genre that can be overcrowded, Kelly includes enough unique details—such as Lola’s surprising skin care routine—to differentiate this book from the vampire-novel rabble: “She’d mainly brought skin products: rich creams and serums designed to keep this body youthful. It was essential to keep up proper skincare when your skin was always on the verge of rotting off…Her regime of creams helped smooth her skin, but nothing healed like human blood.” The romance subplot will come as a surprise to absolutely no one but should satisfy YA audiences nonetheless.

An imaginative take on the teen-vampire trope with plenty of action and romance and a compelling antihero.