THE HOUSE ON STONE'S THROW ISLAND

Poblocki returns with another eerie vision of lingering spirits (The Book of Bad Things, 2014, etc.).

Josie and Eli, both about to start seventh grade, meet each other for the first time on a dock in Maine, boarding the ferry that will take them and their families to far-off Stone’s Throw Island, where their siblings are to be married. As the only teenagers among the pre-wedding guests, it’s natural that they decide to explore the island, first separately, then together. Caught up in the wedding plans, the adults don’t notice anything amiss—they’re focused on the approaching weather; a storm is brewing that threatens the festivities. But Josie and Eli notice strange cries from a crypt that’s submerged at high tide, a girl who appears and then disappears from Josie’s room, and the strange way that the island’s caretakers are behaving. At first disturbing, then frightening, Poblocki’s tale plays on stories about the German U-boats that plied the coastal waters during World War II. 1942 diary entries written by a local girl flesh out the history and add to the suspense.

Twining history, speculation, and atmospheric writing, the author delivers a good old-fashioned ghost story.