SPELLBINDER

Poor Belladonna. It’s so embarrassing when she talks to the ghosts that no one else can see—everyone thinks she’s nuts. Since her parents died in a car accident, they’ve been hanging out at home, which is both comforting and disconcerting at the same time. Worse, however, is when they disappear in a flash one day. Belladonna knows she has to do something—but what? The pursuit of the dark side takes off when Belladonna accidentally touches disruptive and smart Steve Evans at school while confronted by the ghostly Elsie. Suddenly Steve can see what she sees, and the intriguing clues that have been steadily arriving at unexplained moments send the duo into the Land of the Dead in search of the Spellbinder. When they’re dismissed by the adults who seem to know something, it is, of course, up to Steve and Belladonna to find the answers and solve everything. The disarmingly matter-of-fact tone contrasts with the genuinely scary apparitions and dangers they confront. Wry wit and derring-do add up to a great read. (Fantasy. 9-12)