A promising series opener for fans of the paranormal.
Thirteen-year-old Kat doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she might change her mind as she accompanies her dad while he films a TV show on the paranormal.
Her mother moved out a while ago, and Kat hasn’t been able to forgive her. Kat’s a skeptic about ghosts, but she’s excited that her dad has become the new host of Passport to Paranormal, which films in Europe. However, the show has low ratings, and Kat worries that her dad’s gig may be a short one. Meanwhile, she becomes involved with an online fan forum, then starts a blog that becomes a hit. As events progress, Kat begins to experience some major, possibly paranormal activity. When one of the show’s staff shows signs of possession, Kat grows suspicious that real ghosts might be at work but also worries that someone behind the scenes might be sabotaging the show. Can Kat solve the mystery even after her dad bans her from the set for interfering and spoiling the filming? Schusterman keeps the narrative light and completely accessible for middle school readers. She also gives Kat another kind of haunting experience: the Thing, a specter that might not be a ghost but that haunts Kat on a daily basis. It’s a nice touch that brings a bit of depth to a story that otherwise would merely be a suspense romp.
A promising series opener for fans of the paranormal. (Suspense. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-448-47980-4
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
A very promising kickoff with arbitrary but intriguingly challenging magic.
A middle schooler discovers both up and down sides to being able to foretell the future.
Members of the Cleary clan in alternating generations have always been granted predictive powers on their 4,444th day of life, and Celia has been eagerly looking forward to her first vision—until, that is, it comes and reveals that cute, quiet classmate Jeffrey is slated to die in a hit-and-run. Weighing her horror against her wise Grammy’s warnings that fate is inexorable, she contrives a way to head off the accident…only to foresee another fatal mishap in his future. And another. By the time she’s saved his life five times in a row, she’s not only exhausted, but crushing on the hapless lad. (As, unsurprisingly, he is on her.) Reintgen generally keeps the tone of his series opener light, so even after Celia discovers that there’s ultimately a tragic price for her intervention, the ensuing funeral service is marked by as much laughter as sorrow. The author surrounds his frantic but good-hearted protagonist with a particularly sturdy supporting cast that includes gratifyingly cooperative friends as well as her Grammy and loving, if nonmagical, mom. There don’t seem to be many Cleary men around; perhaps that and certain other curious elements, like a chart listing particular Cleary specialties with names such as Dreamwalker and Grimdark, will be addressed in future entries. Main characters read as White.
A very promising kickoff with arbitrary but intriguingly challenging magic. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-66590-357-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
The Baudelaire children—Violet, 14, Klaus, 12, and baby Sunny—are exceedingly ill-fated; Snicket extracts both humor and horror from their situation, as he gleefully puts them through one terrible ordeal after another. After receiving the news that their parents died in a fire, the three hapless orphans are delivered into the care of Count Olaf, who “is either a third cousin four times removed, or a fourth cousin three times removed.” The villainous Count Olaf is morally depraved and generally mean, and only takes in the downtrodden yet valiant children so that he can figure out a way to separate them from their considerable inheritance. The youngsters are able to escape his clutches at the end, but since this is the first installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, there will be more ghastly doings. Written with old-fashioned flair, this fast-paced book is not for the squeamish: the Baudelaire children are truly sympathetic characters who encounter a multitude of distressing situations. Those who enjoy a little poison in their porridge will find it wicked good fun. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-440766-7
Page Count: 162
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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