Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I jumped at the chance to read this book because I love ghost stories, I love Middle Grade novels, and I am from Chicagoland originally. All that in one book was irresistible. Which is why initially I was kind of disappointed. I wasn't liking Claire that much at all initially. She seemed sulky and immature (and I chastised myself for thinking that. She is a 12 year old girl, after all). She resented her father deeply for starting a ghost bus tour company because it was embarrassing her and people were teasing her at school. It came off as kind of disrespectufl. When he asks (basically demands) her to help him with a tour one night, her life changes in terrifying ways. Claire is a stone cold empiricist and an avowed scientist. She doesn't believe in ghosts. However the ghost that follows her home demands for her to see and listen to him. He's a little boy and he's latched onto Claire as the human to resolve his unfinished business.
Although it had a rocky start, I ended up giving it four stars. That's because the way that character conflicts are set up and resolved was very organic and the reader is allowed to understand Claire and interpret why she is acting the way she does. I gained insight into what drove her. As it turns out, Claire was driven by fears and insecurity, and who among us doesn't have those same negative traits? Her relationship with her best friend Cassley (not sure how to spell it) is a huge part of her life, and some resolutions on this score is very satisfying.
I also enjoyed when Claire works along with help to figure out who the boy is. I love watching ghost shows and reading ghost stories. Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I am not unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of the city, and have supernatural experiences in the building I grew up in. As the story goes along, she really evolves and her character is revealed.
Claire's mother is big on "teachable moments." This book has some good lessons for young readers as Claire and her friends navigate through difficult circumstances and face mortality head on (through interactions with the ghost of a young boy who died young).
I'm glad things turned around for me with this book. The ghost story was chilling in parts, but also very poignant. And there is an authenticity in the character interactions that I appreciated. Some parts might be a little scary for a younger reader, but I think a kid over eleven should be okay with this book.
Although it had a rocky start, I ended up giving it four stars. That's because the way that character conflicts are set up and resolved was very organic and the reader is allowed to understand Claire and interpret why she is acting the way she does. I gained insight into what drove her. As it turns out, Claire was driven by fears and insecurity, and who among us doesn't have those same negative traits? Her relationship with her best friend Cassley (not sure how to spell it) is a huge part of her life, and some resolutions on this score is very satisfying.
I also enjoyed when Claire works along with help to figure out who the boy is. I love watching ghost shows and reading ghost stories. Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, I am not unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of the city, and have supernatural experiences in the building I grew up in. As the story goes along, she really evolves and her character is revealed.
Claire's mother is big on "teachable moments." This book has some good lessons for young readers as Claire and her friends navigate through difficult circumstances and face mortality head on (through interactions with the ghost of a young boy who died young).
I'm glad things turned around for me with this book. The ghost story was chilling in parts, but also very poignant. And there is an authenticity in the character interactions that I appreciated. Some parts might be a little scary for a younger reader, but I think a kid over eleven should be okay with this book.
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