The Screaming Staircase – Jonathan Stroud

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: HBG Canada
Published: 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Ghosts, Friendship

REVIEW:

I feel different when I read stories that involve ghosts than when I read stories that involve other supernatural or paranormal beings.

I guess it’s because I actually do believe in ghosts and spirits, whereas I don’t, for example, believe in vampires, werewolves, witches (although I’d love to be able to say that I do) or fairies. Continue reading →

Ghost Boys – Jewell Parker Rhodes

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group Canada
Published: April 17th, 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Recommended Age: 8+
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Police Brutality, History, Racism, Family, Friendship, Ghosts

REVIEW:

Some authors write 400-page books and never manage to successfully convey their intended message to their readers. Jewell Parker Rhodes here wrote a 200-page story that brims with strength, power and importance. Continue reading →

Sheets – Brenna Thummler

Posted on August 18, 2018 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Diamond Comic Distributors
Published: August 28th, 2018
Publisher: Lion Forge
Recommended Age: 7+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Ghosts, Family, Friendship

BLURB:

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for. Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world. When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain. Continue reading →

Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: March 28th, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, War Setting, Ghosts

BLURB:

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real? Continue reading →

Bad Girls Dont Die (Bad Girls Don’t Die, #1)

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Bad Girls Dont Die by Katie Alender

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
First Published: 2009
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, High School, Ghosts, Siblings, Paranormal, Mystery

BLURB:

When Alexis’s little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks she is just being her usual weird self. Things get weirder, though, when their house starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner blasts cold air. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green, she starts using old-fashioned language, and she forgets chunks of time. Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey’s shoulder. The formerly gentle child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister — but what if that green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore? Continue reading →

Cast No Shadow – Graphic Novel

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

cast2 Cast No Shadow by Nick Tapalansky & Anissa Espinosa

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
First Published: October 10th, 2017
Publisher: First Second Books
Recommended Age: 10+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Paranormal, Ghosts, Teen Romance, Friendship

BLURB:

Greg has lived in Lancaster his whole life. The town’s always had its quirks, and being born without a shadow means he’s counted among them. When Greg discovers an old mansion in the woods just outside of town, he didn’t expect to meet a smart, beautiful, funny, and…very dead teenaged girl named Eleanor. Continue reading →

Review: The Dead Seekers by Barb & J.C. Hendee

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

29953886 The Dead Seekers by Barb Hendee

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2017
Publisher: Ace Books
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 14+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Fantasy, Ghosts, Mystery

BLURB:

In the dark reaches of the eastern continent, Tris Vishal travels from village to village, using his power to put unsettled spirits to rest. He works alone, having learned that letting people close only leads to more death. Still, he finds himself accepting the help of the Mondyalitko woman who saves his life a woman whose gifts are as much a burden as his own.

Mari Kaleja thirsted for vengeance since the night her family was taken from her. She has searched far and wide for the one she thinks responsible, known only as The Dead s Man. But before she can kill him, she has to be sure. Mari hopes traveling with Tris will confirm her suspicions. But as they embark on a hunt where the living are just as dangerous as the dead, she learns the risks of keeping your enemy close…

Because it s no longer clear who is predator and who is prey. Continue reading →

Review: The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

7008041 The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

My rating: 1.5 of 5 stars
Received: Hachette Book Group
Publication Date: June 29th, 2010
Publisher: Hyperion
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Ghosts, Stereotypes (!)

BLURB:

Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot body, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already? Continue reading →

Review: The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

20499930 The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart by Lauren DeStefano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Publication Date: September 13th, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 7+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Middle Grade, Ghosts, Paranormal, Friendship

BLURB:

Lionel is a wild boy, who doesn’t much like to be around other people. He’d rather be a purring cat or a wolf stalking the woods.

Marybeth is a nice girl. She doesn’t need to be told to comb her hair or brush her teeth, and she’s kind to everyone at the orphanage . . . Lionel most of all.

Different though they are, Lionel and Marybeth are best friends in a world that has forgotten about them. So when a mysterious blue spirit possesses Marybeth—and starts to take control—they know they must stop it before the real Marybeth fades away forever.

Continue reading →

Review: Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

28855782 Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Publication Date: November 29th, 2016
Publisher: Scholastic
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Paranormal, Ghosts, Thriller, Mystery, Horror

BLURB:

When fifteen-year-old Sophie’s best friend dies abruptly under mysterious circumstances, Sophie sets off to stay with her uncle and cousins on the remote Isle of Skye. It’s been years since she last saw her cousins — brooding Cameron with his scarred hand; Piper, who seems too perfect to be real; and peculiar little Lilias with her fear of bones.

Sophie knows that in her uncle’s house, there are rules she must follow: Make no mention of Cameron’s accident. Never leave the front gate unlocked. Above all, don’t speak of the girl who’s no longer there, the sister whose room lies empty of all but the strange antique dolls she left behind.

As Sophie begins to explore the old house, a former academy for girls shut down long ago, she discovers unsettling secrets that shed light on a dark and dangerous history. But there are some secrets Sophie never expected to uncover. Secrets about her own family. Secrets that suggest Sophie may be in more danger than she could have ever imagined. Continue reading →