All the Lovely Bad Ones

Gr 4—7—Mary Downey Hahn's story (Clarion, 2008) involving two prankster-playing siblings, Travis and Corey, takes a dark turn when their efforts to help their grandmother's newly acquired Vermont Inn lead to trouble. The Inn had a history of ghost sightings until recently, and disappointed guests are not returning. The siblings, who are spending the summer at the Inn, decide to help out by pretending to haunt the grounds. But soon they are seeing dangerous spirits themselves and life at the Inn is so unsettled that everyone is terrified. They develop a relationship with three of the ghosts—Caleb, Ira, and Seth— who died as the result of the ill treatment they received when the Inn was a work farm for destitute people, mismanaged by Miss Ada and her brother. Many of the ghosts are the lost children who were buried in secret and have no grave markers. What's worse, Miss Ada, who hanged herself, continues to terrorize the children in death. Since Travis and Corey awakened these spirits with their prank, it is now up to them to resolve things, save the Inn, and make sure their new friends find the peace they deserve. Jeffrey Cummings gives both siblings distinctive voices and catches their irritation with each other over the mysterious occurrences. Seth sounds young and mischievous, with a slight lisp and great longing for a real life, while Caleb and Ira's voices reflect their panic over the ascendancy of Miss Ada, whose voice oozes with malevolence. A compelling listen.—Edie Ching, The University of Maryland, College Park