Spirit's Key

Gr 4–7—Life on tiny Bald Island should be quiet and predictable, but for 12-year-old Spirit Holden, it's anything but. Seemingly, her ability to inherit the Holden gift of seeing the future has been hampered by the loss of her beloved dog, Sky, which she raised from a wild pup. But when Sky returns to her as a ghost only she can see, Spirit learns that not only is her gift beginning to manifest, but her beloved island and all who live there are in danger. Now she has only a short time to save other wild baldies from dying and the people of Bald Island from a tragedy that only she can foresee. A delightfully original plot and sympathetic characters are somewhat marred by stiff writing, but the island setting is unique, and the people that inhabit it are well worth getting to know—particularly Mrs. Borse, Spirit's agoraphobic next door neighbor. This book will strike a chord with fans of Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000) and Erin Hunters's "Survivors" series (HarperCollins).—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK