  | What lives in the woods Author: Currie, Lindsay | |
| Price: $16.29 | ||
Summary:
Ginny is unhappy when her family moves from Chicago to upstate Michigan for the summer; her father has a job restoring a 1930s mansion, but there are rumors about Woodmoor and the forest next to it: rumors about strange mutant creatures; Ginny, an aspiring mystery writer, is soon half convinced that the rumors are true, because something or someone is haunting the house--and she plans to investigate, with the help of Will, the older boy who lives nearby.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.20 Points: 9.0 Quiz: 513798 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (08/01/21)
School Library Journal (00/08/21)
Booklist (05/01/21)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/09/21)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 05/01/2021 When it comes to Saugatuck, Michigan, the question isn’t so much what lives in the woods, but rather, what lives in Woodmoor Manor? As bad luck would have it, 12-year-old Ginny has a whole month to figure that out, as her family will be staying in the clearly haunted old mansion while her father works on restoring some of its rooms. Although Ginny’s upset about having to miss a mystery-writing workshop for this trip, it doesn’t take the Agatha Christie–obsessed tween long to realize that Woodmoor has its own mystery that needs solving. Currie (Scritch Scratch, 2020) throws all the frightfully fun trappings of haunted-house tales at readers, who will soak up the stormy nights, town rumors, exploding light bulbs, creeping shadows, unsettling whispers—and let’s not forget the mannequin in the bedroom. Ginny teams up with her older brother and a kid from town to do some ghost hunting and good old-fashioned sleuthing, ultimately discovering that empathy can go a long way toward healing the past’s injuries. Light horror for larger collections. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 08/01/2021 Gr 4 Up—This suspenseful tale is yet another horror offering from Currie, whose protagonists are equally in love with books and mysteries. Ginny Anderson hears from her parents that their family is packing up and moving out for a monthlong retreat in Michigan, which means missing a highly anticipated mystery writer's workshop and leaving her friend Erica and their summertime plans behind. Her father is entrusted with the renovation of a legendary spooky mansion in Saugatuck on Lake Michigan, and her parents, Ginny, and her brother Leo find themselves in the heart of haunted happenings. Almost immediately, Agatha Christie–obsessed Ginny begins to witness moving objects, faces in the mirror, and shadows in the house's ballroom. Thankfully, Ginny enlists her brother and new friend Will in solving the curse of Woodmoor Manor, giving readers a succinct detective story and bantering dialogue for the paranormal-enthused. Currie serves up an appropriately tween horror story in staccato chapters with plenty of goosebumps. VERDICT A suggested purchase for upper elementary and middle school libraries with students interested in scary stories, and a natural step-up for those reading "Five Nights at Freddy's." Currie provides a genuinely creepy tale that begins with literary jump-scares and evolves into a decades-old historical mystery.—Rachel Joiner, Advent Episcopal Sch., Bessemer, AL - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
