Ghost Town by Eric Colossal (Harry N. Abrams, 256 pages, grades 4-7). Lily’s been accepted to a prestigious science academy, which means a move to another town, but she’s sure she doesn’t want her life to change. After purposely failing her science final in an attempt to lose her scholarship, she’s grounded and assigned to volunteer at the library every morning, but that doesn’t stop her from sneaking out to play baseball with her friends. When their ball goes through the window of an old mansion, the kids stumble upon a ghost and a trap for catching other ghosts. As they go through town, cleaning up ghosts and restoring the power that those ghosts have been sucking up, they slowly unravel a mystery involving an old family from town, and one member in particular, who, like Lily, didn’t want anything to change. As she begins to see the destruction his resistance has caused, Lily realizes that change is inevitable, and it’s okay for her to embrace the new things in her life.
This is a fun tween ghostbusters story with the whole gang taking on the task of trapping ghosts and finding out about their past lives, which they accidentally discover can be done by swallowing the ghost and initiating a flashback of its past life. There’s lots of humor, like when some of the ghosts turn out to be animals, but there’s also a pretty serious message conveyed in the big final showdown.
Free Piano (Not Haunted) by Whitney Gardner (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 256 pages, grades 5-8). Margot loves playing the ukulele and writing songs, but everyone around her seems more concerned with getting likes and follows on social media. Her dad goes off to L.A. to pursue his musical dreams and his goal of 10,000 followers, while her two best friends are getting more action on their channel smashing things from a tree house than Margot gets with her music. When she finds an old synthesizer keyboard with a sign reading “Free Piano (Not Haunted),” she thinks it may be just the thing to help her connect with her dad. Instead, it starts making weird sounds, even when it’s not plugged in, and eventually the ghost of ’80’s pop star Vision appears. Vision encourages Margot to embrace her own talents, and together, the two of them exorcise an evil spirit from Vision’s past who’s been haunting the keyboard. The ghost eventually has to move on, but its clear that her influence has changed the way Margot sees herself and her talents. Includes additional information about the Prophet-5 keyboard featured in the story.
This is sure to be a popular choice for middle school kids struggling with their own identities and parental issues, and it never hurts to throw a ghost or two into the mix. The brilliantly colored artwork conjures up Vision’s 1980’s vibe, with the portrayals of ghosts and the haunted keyboard especially effective.