Review by Booklist Review
In the suburb of Forest Park, Illinois, Hazel is known as something of a snoop, to her family's chagrin. Overhearing that her brother, Den, and his friends will be playing hide-and-seek in Woodlawn Cemetery, Hazel decides to sneak along and expose the secrets of the spooky graveyard, proving her skills as a detective (and for other personal motives). During the game, everyone is found except for Den's annoying best friend, Everett. A panic-stricken town commences to search for the missing child. As Hazel; her best friend, Maggie; and Den seek to uncover the missing boy, they also expose the truth about an ominously smiling ghost haunting Woodlawn. Scritch Scratch (2020) and What Lives in the Woods (2021) author Currie delivers another frightful tale centered around the Chicagoland area. Currie builds suspense through paranormal activities that will leave readers jumping. Middle-graders will admire Hazel's gumption and her journey to becoming an altruistic detective. A solid chiller for fans of Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Twelve-year-old Hazel Woods, a would-be sleuth, can't resist the temptation to eavesdrop on her older brother Den's phone conversation, during which he makes plans to meet his best friend Everett after dark at Woodland Cemetery. Though Hazel believes that a graveyard in Forest Park, Ill., is "not the kind of place you want to hang out in the dark. Or in the light. Or anytime, really," Hazel trails Den, eager to investigate rumors of hauntings. Accompanied by her best friend Maggie, Hazel follows the boys to the cemetery, where a game of hide and seek results in Everett's disappearance. Den, Hazel, and Maggie resolve to find him, but as their frantic search unfolds, disturbing messages reading "found u" and creepily scrawled smiley faces begin appearing on random objects. This relentlessly eerie ghost story by Currie (The Girl in White)--based on the 1918 Hagenbeck-Wallace train disaster, per an author's note--sometimes struggles to maintain a steady gait. Still, malevolent atmosphere permeates this terrifying telling, and Hazel's energetic first-person voice, combined with her organic relationship with Den, will invest readers from the jump. Protagonists cue as white. Ages 8--13. Agent: Shannon Hassan, Marsal Lyon Literacy. (Sept.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A 12-year-old girl pits her detective skills against a ghost to find a missing boy. Despite her parents' warnings against getting involved in the neighbors' business and refusal to let her start a mystery-themed podcast, Hazel, who is cued white, can't quell her passion for sleuthing. When Dennison, her older brother, sneaks out to play hide-and-seek in the cemetery, Hazel secretly follows. There, she hears chilling screams and howling--and is horrified when Den's friend Everett disappears. The police are called, volunteers form a search party, and Hazel begins to investigate herself, leading her and Den to encounter a terrifying ghost with its mouth sewn shut. Who this ghost is and what drives its actions become the focus of Hazel's investigation. An occasionally flippant tone undercuts genuinely creepy moments, while the mystery elements inconsistently mesh with the paranormal aspects to produce unfounded assumptions about the haunting. Excessive repetition comes across as not trusting readers' abilities and insights. Hazel's superior sleuthing abilities feel unsubstantiated when internet searches that should have occurred earlier in the story immediately yield vital clues late in the novel, and another character presents facts about the cemetery that most people in the community would know. The author's note describes the real historical events behind the haunting. A muddled mystery combined with horror elements. (Paranormal. 9-13) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
