Ghost for Rent by Penny Lockwood--A Review

GHOST FOR RENT
ISBN: 0-7599-0340-9 trade paperback
ISBN: 0-7599-0337-9 eBook


Eleven-year-old Wendy feels like her world is falling apart when her parents discuss getting a divorce. She and her twelve-year-old brother pack up and move into a house that is reported to be haunted. Wendy's mother doesn't believe in such things, but Wendy knows she has seen the ghost of a young girl who used to live here. Her brother teases her until he sees the ghost of a piano-playing boy. The two set out, with the help of a young neighbor girl, to solve the mystery of why these two ghosts are haunting the house. What they find is more than any of the three could have imagined.

Told with a quick-paced style, Penny Lockwood brings to life a cast of characters that will keep readers in the 9-12 year-old age group interested and wondering what happens next. Leaving many of the details to the reader's imagination, Ghost for Rent is plot-driven. This allows more opportunity for young readers to identify with the characters.

I can see a future for Penny Lockwood in this genre. Here easy, flowing language and fast-paced plot will help draw young readers in and have them enjoying the read so much they want more. I give Ghost For Rent five colors on the Rainbow Scale of Reading Excellence.