F SNY	Eyes in the Fishbowl (age 10+) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder fantasy ... spooky Catalog: Locked in one evening with the vast wealth of the Alcott-Simpson department store, a fourteen-year-old boy meets an unusual girl who hints about the mysterious "they" and tells him of strange goings-on in the building.
F PER	Criss Cross (age 10+) by Lynne Rae Perkins identity ... spooky Publisher comments: She wished something would happen. Something good. To her. Checking her wish for loopholes, she found one. Hoping it wasn't too late, she thought the word soon. Meanwhile, in another part of town, he felt as if the world was opening. Life was rearranging itself; bulging in places, fraying in spots. He felt himself changing, too, but into what? So much can happen in a summer.
F CRO	New World (age 10+) by Gillian Cross adventure ... spooky ... math/science/technology Fourteen-year-old Miriam agrees to test a new computer game in utmost secrecy but finds that it is more than she bargained for.
F ALC	The Stonewalkers (age 10+) by Vivien Alcock adventure ... spooky Everyone is so tired of Poppy Brown's stories that Poppy has begun talking to garden statues. When her favorite statue, Belladonna, is struck by lightning and comes to life, Poppy must find a human who will listen! Poppy's classmate Emma is skeptical, but curious enough to help Poppy investigate the living statues, which are disappearing from gardens all over town and assembling somewhere on the moors. What seemed fascinating at first soon becomes terrifying as the two girls are captured by the creatures they had observed - creatures who are at once beautiful, spiteful, and as unfeeling as the stone they're made of.
F BER	Magic by the Book (age 10+) by Nina Bernstein folklore ... adventure ... spooky ... magic Publisher comments: Neither Anne nor Emily remembered choosing the book at the library, but when as they read it, the boundary between their world and the one described in the book disappears. Suddenly they are in Sherwood Forest, where they join Robin Hood's band. They had yearned for magic as strong as the spell cast by the stories they loved best. But then an uninvited guest turns up at their parents' garden party. The sinister man snatches the book with the intention of using its powers for evil, and the siblings find themselves engaged in a battle to regain possession of the book.
F AIK	Midnight Is a Place (age 10+) by Joan Aiken adventure ... mystery ... historical ... spooky Publisher comments: Lucas Bell is lonely and miserable at Midnight Court, a vast, brooding house owned by his intolerable guardian, Sir Randolph Grimsby. When a mysterious carriage brings a visitor to the house, Lucas hopes hes found a friend at last. But the newcomer, Anna Marie, is unfriendly and spoiled—and French. Just when Lucas thinks things cant get any worse, disastrous circumstances force him and Anna Marie, parentless and penniless, into the dark and unfriendly streets of Blastburn.
F JAR	The Deptford Histories Series (age 10+) by Robin Jarvis adventure ... action ... historical ... spooky ... fantasy Publisher comments: The year is 1664 when young Will Godwin comes to London. In order to survive, he becomes an assistant to a wicked alchemist, Elias Theophratus Spittle. On an errand one freezing night, Will finds a mother cat and her three kittens, and brings the family back to his master's lab. Among the bubbling bottles and evil smelling jars of his master's apothecary shop unfolds an extraordinary tale of villainy, sorcery, and murder. title: The Alchemist's Cat title: The Oaken Throne title: Thomas
F JAR	The Deptford Mice Trilogy (age 10+) by Robin Jarvis adventure ... historical ... spooky ... fantasy Publisher comments: In the British tradition of Redwall comes this trilogy that is sure to capture fans both young and old. In the sewers of Deptford, there lurks a dark presence that fills the tunnels with fear. The rats worship it in the blackness and name it "Jupiter, Lord of All." Into this twilight realm wanders a small and frightened mouse, the unwitting trigger of a chain of events that hurtles the Deptford mice into a world of heroic adventure and terror. title: The Dark Portal title: The Crystal Prison title: The Final Reckoning
F AVI	Something Upstairs: A Tale of Ghosts (age 10+) by Avi mystery ... spooky Publisher comments: The room was shabby and dirty, heavy with heat. None of the things which Kenny called his own remained. Even the painted walls and skylight were gone. Baffled, he wondered if other things, even outside, had changed. Kenny went to one of the windows and looked down. On a stoop across the dark street a man was standing, gazing straight at Kenny's window. He was wearing what appeared to be a long black cape which reached his knees, and a hat, triangular in shape. Its brim obscured his face. As if suddenly realizing he was being observed, the man moved quickly into the shadows. Keeping his face averted, he fled up the street.
F BAU	A Taste of Smoke (age 10+) by Marion Dane Bauer adventure ... family ... spooky Catalog: Thirteen-year-old Caitlin looks forward to the camping trip with her older sister in the woods of Northern Minnesota, but she doesn't count on the intrusion of her sister's boyfriend or the ghost of a boy who died in the fire that destroyed the forest a century before.
F BRU	Skeleton Man (age 10+) by Joseph Bruchac spooky ... mystery Publisher comments: Ever since the morning Molly woke up to find that her parents had vanished, her life has become filled with terrible questions. Where have her parents gone? Who is this spooky old man who's taken her to live with him, claiming to be her great-uncle? Why does he never eat, and why does he lock her in her room at night? What are her dreams of the Skeleton Man trying to tell her? There's one thing Molly does know. She needs to find some answers before it's too late. sequel: The Return of Skeleton Man
F GAI	The Graveyard Book (age 10+) by Neil Gaiman fantasy ... spooky Publisher comments: Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place; he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time, as well as their timely ghostly teachings, like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.
F GRA	The Crossroads (age 10+) by Chris Grabenstein adventure ... action ... spooky Publisher comments: Zack, his dad, and new stepmother have just moved back to his father’s hometown, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over . . . and Zack is directly in his sights.
F HEN	Bird Lake Moon (age 10+) by Kevin Henkes illness/loss ... family ... friendship ... spooky Publisher comments: Spencer thought the house might be haunted. Mitch knew it wasn't. And he knew why. The whole time Spencer and Mitch hung out together at Bird Lake that summer, there were secrets keeping them apart. And maybe a secret knowledge keeping them together, too...together like members of the same tribe. Like friends.
F SHA	Saga of Darren Shan (age 10+) by Darren Shan action ... adventure ... spooky Publisher comments: Cirque Du Freak is the frightening saga of a young boy whose visit to a mysterious freak show leads him on a journey into a dark world of vampires. Author Darren Shan's vivid detail and original voice will have young readers glued to their seats in terror. Filled with grotesque creatures, murderous vampires, and a petrifying ending, Cirque Du Freak will chill, thrill, and leave readers begging for more. title: Cirque du Freak title: The Vampires Assistant title: Tunnels of Blood title: Vampire Mountain title: Trials of Death title: The Vampire Prince title: Hunters of the Dusk title: Allies of the Night title: Cirque du Freak: Killers of the Dawn title: Cirque du Freak: the Lake of Souls title: The Lake of Souls title: Lord of the Shadows title: Cirque du Freak: Sons of Destiny
F VAN	Stolen (age 10+) by Vivian Vande Velde identity ... fantasy ... spooky Catalog: A girl finds herself running through the forest at the edge of a village with no memory of anything, even her own name, and later learns that she might be twelve-year-old Isabelle, believed to be stolen by a witch six years before.
F HAU	A Haunt of Ghosts (age 10+) by Hau short stories ... spooky A collection of ten chilling ghost stories.
F HIG	The Black Book of Secrets (age 10+) by F. E. Higgins mystery ... fantasy ... spooky Publisher comments: A boy arrives at a remote village in the dead of night. His name is Ludlow Fitch, and he is running from a most terrible past. What he is about to learn is that in this village is the life he has dreamed of, a safe place to live, and a job, as the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker who trades people's deepest, darkest secrets for cash. Ludlow's job is to neatly transcribe the confessions in an ancient leather-bound tome: The Black Book of Secrets.
F HIG	The Bone Magician (age 10+) by F. E. Higgins fantasy ... spooky ... mystery ... magic Publisher comments: Pin Carpue is on his own in the world. His mother is dead and his father is missing after being labeled a suspect in a rash of murders. Pin finds a job working for the local undertaker as a body watcher, making sure people are really dead before they're buried. The body hes supposed to be watching tonight is currently surrounded by three people engaged in a most unusual ceremony. An old man, a bone magician, and his young female assistant are waking a woman so her grieving fiancé can have one last goodbye with her. Pin can't believe it will work, but then the dead woman sits up and speaks. Pin is determined to discover how the magic works. He cannot believe they are raising the dead. He cannot believe his father is a murderer. Then Pin himself nearly becomes the killers next victim. As this mysterious tale unfolds with delicious creepiness, Pin will learn more about the bone magician, the girl Juno, and a hideous creature called the Gluttonous Beast that is kept in a local tavern where people pay for a glimpse.
F LUB	Kidzilla and Other Tales (age 10+) by David Lubar spooky ... short stories ... science fiction Publisher comments: Don't bother looking for PsychoZone on a Map. It's not a place...but a state of mind where the worlds of reality and imagination collide. A place where a kid can wake up and have morphed into a giant lizard. Or where one can place a long distance phone call...to the future. Or where the monsters of your worst nightmares come alive, and where car trips that are sooo boring you think they'll last forever... In the PsychoZone.
F GAI	Coraline (age 10+) by Neil Gaiman family ... fantasy ... spooky When Coraline steps through a door to find another house strangely similar to her own (only better), things seem marvelous. But there's another mother there, and another father, and they want her to stay and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go. Coraline will have to fight with all her wit and courage if she is to save herself and return to her ordinary life.
F SCH	A Drowned Maiden's Hair: a Melodrama (age 10+) by Laura Amy Schlitz spooky ... historical Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence. So when the charming Miss Hyacinth chooses her to take home, the girl is pleased but baffled, until it becomes clear that she's needed to help stage elaborate seances for bereaved patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing her role as a secret child, she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience --- until a shocking betrayal shows just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with fascinating details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this lively novel features a feisty heroine whom readers will not soon forget.
F IBB	The Beasts of Clawstone Castle (age 10+) by Eva Ibbotson humor ... spooky ... mystery When their parents go to America, Madlyn and Rollo are sent to their relatives at Clawstone Castle, home of the legendary Wild White Cattle of Clawstone Park. Times are hard at Clawstone, so Madlyn and Rollo audition a cast of ghosts to add some thrills to the Clawstone tours. Then a very real mystery arises.
F BRU	The Dark Pond (age 10+) by Joseph Bruchac school ... spooky ... mystery ... folklore After he feels a mysterious pull drawing him toward a dark, shadowy pond in the woods, Armie looks to old Native American tales for guidance about the dangerous monster lurking in the water.
F AVI	The Seer of Shadows (age 10+) by Avi historical ... spooky The time is 1872. The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality. So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art. But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange things begin to happen. Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead daughter, Eleanora. Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora really was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful wraith intent on punishing those who abused her.
F AND	The May Bird Series (age 10+) by Jodi Lynn Anderson princesses ... spooky ... action ... adventure ... fantasy Most people aren't very comfortable in the woods, but the woods of Briery Swamp fit May Bird like a fuzzy mitten. There, she is safe from school and the taunts and teases of kids who don't understand her. Hidden in the trees, May is a warrior princess, and her cat, Somber Kitty, is her brave guardian. Then May falls into the lake. When she crawls out, May finds herself in a world that most certainly does not feel like a fuzzy mitten. in fact, it is a place few living people have ever seen. Here towns glow blue beneath zipping stars and the people (people?) walk through walls. Here the Book of the Dead holds the answers to everything in the universe. And here, if May is discovered, the horrifying evil Bo Cleevil will turn her into nothing. May Bird must get out. Fast. title: May Bird and the Ever After title: May Bird Among the Stars title: May Bird, Warrior Princess
F ALL	The Gilda Joyce Series (age 10+) by Jennifer Allison humor ... spooky ... mystery ... family Gilda Joyce uses her detective skills, and her psychic powers, to bravely face the difficult problems that come her way. title: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator title: Gilda Joyce: the Ghost Sonata title: Gilda Joyce: the Ladies of the Lake
F AHL	The Improbable Cat (age 10+) by Allan Ahlberg animals ... spooky It all begins when David's family takes in a stray kitten. At least that's what the creature appears to be. But David and his faithful dog, Billy, immediately sense something terribly amiss. Then indeed "something crazy--impossible--horrific" happens. . . .
F PEA	Who's Afraid? and Other Strange Stories (age 10+) by Philippa Pearce short stories ... spooky Supernatural stories, both clever and unsettling.
F GLI	Pure Dead Series (age 10+) by Debi Gliori fantasy ... humor ... spooky ... magic Things are not right at the Strega-Borgia castle. Signor Luciano Strega-Borgia has been kidnapped. Signora Baci Strega-Borgia is struggling with her spells at the Advanced Witchcraft Institute. Titus and Pandora don't like their suspiciously cheerful and fearless new nanny. Baby Damp has been accidentally shrunk, e-mailed, and lost on the World Wide Web. And to top it off, there's a gangster in a bunny suit lurking about. . . . This seriously over-the-top, gothic romp is sure to have readers clamoring for the next Strega-Borgia adventure. title: Pure Dead Magic title: Pure Dead Batty title: Pure Dead Brilliant title: Pure Dead Wicked title: Pure Dead Trouble
F CON	Stonewords: a Ghost Story (age 10+) by Pam Conrad mystery ... spooky The first time Zoe met Zoe Louise, Zoe was four years old. Zoe Louise was more than 100. From that day on, living in the same house, separated by a staircase and a century, Zoe and Zoe Louise have been an important and permanent part of each other's lives. Now Zoe is older. And although Zoe Louise never grows up, she is changing in dreadful, frightening ways. Time is running out for Zoe's best friend, and Zoe is the only one who can help her.
F BRA	The Halloween Tree (age 10+) by Ray Bradbury traditions ... historical ... adventure ... folklore ... spooky Meet the mysterious Mr. Moonshroud, who leads eight boys on a journey back through the centuries to discover the real meaning of Halloween. Prose of exquisite beauty will send shivers of delight ... and terror ... through readers, who will want to take this trip over and over again, long after the last jack-o'-lantern has gone dark.
F ALC	The Red-Eared Ghosts (age 10+) by Vivien Alcock science fiction ... fantasy ... spooky Mary Frewin has seen "ghosts" since she was a baby and after learning about her great-great grandmother and stumbling through a time wreck near her home in London, she understands why.
F TUR	Instead of Three Wishes (age 10+) by Megan Whalen Turner fantasy ... spooky ... short stories A collection of seven stories featuring such elements of fantasy as leprechauns, ghosts, and the supernatural.
F TOL	Who's There? (age 10+) by Stephanie S. Tolan family ... illness/loss ... spooky When fourteen-year-old Drew and her mute younger brother come to live with their father's estranged relatives after their parents' sudden death, they discover that the house is haunted by ghosts and a deadly family secret. A first-rate thriller.
F PUL	Count Karlstein (age 10+) by Philip Pullman humor ... family ... adventure ... spooky In the mountains of Switzerland the wicked Count Karlstein plots to abandon his two nieces in a hunting lodge as prey for the Demon Huntsman and his ghostly hounds.
F LAW	The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (age 10+) by Michael Lawrence spooky a retelling of the tale by Robert Louis Stevenson in which a kind and well-respected doctor is transformed into a murderous madman by taking a secret drug of his own creation.
F BEL	The Mansion in the Mist (age 10+) by John Bellairs science fiction ... fantasy ... mystery ... spooky While spending the summer in an old house on a desolate Canadian island, Anthony Monday and Miss Eells discover a chest that can transport them to another world and a maniacal group who are plotting the destruction of people on Earth.
F ALC	The Haunting of Cassie Palmer (age 10+) by Vivien Alcock fantasy ... spooky Thirteen-year-old Cassie, the seventh child of a seventh child, begins to exhibit the gift of second sight which enables her to communicate with the Other World.
F REI	Time Windows (age 10+) by Kathryn Reiss fantasy ... spooky When Miranda moves with her family to a new house in a small Massachusetts town, she discovers a mysterious antique--a dollhouse. Through the windows, she is shocked to find what seem to be living people in the tiny rooms, and gradually she realizes that scenes from the lives of the big house's past inhabitants are being replayed there.
F SNY	The Egypt Game (age 10+) by Zilpha Keatley Snyder spooky ... adventure ... friendship The first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, she's not sure they'll have anything in common. But she soon discovers that they both love anything to do with ancient Egypt. When they stumble upon a deserted storage yard behind the A-Z Antiques and Curio Shop, Melanie and April decide it's the perfect spot for Egypt Game. Before long there are six Egyptians instead of two. Everyone thinks it's just a game, until strange things begin happening to the players. Has the Egypt Game gone too far? sequel: The Gypsy Game
F HAM	The House of Dies Drear (age 10+) by Virginia Hamilton spooky ... historical ... mystery The house held secrets, Thomas knew, even before he first saw it looming gray and massive on its ledge of rock. It had a century-old legend - two fugitive slaves had been killed by bounty hunters after leaving its passageways, and Dies Drear himself, the abolitionist who has made the house into a station on the Underground Railroad, had been murdered there. The ghosts of the three were said to walk its rooms... sequel: The Mystery of Drear House
F FIN	Bad Dreams (age 10+) by Anne Fine spooky ... school ... friendship Despite her preference for books over friends, Melanie gradually becomes involved with a new classmate, and realizes that her her friend has a special gift that is also a burden.
F AVI	Midnight Magic (age 10+) by Avi spooky ... knights/castles/dragons ... fantasy ... magic On a stormy night in the Kingdom of Pergamontio, an insistent knocking brings Fabrizio, the servant boy, to the door. Outside stands a soldier summoning Fabrizio's master, Mangus the Magician, to the king's castle. Because Mangus has been under house arrest for confessing to be a magician, he cannot imagine why the king is calling for him. But magic is exactly what the king needs. He wants Mangus to free his daughter from the torment of a terrifying ghost. Mangus' life will depend on his success.

Sat Aug 25 11:55:25 2012 Other themes and genres