From School Library Journal
Grade 3-6?Nine-year-old Abby is anticipating a summer full of fun when she is hit with a triple whammy?her best friend's family abruptly leaves for a three-week camping trip; she finds out that she and her brother will have a live-in sitter, 18-year-old Hannah; and she receives an eerie music box from her aunt. Hannah is scared of her own shadow, the music box takes on a life of its own, and the ghost of an angry girl in a white cap terrifies everyone. "Big, clumsy, and dumb" Abby takes care of business in this cozy alternative for the "Goosebumps" (Scholastic) set. Despite an ending that comes too quickly and too neatly, the clean writing and short chapters will appeal to reluctant readers as well as to younger children clamoring for a good ghost story.?Ann Cook, Winter Park Public Library, FL
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 4^-6. According to her older brother, David, 9-year-old Abby is "big, clumsy, and dumb." In fact, she's more shy than anything else, but she constantly feels the need to measure herself by David's standards. She learns that she can stand quite well on her own when a package from her aunt yields an unusual music box--a music box that's coveted by a restless, malevolent ghost. As usual, Wright manages a smooth mix of the earthbound and the supernatural as Abby and 18-year-old Hannah Gray, Abby and David's nervous summer sitter (the first to see the ghost), investigate the spirit so that they can put it to rest. A fast, not-too-scary read that carries a surprisingly down-to-earth message.
Stephanie Zvirin
