Description

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Allie Nichols has hardly laid the last spirit to rest when she's sure that another one is trying to reach her. But how can Allie help a ghost who won't speak? All she has to go on is a sound—a sort of whine—and a smell. At the same time, a strange boy joins her sixth-grade class. Allie doesn't understand why L.J. Cutler would start a new school at the end of the year, or why he's such a surly kid. She wants nothing to do with him. Then Mr. Henry, a teacher she loves, asks Allie to dog-sit Hoover, his golden retriever, while he's away and to befriend L.J. over the summer. She's delighted to spend time with Hoover, but she hardly looks forward to visiting L.J. Cutler—until she discovers a connection between L.J., the ghost, and Hoover.

About the Author

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Cynthia DeFelice is the author of many bestselling titles for young readers, including the novels Wild Life, The Ghost of Cutler Creek, Signal, and The Missing Manatee, as well as the picture books, One Potato, Two Potato, and Casey in the Bath. Her books have been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award and listed as American Library Association Notable Children's Books and Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, among numerous other honors. Cynthia was born in Philadelphia in 1951. As a child, she was always reading. Summer vacations began with a trip to the bookstore, where she and her sister and brothers were allowed to pick out books for their summer reading. “To me,” she says, “those trips to the bookstore were even better than the rare occasions when we were given a quarter and turned loose at the penny-candy store on the boardwalk.” Cynthia has worked as a bookseller, a barn painter, a storyteller, and a school librarian. When asked what she loves best about being an author, she can’t pick just one answer: “I love the feeling of being caught up in the lives of the characters I am writing about. I enjoy the challenge of trying to write as honestly as I can, and I find enormous satisfaction in hearing from readers that something I wrote touched them, delighted them, made them shiver with fear or shake with laughter, or think about something new.” Cynthia and her husband live in Geneva, New York.

Praise For…

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“DeFelice has created a suspenseful tale that will leave readers rapidly turning pages. . . . Mystery fans will not be disappointed.” —School Library Journal

“Thrilling . . . The gripping story of animal abuse will hook fans of the series and newcomers alike. DeFelice maintains the supernatural suspense at just the right clip until the satisfying conclusion.” —Booklist

“As always, DeFelice tells a gripping, suspenseful story, keeping readers engaged with realistically depicted human as well as animal characters.” —The Horn Book

“Enticing.” —Kirkus Reviews