Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Ghost for Rent


This paranormal ghost story begins when eleven-year-old Wendy Wiles learns her parents are planning to get divorced. Forced to leave her beloved city home for a cheaper country place, Wendy, her mother, and her twelve-year-old brother move to rural Warren, Oregon. On move-in day, Wendy meets a neighbor girl who tells her their quaint country home is haunted. Events proceed quickly as Wendy, her new friend, Jennifer, and Wendy's brother, Mike, see ghostly figures dancing in the woods. Despite Mom's claims that "there's no such thing as ghosts", paranormal events continue to occur in the Wiles' home. Meanwhile, her brother Mike, arch-tease, torments Wendy, claiming he's causing the unusual events. Wendy searches through library records to get to the bottom of the mystery. Finally, with Jennifer's help, Wendy begins to unravel the truth. At last, even Mike can no longer disbelieve and decides to aid Wendy in her search. By the end, the three young sleuths have uncovered an accidental death, a suicide, and a murder.

Ghost for Rent, written by Penny Lockwood, is geared towards middle grade kids. Even though I'm way past that age, I was totally drawn into the story. I don't read many mysteries, more or less paranormal stories, but I enjoyed this one. I really liked the relationship between Wendy and her brother, Mike. He's constantly teasing his sister and I think most kids can relate to that. I know I could, especially since my brother's name is Mike and he did the same sort of thing. Ghost for Rent is only available as an e-book at this time. You can find it for Kindle on Amazon and online at various other locations. At 16,440-words, it's a quick read, taking you about an hour or so. The story length is perfect for reluctant readers or kids just getting into chapter books. Penny tells me there will be a sequel and hopes it comes out as a printed book. I hope so too.

If you'd like to learn more about Penny Lockwood or Ghost for Rent, check out her blog, One Writer's Journey. She does some wonderful interviews with authors of all sorts of genres. She has even been kind enough to blog about my very own Dilly in the past. Thank you, Penny, for letting me post about your book and I apologize for taking so long to do so. I really enjoyed your story and believe we have a similar style of writing. I wish you much success with Ghost for Hire as well as your upcoming books.

Also, don't forget about my contest for The Marshmallow Man. It runs until August 6th, so there's still time to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. I'm really enjoying all of your marshmallow stories!

5 comments:

  1. I love this kind of book. Penny's book seems like a fascinating read.

    WV: arging - just a u missing from Wendy and Mike's life.

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  2. Rena, thank you for your kind words and for your support of my work.

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  3. I just loved this book, Rena! Your post makes me want to read it again since it's so enternaining & relatable!

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  4. that in-between reader needs books like these! High interest, but not horribly challenging. They're tough to write!

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  5. Nice review, Rena.

    Ghost for Rent is a great read for tween children. It's fast paced, mysterious, and has a ghost. I enjoyed the book so much, Penny. Looking forward to the next one.

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