The Ghost in Cabin 13 and The Brainstormerz: Money Talks

Phillips, J.C. The Ghost in Cabin 13

April 21, 2026 by Penguin Workshop

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Leah's parents are sending her to camp for "forced socialization". She's twelve and a half, and still carries her doll, Beverly, everywhere with her. While her father is in no rush for her to grow up, her mother is keenly aware that Leah has been excluded from activities with her friends who are becoming more mature, and has arranged for her to be in a cabin with girls 13-15 in the hope that she will leave her childish ways behind. Camp Cottontail is a traditional outdoor summer camp with cabins and activities like hiking and archery, and also has great camp mythology. The number one rule of the camp is to avoid Cabin 13, which was built over the grave of a woman who now haunts the building. Of course, the first thing the campers want to do is to have a seance there with a Ouija board. It's scary and fun, but the next day, Leah chases a bunny into the forest that leads her to the cabin. There, the ghost talks to her, and gets Leah to give her permission to enter the doll so that she can play with Leah. The two spend the day together until Leah's counselor, Connie, finds her and says they've been looking for her the whole day. Beverly does not like being mistreated, so when the older girls in the cabin give her a swirly in the toilet, the doll retaliates by burning everyone's possessions. Leah is blamed, but two of her cabin mates, Taylor and Adrian, are nice to her. The doll's evil behavior increases, and the girls start to realize that the ghost is trying to find a younger camper whose body she can inhabit. Finally believing Leah's tales, the girls try to neutralize the doll by burying her, which is not effective. Eventually, they tear down the cabin, which gets them in trouble. Leah returns home without her doll, which makes her parents happy, but is that really the end of the story?
Strengths: Middle school has all levels of maturity, and when you stretch the age range up to 15, it's even more apparent. Leah's behavior does seem very young for being almost 13, even though I completely understand her dislike of "forced socialization"! Summer camp is a very singular experience, and unusual closeness with other girls she doesn't know is stressful for Leah. I was so glad that Taylor and Adrian were nice to her, even though some of the girls were mean. I loved the illustrations of Beverly; she starts out as a cute, traditional doll and as she sees more wear and tear, the expressions of evil on her face are fascinating. Traditional ghost/spirit practices are in place, so the ghost can only enter the doll after Leah invites her to; when I have staff gatherings at my house, I always worry that maybe one of my fellow teachers is a vampire, and I've just invited everyone into my home! (Okay, maybe I read too much middle grade horror.) It's also good to see that the entire cabin eventually works together to send the spirit on her way. The illustrations are appealing, and a little different from the brightly colored ones we usually see, which makes sense with a horror graphic novel.
Weaknesses: The ending seemed a bit weak. The doll was really ramping up the evil, so tearing down the cabin and having camp be over was rather anticlimactic. Perhaps there will be a sequel? I was a little surprised that Connie was not excited to be a counselor, but that is probably an accurate depiction of camp counselors in the 2020s.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like K.R. Alexander's creepy doll books like Speak For Me or The Collector, or Mott's Hush-a-Bye. There are not many horror graphic novels, so this definitely combines two very popular themes!

Alexander, Kwame, Dyce, Cassidy, and Doucet, Rashad (illus.)

The Brainstormerz: Money Talks

May 5, 2026 by Little, Brown Ink

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Electric "Lex" lives with his parents, who run a bookstore called Lazy Bacon in Reston, Virginia. He often hangs out with friends DJ and Cass, so when he realizes he in not getting an Apollo phone for his tenth birthday, he makes plans with them to raise the money. DJ is rather unreliable, and prone to not paying attention, so it isn't a huge surprise when the kids' successful hot chocolate sales go bust because DJ used his grandmother's chocolate laxatives in the peanut butter hot chocolate! The kids have to return all of the money they made. They also plan a Doggy Day Care, and get lots of dogs to walk and groom, but when the dogs run after a hot dog truck, they once again fail to make money. Lex is concerned that his parents are fighting, but is invested in the idea of paying for a fancy phone. He buys a magic kit at a garage sale and plan a show at school, where they will charge $1 per person. This angers the school's Magic Club, and they make a deal with Lex that if he can get out of a locker ala Harry Houdini, they will let him keep the proceeds. He doesn't, of course, and the principal has to call firefighters to get him out of the locker. The trio thinks about snowblowing, but land on the idea of selling greeting cards at a local artists' fair. They do well, and earn $937. When Lex finds out that the Lazy Bacon book store might have to close, he offers the money to his parents, but they tell him not to worry about it. They get an extension loan, and eight months later are doing okay. At the end of the book, DJ arrives to tell Lex that Cassandra has a Ginormous problem, and we will get to read about that in the upcoming Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow. 

Elementary schools might want to look into this, but Lex and his friends seem a bit young for middle school readers. It seemed unrealistic that the principal wouldn't have a key to the locker to get Lex out; there are at least five of us at my school who could get a child out of a locker, and this has never once been an issue. The parents' business struggles are realistic, but solved much too easily. I'm all for children opening businesses and trying to make money, but $937 seems like a lot to earn selling handmade greeting cards. Readers who enjoyed Miller, Canino, and Luu's Besties: Work it Out or Doucet's Art Club will want to take a look at this new series.