August 4, 2026 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Harmony Round tree has become increasingly interested in ghosts since the death of her beloved grandmother. She and her father, Big Al, have been traveling around the US with his band. In each new city, she tries to go on a ghost tour and endeavors to take photos. She gets a note of permission from her father, and is often the only Black girl on the tour. In Savannah, her father has new accomodations for them; the guest house at the back of his friend Lena's property. There's just been a murder in the area of a locally beloved historian, Tim Truman, and his nephew Jabari is still missing. This makes Lena wary of letting Harmony take her son, Robby, on ghost tours with her, but the two still go on Asher's Orbs and More tour in the Colonial Park area. At the run down Myers House, Harmony thinks she gets a picture of a ghost. Excited, she goes to a shop to get a hard copy printed, and meets a girl her age, Myah, whose father owns the shop. Myah thinks that the ghost is Truman's, and the girls start to hang out to try to learn more about what happened to Truman. The area was built on top of a Black cemetery, and Truman had been trying to get the name of the square changed from Calhoun, which ran him afoul of some people. The kids try to talk to friends and family of Truman, but upset some of them. They decide that they need to solve the mystery themselves. They try to get some ghost hunting advice from Maverick, who tells them that sometimes what people think are ghosts are really grief hallucinations. Since Harmony is struggling with the death of her grandmother, this is a concern. Also concerning is the fact that Myah has gotten in trouble for claiming to be able to talk to ghosts, encouraged by the teachings of her own grandmother, who is of Gullah descent. Even though the Myers House is condemned, the kids sneak in. Will they be able to solve the mystery, and will Harmony come to terms with her father's plans for the future?
While I thought this book was related to the author's Blood in the Water because of the similarities in the cover, it is not.
Strengths: I've never been to Savannah, so this was a great virtual trip. There is plenty of local history, and it was good to see Harmony investigating it along with Myah, who was aware of some of the local legends. I enjoyed Myah's grandmother. The subplot with Harmony and her father moving away from Harlem could have been a book all on its own. Robby was a good sidekick, and I liked his technical knowledge. Ghost hunting seems like a tween interest that could be more widespread, and the book had a bit of a Scooby-Doo feel to it, with Harmony and her meddling friends being able to find the evil villains and solve the mystery.
Weaknesses: Harmony and Myah make some poor choices, and as an adult, Lena seemed to have some good points about being cautious in an area that had just seen an unsolved murder.While young readers will think it perfectly fine that the kids are giving Maverick money to rent equipment and going into a decrepit building, it gave me some pause. This was also a bit on the long side.
What I really think: While this is mildly scary, it is more historically focused. Fans of Hill's Girl from the Ashes, Strong's Just South of Home, Royce's Root Magic, and Cummins' Trace will enjoy this one. While I appreciate the research that Jackson has done into children and grief, it's never my favorite thing to read about. Grandparents of middle grade readers are very likely to die; it's just part of life. My own philosphy on this is different from the prevailing one. I will probably buy a copy, since the cover is great and my students can't get enough scary books.
Harmony Round tree has become increasingly interested in ghosts since the death of her beloved grandmother. She and her father, Big Al, have been traveling around the US with his band. In each new city, she tries to go on a ghost tour and endeavors to take photos. She gets a note of permission from her father, and is often the only Black girl on the tour. In Savannah, her father has new accomodations for them; the guest house at the back of his friend Lena's property. There's just been a murder in the area of a locally beloved historian, Tim Truman, and his nephew Jabari is still missing. This makes Lena wary of letting Harmony take her son, Robby, on ghost tours with her, but the two still go on Asher's Orbs and More tour in the Colonial Park area. At the run down Myers House, Harmony thinks she gets a picture of a ghost. Excited, she goes to a shop to get a hard copy printed, and meets a girl her age, Myah, whose father owns the shop. Myah thinks that the ghost is Truman's, and the girls start to hang out to try to learn more about what happened to Truman. The area was built on top of a Black cemetery, and Truman had been trying to get the name of the square changed from Calhoun, which ran him afoul of some people. The kids try to talk to friends and family of Truman, but upset some of them. They decide that they need to solve the mystery themselves. They try to get some ghost hunting advice from Maverick, who tells them that sometimes what people think are ghosts are really grief hallucinations. Since Harmony is struggling with the death of her grandmother, this is a concern. Also concerning is the fact that Myah has gotten in trouble for claiming to be able to talk to ghosts, encouraged by the teachings of her own grandmother, who is of Gullah descent. Even though the Myers House is condemned, the kids sneak in. Will they be able to solve the mystery, and will Harmony come to terms with her father's plans for the future?
While I thought this book was related to the author's Blood in the Water because of the similarities in the cover, it is not.
Strengths: I've never been to Savannah, so this was a great virtual trip. There is plenty of local history, and it was good to see Harmony investigating it along with Myah, who was aware of some of the local legends. I enjoyed Myah's grandmother. The subplot with Harmony and her father moving away from Harlem could have been a book all on its own. Robby was a good sidekick, and I liked his technical knowledge. Ghost hunting seems like a tween interest that could be more widespread, and the book had a bit of a Scooby-Doo feel to it, with Harmony and her meddling friends being able to find the evil villains and solve the mystery.
Weaknesses: Harmony and Myah make some poor choices, and as an adult, Lena seemed to have some good points about being cautious in an area that had just seen an unsolved murder.While young readers will think it perfectly fine that the kids are giving Maverick money to rent equipment and going into a decrepit building, it gave me some pause. This was also a bit on the long side.
What I really think: While this is mildly scary, it is more historically focused. Fans of Hill's Girl from the Ashes, Strong's Just South of Home, Royce's Root Magic, and Cummins' Trace will enjoy this one. While I appreciate the research that Jackson has done into children and grief, it's never my favorite thing to read about. Grandparents of middle grade readers are very likely to die; it's just part of life. My own philosphy on this is different from the prevailing one. I will probably buy a copy, since the cover is great and my students can't get enough scary books.
No comments:
Post a Comment