Polterghost
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Kerry Hansen, author
Kerry Hansen is an author and a writing coach. After earning her master’s in English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she spent more than twenty years in education. When she’s not writing, she works at an independent bookstore and serves on her local library board. She lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband and their absurdly large dog. She may be terrified of horror movies, but she loves writing about creepy things.
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Kirkus Reviews
As if a move from Chicago to rural Wisconsin isn’t upsetting enough, Finn O’Donnell discovers that he and his parents are sharing their ramshackle farmhouse with a terrifying poltergeist.
The spirit world is very close to the living one in this engaging debut, which features some deliciously scary moments—the ghost even takes on point-of-view duties at times. Readers will appreciate how seventh grader Finn, an anxious loner who experiences panic attacks, is warmly and casually welcomed to his new town by gung-ho skateboarder Cricket and her friends Sully and Isa. He also encounters aspiring ghost hunter Lewis, who harasses Isa but apologizes at Cricket’s insistence and is allowed into the group. There’s even a long-legged, comically gangly sandhill crane chick with a knack for showing up at crucial moments. Finn’s new friends have his back as he struggles to cope with his ectoplasmic adversary, who makes it very clear that she wants his family to leave the house. Hansen expertly juggles several natural and supernatural plotlines as the kids’ investigations lead them into the annals of Waubinaw’s history. Finn, Sully, and Lewis are cued white; Cricket was adopted from China as a baby by a wealthy older couple, and Isa’s parents are Latine immigrants. Some of the tweens are dealing with family issues that highlight conflicts between adult expectations and young people’s embracing of their authentic selves.
Mild frights mingling with open-hearted delights.
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-62354-738-7
Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-62354-800-1
Ages: 10 and up
Page count: 288
6 x 9
Publication date: January 26, 2027



