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 Review by
Louella Moreland
In Grabenstein's "The Smoky Corridor," Zack Jennings is once again
embroiled with ghosts as well as a couple of zombies. Zack and his dog
Zipper are ghost seers. The only one in on his secret is his stepmom, who
also sees them. But then again, she also sees dancing cats, which she uses
as characters in her children's books.
In this story Zack is starting classes at Horace P. Pettimore Middle
School, where his father attended as a young boy. Capt. Pettimore had built
his mansion in North Chester after the Civil War, dedicating grounds for a
cemetery near it. After his death the mansion was turned into a school.
Zack is sure the school is haunted from the time he steps inside on open
house night. The eyes in the painting of Pettimore seem to be following him
whenever he moves. Sure enough, before the evening is over he has met up
with the ghosts of two boys, Seth and Joseph Donnelly, who were killed along
with their teacher, Mr. Cooper, in the 1910 fire. The corridor where the
bodies were found is right outside Zack's sixth-grade history classroom.
Then guardian ghosts start showing up at the school in increasing
numbers. Of course, Zack's friend Davey is there to help out when the going
gets really difficult. Someone is after the gold buried on the grounds by
the captain -- gold that is guarded by a zombie slave who was once a Yankee
soldier.
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Now there is danger for all the students, as Pettimore believes
one of them is a relative he has been looking for all these years.
If the captain can steal this young person's soul, he can come back
from the dead and use his stolen gold to live a comfortable life for
all eternity. Could Zack be that young person?
Although there are some gruesome elements to the story, there is
also humor and the closeness of Zack to his friends and family. Even
the ghosts provide snippets of laughter along with their help. In
the end, the evil people are punished and the good ones returned to
a normal life. These combinations have been the formula for
children's stories since before the Brothers Grimm. Boys,
especially, will love the disgusting zombies and also relate to the
school bullying.
Grabenstein has used the character of Zack Jennings in two of his
former books. The first was "The Crossroads," an excellent story
that won the Agatha Award and the Anthony Award. The second was "The
Hanging Hill," a story that theater-lovers would especially like.
While "The Smoky Corridor" does bring back many of the characters
and ghosts introduced in the first two novels, it is also peppered
with new villains and friends. This novel can completely stand on
its own without reading the other two, but once read, will probably
send the reader back to the shelves for the other volumes.
For this (age-appropriate) spine-tingling thriller, the other
Grabenstein books or other ghoulish October reads, come visit us in
the Youth Services department of the Lincoln Public Library, 725
Pekin St.
[Text from file received from
Louella Moreland,
Lincoln Public Library District]
(Ms. Lou's blog:
lincolnpubliclibraryupdates.blogspot.com) |
