After I read book two in this series, Haunted Memories, I checked out every Saranormal book my local library had, as well as those in other county libraries. Ghost Town is the first. Sara Collins wants to be a normal 12-year-old, but she's not. The prologue lets us know why she's not. She's known this for eight years. Poor girl. Now her widowed father, Mike, is uprooting her from California to go live in New Jersey. How depressing. Stellamar might be on the Atlantic coast, but that's not raising Sara's spirits. The house they'll be living in is in need of repairs, but Sara realizes the worst thing about it by the end of chapter one.

Sara and her dad are being allowed to live on the second and third floors of the house in exchange for Mike doing repairs when he's not at work. Their landlady is a very unusual old woman. Lady Azura is a medium, psychic, and mystic. Her sign claims she's a healer, too. She runs her little business from the first floor of the house (ground floor if you're British). Sara wonders if she's the real thing, but her dad says she's a nice lady with 'kooky hobby'. Given the title and what we've already learned about Sara by the time they meet, it's almost a sure bet that Lady Azura isn't entirely a fake. Could she be like Charlaine Harris' Manfred Bernardo, who really is psychic sometimes, but often just uses psychology to help his customers?

After choosing the only bedroom on the second floor that she could possibly sleep in, Sara listens to a conversation between her dad and Lady Azura that will mean more in later books. By chapter three Sara learns that she's going to be running errands for their landlady -- great excuse for getting Sara out and meeting people.

NOTES:

Chapter 1:

a.. The other kids on that playground eight years ago were Kendra, Emmy, Noah, Will, and Jack. Miss Susie was either their teacher or the person watching out for the kids.

b. Lady Azura's Victorian house has siding and faded burnt orange trim. There's more to the description of its outside.

Chapter 2:

a. Mike calls Sara 'kiddo,'so when she was seven she started calling him 'Daddy-o' and sometimes she still does. (Back in the 1950s and 1960s 'Daddy-o' was a cool thing to call a man. Jazz musicians started it.)

b. Mike's ex-girlfriend in California was Alexis.

c. Sara's mom died not long after she gave birth.

Chapter 3:

a. The house is on Seagate Drive, at the end of which is Ocean Grove Road. Elmer's Convenience Store is on the corner. The town's main street is Beach Drive.It runs parallel to the Beach. The Stellamar Boardwalk is off the right.

b. Sara takes photos to make collages on her computer. Her late mother was a photographer. Sara's favorite of her mom's photos is one of a porcelain angel.

c. Sara learns the history of the boardwalk's haunted house attraction.

Chapter 4:

a. Sara meets her neighbor, Lily Randazzo, another 12-year-old. Lily has three brothers and her sister, Cammie, is four years old.

b. Lady Azura's room where she conducts here psychic business is described. So is her bedroom.

Mention: Oz

Chapter 5: Something happens to Sara that has never happened to her before.

Chapter 6: The Randazzos and the Morellis (Lily's maternal relatives) run most of Stellamar and nearby towns. They've been there over 100 years. Lily's Great-Aunt Ro works at visitor's information. Her Uncle Lenny has Lenny's Pizzeria.

Chapter 7: Sara has an Aunt Charlotte on her father's side.

Chapter 8:

a. Lady Azura teaches Sara about eight types of crystal and semi-precious gemstones.

b. An old man's ghost warns Sara about looming disaster.

Chapter 9:

a. Sara's craft room in the larger third floor room is described.

b. Sara has a nightmare about Lily's brother, Joey,

Chapter 10: Sara has had nightmares since she was four years old.

Chapter 11: Lady Azura tells Sara why she called sea glass 'mermaid's tears' when she was young.

Mention: Poseidon

Chapter 12: Sara finds out the old man ghost's name when she meets Great-Aunt Ro.

Chapter 13: Sara meets Lily's friend, Miranda.

Chapter 13: Sara learns about the properties of two more stones. Lady Azura gives her one.

I like Sara and the other characters Sara's worry that her ability will keep her from fitting in is real, but she gets to make a friend and have an adventure. It's a good start to a series I've been enjoying. ( )

I'm generally not a fan of ghost stories, but this one was alright. I'd go for the second book. ( )

Sara has always seen ghosts and is not happy when her father moves her across the country to a house that has more ghosts than living occupants. In her new town, Sara makes friends with the effervescent Lily - who knows just about everyone in town - and David, who shares Sara’s passion for photography and works at the haunted house near the beach.

While getting use to her new home and town, Sara learns that, not only could she see them but, the ghosts can communicate with her.

While it’s not entirely frightening, Saranormal will be a treat to any young reader who loves a good mystery with a little scare.

The story itself was a very quick read, it was enjoyable and the mystery wasn’t super transparent so it was enough to keep a young reader guessing until the end.
( )

Sara has been moved all the way across the country with her father. Now instead of California she is living on the New Jersey shore. Moving is bad enough but Sara has another problem. Ever since she was 4 years old she has seen spirits. Now, on the boardwalk of all places, not only is she seeing a spirit, he is talking to her.

This was a lot of fun. Sara is an interesting character who is somewhat withdrawn because of her special talent. In the book she meets people who want to be her friend and she is trying to balance meeting people with the pesky ghosts. I really like the resort town setting and the characters in the story. This is a good book for tweens and maybe even a bit younger. I think I have found my new lunch book series. ( )

A simple story about a girl with some paranormal talents coming into her powers. Seems like a prequel to something I'm assuming is coming later. And really, could they have made the type any bigger? Good grief. ( )