Caught for a prank he was not involved in, new-kid, good-boy Elliot must clean out the school’s boathouse with multiply-pierced, Goth girl, Shannon as punishment. They are serving their sentence late on a Friday afternoon and the boathouse looks creepy in the fading light which sets the stage for a scary story. A fairly predictable plotline follows with the polar opposites making assumptions about each other. After Shannon finds half of a best friend necklace, the door to the boathouse slams shut even though it was propped open with a brick. Shannon thinks she feels a “presence” in the boathouse and suggests they make a Ouiji Board to communicate with it. They discover the spirit of a murdered girl who demands that they solve the mystery of her death. Written for reluctant readers there are short chapters, a lot of dialogue, and short paragraphs with enough creepiness to keep readers on the edge of their seat. ( )

High school pranks are fun and mostly harmless, right? Just a rite of innocent passage... When Shannon and her goth friends botch a stupid prank that involved hiding the principal's Smart Car in the woods, Shannon is deserted by her "friends" as the ploy is about to be discovered. New student, Elliot hears the commotion, thinking someone needs help. Upon investigating,
Elliot is mistaken for Shannon's accomplice. Elliot is a good boy, a rule follower and he is not happy his first impressions at this school have gone so awry. As part of their punishment, the pair is tasked to clean up the school boathouse. Should be an easy enough task, they figure: chuck all the broken stuff, organize whatever still works and get the weekend underway. as they work, Shannon feels an eerie presence in the boathouse and somehow convinces Elliot to investigate her feelings with a Ouija board she makes from items found in the boathouse. This is when things take a turn for the horrifying. When the pair accidentally unleash a dark force, they find themselves caught up in a mystery that must be solved if they have any hope of escape.

This was a short, but a suspenseful read middle school students will enjoy reading and ask for more.
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Meh hi-lo book about a couple of teens trapped in an old boat house who receive murder revelations from, yes, a Ouija Board. Elliot's first person voice is authentic and sometimes amusing but the premise is so far-fetched that all but most naive young adults will be put off. Most of all, it perpetuates an untrue stereotype regarding a harmless parlor game. ( )

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This is a spooky, suspenseful little ghost story for the Orca Soundings line for reluctant readers. It's tame enough for the younger crowd but creepy enough to hold the interest of the older. Slightly longer review to come. ( )