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Claire doesn’t believe in ghosts.. but she will.

Twelve year old Claire overcomes her fear of the paranormal in order to help the ghost of a young boy find peace in this middle-grade coming of age story.

For the short time it took me to read this book, my brain played (on loop) The Beatles ‘With a Little Help From My Friends..’ Just saying.

There are only two end of the year seasons.. Before Thanksgiving and After Thanksgiving. One will bring in a desire for warm, cozy reads that fill you with all the feels and warmth of the Christmas season.
We’re not there yet.

So.. If you’re like me and still clinging to every last second of the spooky season? This may be just what the doctor ordered.. a somewhat creepy but not what I would call scary read.

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Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie

Standalone
Middle-grade, Ghost story, Coming of age

First line: If someone had told me yesterday that I’d be spending my Saturday morning in the aisle of a stuffy bookstore searching for ghost stories, I would’ve told them they were nuts.

Claire’s pretty much your every day, ordinary twelve year old. She believes firmly in what you can see, touch, and prove scientifically.. Unlike her father, who’s greatest passion in life is the paranormal, she doesn’t believe in ghosts.

So when an employee calls in sick one night and Claire’s needed to assist on his ghost tours, she’s horrified, there’s no way she’s getting on that bus..
Until she does.

Everything should have been fine, yeah, her dad’s ghost tours are super embarrassing but that’s nothing new. Why, then, does something feel terribly off? Is someone watching her? Where did the little boy she saw on the bus go and how did no one else see him? Why do strange, impossible things start happening around her and no one else?

Claire’s afraid. Science doesn’t explain what’s going on and she can’t go to the one person who might just have all the answers, her dad, for fear of being turned into his next book..

Soon she’s in a race against the clock to find answers to the unexplainable.
Forging new friendships and mending old hurts along the way, Claire begins to understand that she doesn’t have to face this nightmare alone.. all she had to do was open her heart, and her mind, to new possibilities.

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Four Stars!

I may have enjoyed this more had I not read ‘Small Spaces’ by Katherine Arden earlier this year and adored it.

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About the book:

Everything about her dad’s obsession with the paranormal embarrasses Claire. She believes in science. Facts. Not her dad’s hocus pocus woo-woo stuff. She’s tired of the scary stories, the tragic histories, and the nightmares about the dead. She hears how the kids at school whisper and laugh behind her back.. So it comes as no surprise that she’s vehemently against helping her dad out on his ghost tours when one of their guys calls in sick. Nope. No way. Nu-uh.

Unfortunately, she’s only twelve so.. off she goes!

If the humiliation of the tacky bus logos, the creepy histories told for the morbid tourists, and a general feeling of unease weren’t bad enough.. When a little boy that no one else can see starts following her around, frightening her with confusing visions, and leaving behind messages she doesn’t understand? It’s too much. As others slowly get pulled into the mystery, Claire finally starts to understand that not everything is what it appears, and sometimes? You have to open more than your eyes to see the truth.

Overall:

Claire’s a believable character. Twelve is a pretty tumultuous age and the author did a fantastic job of capturing that in her personality and reactions. She likes to believe in science because it’s solid, explainable, unlike all of her father’s creepy stuff.. it seemed to me that she leaned towards the facts as a defense mechanism against her fear of the paranormal. I think that, had she been honest with her dad, it would have solved quite a lot of the issues presented here.

Get a grip on yourself, Claire. He’s not even talking about ghosts yet. And even if he starts, none of it is real. Sure, I used to think it was when I was little, but not anymore. I’m a scientist now. Scientists know better than to believe in things like ghosts.
Right?

The writing was great, it flowed along seamlessly, and kept a nice pace that allowed the reader to become easily absorbed. I usually read darker stuff.. so it’s been a while since I had the pleasure of reading characters who are both likeable and endearing. It was a nice change.

The relationships between the children here are sweet. Their reactions to one another, the situations they faced, and their development throughout the book were well thought out and enjoyable.

Currie did a wonderful job creating the perfect atmosphere for a young ghost story and I found myself transported back to the good old days when the ‘Goosebumps‘ and ‘Shivers‘ series reigned supreme.

Scriiiiiiiitch scraaaaaaaaaaatch.
The scratching is drawn out this time, like nails slowly dragging down a chalkboard. I focus on the beams of light coming through my window from the street, wishing they were brighter so they could light up my room. Better yet, I wish that I were brave enough to just reach over and turn on my lamp. Instead, I’m frozen in place, and my entire room is blanketed in a deep, terrifying darkness.

There was a good deal of thought put into the characters here, they really made this book shine, and I applaud the author for the care she used in their creation.

This book does mildly touch on such subjects as anxiety and OCD. I don’t believe, however, that it would be triggering or upsetting.. The author appears to have used a good amount of care and consideration, not only to her characters but, for the readers as well.

I’d rather explain what’s happening around me with a microscope or a test tube or a strip of litmus paper, but when that isn’t possible, I get nervous. The feeling is overwhelming, like being in the deep end of a pool and realizing you can’t swim. That’s when the counting helps. It slows down my racing brain. It evens out my breathing. It makes me braver. It also really, really embarrasses me.

There are moments I found myself chuckling out loud, on the edge of my seat, wincing, sighing, shuddering. Currie does a fabulous job of stringing you along until the very end and that, my friends, is the sign of a job well done.

No matter how brave I try to be, in the end I’m just…not. No one likes facing scary things.

Would I recommend it? Yes.
Fans of Goosebumps, Christopher Pike‘s ‘Spooksville‘, or Katherine Arden‘s ‘Small Spaces‘ will most likely enjoy this quick, light ghost story.

Have you read this book?
If not.. Would you consider reading it? If so.. What did you think?

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