Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone.

Claire tries to brush it off, she must be imagining things, letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her. But then the scratching starts. Voices whisper to her in the dark. The number 396 appears everywhere she turns. And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her.

Claire is being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something…and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this middle grade ghost story. I had the physical book, which I started out reading, but then I moved to the audiobook. This was my first Lindsay Currie book, and so far, I’m a fan. Her writing was very descriptive and immersive. For a children’s book, it is quite spooky, especially once I moved to the audiobook. There is a point where Claire hears whispers, and when the narrator spoke the whispers, it made me jump a couple of times while listening to it (lol). It was creepy! 

I thought the author did a wonderful job of capturing the thoughts and feelings of a child in middle school. This is definitely a book written for its target audience, which I think kids in this age range would really appreciate and connect with. It was done very well. 

I also really enjoyed learning about the real history of Chicago sprinkled throughout the book. I love it when fictional stories incorporate true facts and real locations. It makes for a more interesting and fun experience. There is also a good message about not forgetting history. However, I wish we had delved more into some of the hauntings that were covered on the bus tour. I would’ve liked to learn more about the different supposedly haunted sites that they went to. 

At times, the book started to sound a bit preachy in its messaging. It was very obvious that certain messages were being pushed in this story. I don’t feel that all middle grade books need to tell the lesson directly. I’d rather see it shown through the story than being told, but it still had good messages: everyone is scared of something but it’s about facing your fears head-on and dealing with those fears; allowing others to help, and trusting those you love; communicating with people you’re upset with; nobody’s life is perfect even if it looks like it from the outside; everyone has problems; and not judging others based on appearances.

I enjoyed all of the characters. We even get quite a bit of character development from Claire, the main protagonist, which was nice to see in such a short book. At the beginning of the book, Claire feels like she’s losing her best friend to a new girl in school. She begins to concoct many stories in her mind about them, which leads her to feel betrayed, abandoned, and alone. But Claire underestimated her best friend, Cas, and jumped to conclusions without even talking to her. So I enjoyed the dose of reality Claire got when she finally spoke to her friend and got the truth of what was going on between Cass and Emily. Then I enjoyed watching the development of the new friendship between Claire and Emily.

The family elements when Claire interacted with her parents and brother were delightful. I always love seeing family bonding. I absolutely loved the sibling bonding between Claire and her older brother. She began to confide in him when the hauntings started to increase and get more intense, and then he actually believed her and started to help her solve the mystery. We see their relationship grow stronger as the story progresses, which just warmed my heart (having two younger brothers myself and knowing about this relationship). That connection with siblings is so precious and special.

The ghost story was pretty interesting in this book. Once the kids come together and create this cute group that wants to solve the mystery of who this ghost is and what it wants, things really pick up, and the pacing is a lot quicker. There’s not a ton of action scenes, but things start to happen, and it gets more interesting. I enjoyed the ghostly aspects as well as the mystery to solve.

Overall, this was a wonderful introduction to this author. There was superb storytelling, a good amount of suspense, eeriness, and ghostly paranormal activity with a fun mystery to solve. At times, it reminded me of the old school R.L. Stine books that I grew up reading. I also loved the history included, family dynamics, budding friendships, and just enough adolescent angst, drama, and growing pains to remind me that I was reading a middle grade book without it becoming annoying. It also had unexpected heartwarming and emotional scenes that helped deepen the story and made it more immersive. 

This is also a perfect book for Halloween and the Spooky Season. It’s very atmospheric, spooky, and haunting.