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Zack Jennings life is full of new things. He has a new step-mother, who understands him better than he ever expected. And he's going to a new school, with all the possibilities that brings. Maybe in this school he'll be popular. Maybe in this school the ghosts won't bother him. Maybe things will be better. Ah, the optimism of youth. The Horace P. Pettigrew Middle School has a lot going on, most of it unseen by the majority of students and faculty. The essence of Horace Pettigrew is still there, waiting for a chance to come back and make a new life with all the gold he buried. The zombies Horace created are still there, guarding the treasure. And there are lots of ghosts - the ghosts of students, of teachers, of staff - and Zack can see them all. The school bully has already singled him out. The cool teacher seems to like him. His friends are turning out to be all the odd kids that don't belong to any of the normal groups. Many readers will recognize and remember Zack's feelings about all of this. Grabenstein has written two others in the "Haunted Places" series; THE SMOKY CORRIDOR stands well on its own. Zack's feelings and reactions ring true, as do those of both the other children and most of the adults. Some of the life lessons conveyed may seem a little heavy-handed to adults; my niece (in the age group for which this is intended) loves the series, so it doesn't seem to be an issue for the kids. My biggest complaint? Grabenstein refers to a song several times throughout the book, and for the life of me, I can't get the blasted thing out of my head! Consider yourself warned. § P.J. Coldren lives in northern lower Michigan where she reads and reviews widely across the mystery genre when she isn't working in her local hospital pharmacy.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, July 2010
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