Thirteen-year-old Lily is furious.
She and her mother are forced to move again after her mother's break up with the latest loser boyfriend. Now they're broke and they'll have to spend the winter in Uncle Wes's creepy house in Cape May, New Jersey.
And the place is crawling with ghosts.
From the spiteful teenager who mistakes Lily for her high school nemesis to the restless spirit of her eccentric Uncle Max, Lily is haunted by a host of unhappy phantoms. But why are they here? And what do they want?
With the help of an intriguing new guy, local boy Vaz, Lily tries to find out. But just as they are on the verge of piecing together the mystery, a casual family dinner turns into a beachfront showdown with guests both invited and unexpected, both corporal and supernatural. And the outcome is anything but certain.
*An Edgar Award Nominee for Best Juvenile Mystery
*A Parent's Choice Silver Honor for Fiction
*The Center for Children's Books Best Books of 2003 List
*One of the Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best"
*One of the New York Public Library's Books for the Teenage
*A Sunshine State Award Book
*A Garden State Book Award Nominee
*A Rhode Island State Award Nominee
"A slightly spooky, romantic mystery. Her often funny story, peppered with ghostly interludes, is capped by that rarest of animals: a twist ending that is totally earned. This should be a movie just so tweens and teens will come ask for the book. Place it in their hands; they will likely thank you."
—Kirkus
"Ruby doesn't horrify so much as she insinuates in gracefully nuanced language that provides chilling support for the action. Make room for this first novel on the surefire ghost tale shelf."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Sharp-witted narrative and lively characterizations... intriguing"
—Publishers Weekly
"A fast-paced, comic tale."
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"Sure to delight the reader, will tickle readers' funny bones."
—Detroit Free Press
"Readers will keep turning pages to get to the (surprise) ending, but also because they'll be rooting for something good to happen to Lily."
—Miami Herald
"A cast of eccentric characters plays out this intriguing story. Readers will be hooked right up to the surprising ending."
—School Library Journal
