Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

Really enjoyed the book. I like it when a good middle school aimed book is just a grown up book that's just a little shorter and happens to have young girls as the main characters. So quick fun read. Good part for a dog or two, (do ghost dogs count as a dog?). Nice story set in Alaska, so even not completely directed at dog sledding dogs, there is snow and dogs involved. Even Balto and Togo are mentioned.

I like the banter between Tee (Anita) and Quinn. They hit it off quickly when they find show more they both like hiking and reading. Here is a good part when they are talking about a quiz from a book Zodiac Guide to Besties and Boys:

“Question one. On your ideal date, would you most enjoy (a) a dinner at a trendy new restaurant, (b) a long walk on the beach, or (c) a burger and an evening of bowling?’ That’s it? Those are my only choices?”

“I choose (d) spinsterhood,” I said.

“Right,” Quin agreed. “Or (e) browsing the stacks at Barnes & Noble.”

“Plus, we need to know who the date is with,” I said. “Bowling can be dangerous if your partner has terrible aim.”

“And we need to know what state we live in,” Quin added. “Is this beach we might walk on in Malibu or Maine?”

“Yeah, and this hypothetical burger at the bowling alley .. . I mean, does it come with fries or anything? Can I get a milkshake?”

There are also a lot of nice one liners I thought were fun:

"Well, if people can be ghosts, why couldn't dogs?"

"Ghost Whisperer meets the Dog Whisperer"

"If you know where to look, there are ghosts everywhere."

Enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone. show less

Spirit-seeing Kat has pretty much overcome her fear of communicating with ghosts. But when she and best friend, Jac, visit the Whispering Pines Mountain House and Kat is challenged to help a deceased medium make her way back into the light, things get a little darker.
From battling off deadly black clouds to fighting with her very best friend, Kat's weeklong stay at the haunted mountain house is anything but relaxing. The question is what will be scarier: facing off against a misguided spirit show more or her best friend? show less

This book was so adorable!! Osbert is a penguin & Joe is his human. Osbert and his penguin friends want to go to a party being hosted in Antarctica. Since penguins can't fly, Osbert asks Joe for help. Joe flies all the penguins to the South Pole, where Osbert meets a girl penguin named Aurora. They fall in love, but Joe needs to get home in time for his mother's party. A lovely story that is simply a Valentine must read.

Kat just wants to be a regular junior high student but that's tricky when her mom is a medium. Things only get more out of hand when Kat turns 13 and starts seeing ghosts herself!

In the first of these two books, Kat and her entourage of family, friends, and school mates are introduced. I thought this book was interesting and compelling. The characters felt realistic and well-rounded (with the exception of Kat's mother who is a little too stereotypical new age). Kat's relationship with her show more mother was sweet and positive. The ghost story was well done, being nicely wrapped up and not too scary. There is a little bit of open-endness to the conclusion, leaving the door open for more titles in the series, but on the whole it feels complete.

The second book, however, was not quite as good. While the other title was supernatural without being over the top, this one got too bogged down in spirit orbs, blocked chakras, and negative energy. It was a little much for me. The main story with Tank was fine, but there was a lot of extraneous stuff going on, some of which was not resolved.

Some of the references were a little dated (e.g., Punked) but on the whole this book holds up pretty well. There is a lack of diversity, which isn't great, but it's better than harmful representations. show less