There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around

Ok, here's the deal. I'm such a fan of Vande Velde's fairy tales that I'm reading her ghost stories, too, even though I'm not such a fan of that genre.

This is a ghost story like none I've read before: creative and truly mysterious & intriguing. It's also historical fiction, and explores an aspect of an 'event' that I've never read about before. To tell you what historical event we learn more about here would be spoilery, but I do want to say it's one that has been written about many times before, but never ime from this particular perspective.

This is filed under 'juvenile' in my library, which means 7 year olds will readily encounter it, and it's short & appealing. However, the pub. note says 'age 10 up' and I agree that's the minimum show more Don't censor, but if your child chooses it, and is sensitive and not yet 12, or younger than 10, I strongly recommend you read it also. Heck, read it now anyway, whether or not you have children. Good book. show less

What a fantastic title: There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around. For an author who claims to be no good at titles, this one piqued my interest immediately (not to mention the fact that Vivian Vande Velde was, and still is, one of my favorite authors from my childhood).

Ted, the young protagonist of the story, finds himself wrapped up in a ghostly mystery when his sister, Vicki, starts having nightmares and seeing a young girl and "bad lady" around their house. With the help of his cousin Jaclyn, and the begrudging involvement of his older brother, Zachary, Ted works to uncover what's going on.

Vivian Vande Velde is a master of the short story genre, with a twist at the end of every story. Here is no exception, though the twist show more may not have quite the same impact when it's at the end of a longer story. It certainly wasn't bad, but I do believe that Velde's writing lends itself more to short stories than novels.

That said, her characters are believable, never too annoying or unrealistic, and the story flows well. There are some genuinely spooky moments and some genuinely funny ones - something Velde does exceptionally well, mixing good humor with good horror.

A treat for younger kids - spooky ghosts, annoying siblings, and a dash of a historical mystery mixed in. show less

What a fantastic title: There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around. For an author who claims to be no good at titles, this one piqued my interest immediately (not to mention the fact that Vivian Vande Velde was, and still is, one of my favorite authors from my childhood).

Ted, the young protagonist of the story, finds himself wrapped up in a ghostly mystery when his sister, Vicki, starts having nightmares and seeing a young girl and "bad lady" around their house. With the help of his cousin Jaclyn, and the begrudging involvement of his older brother, Zachary, Ted works to uncover what's going on.

Vivian Vande Velde is a master of the short story genre, with a twist at the end of every story. Here is no exception, though the twist show more may not have quite the same impact when it's at the end of a longer story. It certainly wasn't bad, but I do believe that Velde's writing lends itself more to short stories than novels.

That said, her characters are believable, never too annoying or unrealistic, and the story flows well. There are some genuinely spooky moments and some genuinely funny ones - something Velde does exceptionally well, mixing good humor with good horror.

A treat for younger kids - spooky ghosts, annoying siblings, and a dash of a historical mystery mixed in. show less

Very rarely does a book actually creep me out, but Vivian Vande Velde continues to do so. This book is creepy, funny, and sensible all put together to form...awesomeness. I love all the characters, especially Ted, the main character. There's enough humor to keep it from being overdramatic, but enough seriousness to make it scary, and the plot pans out perfectly with a great twist ending.

Ted is just trying to get through fifth grade, but his younger sister's imaginary friend starts making that difficult. It was bad enough when Vicki pretended "Marella" was sitting in chairs and talking to her, but then she started sleeping with a hammer under her bed to protect against another imaginary friend. Then Ted himself gets attacked by an unseen force, and he begins to suspect that they aren't Vicki's imaginary friends...they're ghosts.

Spooky but mostly sad, and most of the scares are because of a misunderstanding. There's a useful historical tie-in that could help teach kids about slavery and the Underground Railroad. Meant for a young YA audience.

Vivian Velde is the master of scary stories! There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around is a sincerely spine-tingling novel! However, the depth of the story as a whole left something to be desired.

Among some of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the intriguing, scary, and original plot. I loved how Vivian wrote such an original story! And it's so interesting and realistic! (I mean, c'mon, who doesn't know someone who had an imaginary friend when they were young?) Vivian is not afraid to "step outside the box" by writing a completely new story...and I LOVE that!
        The pacing felt like Baby Bear's porridge..."just right!" It never felt like the story was going too fast or too slow, and as a reader I enjoyed show more that.

However, the characters felt somewhat average. I felt like I didn't really know the characters very well, just facts about them. I wish Vivian had done deeper characterization so readers could get to truly know her characters. She had a good start; she just didn't exceed my standards.

All in all, this is a sincerely scary book! I'd recommend it to lovers of horror stories, specifically [b:The Old Willis Place|439092|The Old Willis Place|Mary Downing Hahn|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347262660s/439092.jpg|427937] and [b:The Hunt for the Seventh|2973943|The Hunt for the Seventh|Christine Morton-Shaw|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348811444s/2973943.jpg|3004262]. In the meantime, beware of ghosts! :D show less

This suspenseful quick read is perfect! I love the way the past is connected to the present. Ted follows his instincts in order to find out why ghosts are following his little sister, and the twist at the end is unexpected. I loved Ted's quest to find out the answers to his family's past and how he would do anything to protect his little sister. Many students will enjoy the historical portion of this great read.