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Summary
Summary
A sweetly spooky ghost story about a Cuban American boy who befriends a pair of spirits and tries to break the curse on his island home . . . only to discover a seemingly lost piece of his family's history in the process. This new middle grade standalone mystery from the author of the Muse Squad series is perfect for fans of Doll Bones and The Girl and the Ghost!
Frank Fernandez's family never stays in one place for long. His parents renovate unusual buildings and turn them into homes, which means the family moves--a lot. This makes it hard for bookish Frank to make friends. So when his parents announce they're moving to Spectacle Key, Florida, to live in a lighthouse--this time for good!--Frank is thrilled.
But Spectacle Key isn't the perfect forever home they'd imagined. The lighthouse is falling apart. There are knocks on the door--but no one is there--and mysterious sighs and sniffles from nowhere. There's even a creepy doll that seems to move on its own. Could Spectacle Key be haunted?
Then one day while exploring, Frank meets a girl in old-fashioned clothes, with no memory of who she is. What she does know, though, is that the island is under a curse--and she needs Frank's help to figure out how to lift it. But what if learning the truth about Spectacle Key means losing the first real friend he's ever had?
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--7--Frank, an avid reader who loves horror stories, is extremely frustrated with the frequent transfers his family makes to accommodate his parents' work as building renovators. When they tell the 11-year-old they acquired a new project, they promise that this move, to Spectacle Key, FL, will be the final one. No sooner does the family begin unpacking boxes in their new lighthouse home than things begin to go awry, from electrical malfunctions to crab infestations to a historical preservation group pressuring the family to leave. As tensions escalate at home, Frank escapes by exploring the island, only to encounter mounting evidence of a supernatural presence on the key. Aided by Connie, a young girl who may be a ghost, Frank realizes he must learn the history of his new home, and his family, to lift the curse before his parents give up and move away. This middle grade--friendly horror story features a Cuban American protagonist who has an extremely positive relationship with his family but is less competent at making friends, even with the not-quite-living. While the history Frank unearths is less than pleasant, he reminds the adults that people should not cover up the past just because it is ugly, and there is importance in remembering. Quirky secondary characters, including a mystic and a circus-acrobat librarian, enhance the narrative, as do Acevedo's spin with horror tropes and sly wordplay. VERDICT A solid purchase to enhance popular middle grade horror collections. The balance of humor and horror should attract readers, and the lessons Frank learns are relevant to all.--Nancy Nadig
Publisher's Weekly Review
Cuban American 11-year-old Frank Fernández, an ardent book-lover, has never resided anywhere for more than a year, making it difficult for him to establish friendships. Though his parents had agreed to stay in Alabama for two years, their work renovating unique buildings leads them instead to a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, which is meant to finally become their forever home. But after arriving, inexplicable things begin to happen at the Spectacle Key property--thorny vines grow on the lighthouse's exterior walls, hundreds of blue crabs infest the building, and Frank begins to hear a sighing, sniffling sound accompanied by a sweet smell. After conducting an exothermic science experiment in a nearby abandoned building, Frank meets Connie, a white girl his age who can't recall anything about herself. As his parents start fighting and incidents around the lighthouse increase in severity, Frank, Connie, and Frank's Great Dane puppy, Mary Shelley, investigate a local curse, hoping to protect Frank's home. Acevedo (the Muse Squad series) concocts a tidy small-town mystery, filled with ghosts and suspicious townsfolk, that's led by an earnest tween's compassion and hope for friendship, justice, and stability. Ages 8--12. (Sept.)
Kirkus Review
Eleven-year-old Frank must solve a supernatural mystery to save his new home. As fifth grade comes to an end, Frank Fernández is looking forward to finally staying put in Alabama for a second year, as promised, after a childhood spent following his parents' home renovation work all across the country. Frequent relocation has made Frank wary of forming friendships or making plans, but his hopes for more stability are temporarily dashed when his parents announce plans to renovate a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, near where his mother grew up and his father's home country of Cuba. Papi promises this will be their last move, though: The lighthouse will be theirs. But from their first day on Spectacle Key, things seem to go wrong: Tensions rise between his parents, and Frank's hopes of a forever home are under threat from seemingly supernatural forces. In order to put down roots, Frank and new ghostly friend Connie, a White girl with freckles, must discover what secrets the island is hiding, uncovering Frank's own family roots along the way. Frank is a fan of horror--he names his new Great Dane puppy Mary Shelley. But though there is some mild peril to be found, rather than a ghostly thriller, this is an appealing, lightly spooky family drama with valuable lessons for those who would hide from a difficult past instead of confronting and healing generational trauma. Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all. (Supernatural. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Acevedo's charming ghost mystery is a thrilling ride that follows "Friendless" Frank Fernandez, a boy who bonds with a pair of ghosts as they help him try to break a curse on the island he calls home, unearthing a multitude of unexpected secrets in the process. Frank is excited about a lot of things, like being accepted to his hometown's Junior Librarian program, but he longs for more friends and for acceptance from his peers. When Frank's family abruptly moves--yet again!--to an eerie lighthouse in Spectacle Key, Florida, he mourns the loss of another chance to fit in, only to discover that his new home is happily haunted. Despite the lush, atmospheric writing and sweet premise, the stakes grow higher and higher, and Frank's solving of Spectacle Key's curse may result in him losing the one ghostly friend he's been able to make and keep. Young horror and mystery fans, and kids who grew up with the sole company of their imaginations, will delight in uncovering the clues and following Frank on his journey to acceptance and belonging.