THE SECRET DEAD CLUB, by Karen Strong, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Aug. 20, 2024, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 8-12)
A girl discovers she’s not the only one at her new school who can see ghosts in The Secret Dead Club, by Karen Strong.
Wednesday Thomas sees ghosts. But that doesn’t mean she has to talk to them.
After a terrifying experience in an Arizona state park with a wicked ghost, Wednesday and her mother Olivia sell their RV and move back south to the family home in Alton, Georgia. Wednesday’s determined not to use her gift anymore—until she meets a group of girls who also know about the spirit realm.
There’s free-spirited Miki Okada and Southern belle Danni-Lynn Porter who seem to know about the ghosts who roam the school’s hallways, popular girl Alexa Scott who tells Wednesday to stay away from Miki and Danni-Lynn and not draw attention to herself, and mysterious neighbor Violet Delgado who died last year but still haunts the house across the street. Wednesday feels these girls have some kind of shared history, but it isn’t until Miki gives her an official invitation to the Dead Club that she starts to understand there’s a lot more going on with the ghosts in Alton and the girls who can see them.
And when another malevolent ghost threatens to harm Wednesday, it will take the help of new friends both living and dead to save her and banish the evil being to the spirit realm where it belongs. —Synopsis provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
With a name like The Secret Dead Club, you know kids are going to be drawn to Karen Strong’s new book about friendship, fitting in, and the mysterious forces that control the afterlife.
Strong balances the mysterious with mundane daily life and does that against the backdrop of kids figuring themselves out. In fact, Strong’s writing style reminds me of one of my childhood favorites — Mary Downing Hahn. Wait Till Helen Comes, anyone?
Where Strong excels is balancing the creepy with lighter notes, creating a spooky atmosphere without making things too scary for readers. This balance comes from various sources — extended family, new friends, spirits with unfinished business.
Strong’s writing is clear and inviting. She sets the stakes early on, and makes readers want to keep reading.
As we enter the Halloween season, The Secret Dead Club is the perfect novel to set the tone.
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