A voice is talking to Gene Richards. It's a low, calm, spooky voice that tells Gene to hurt his own Grandpa. The voice says his grandfather did something that can never be forgiven. Soon it becomes clear to Gene: Something happened a long time ago in the town of Magnolia. And until Gene can get to the bottom of it, this voice, this specter, isn't giving up. With his two friends Sonny and Sam, Gene begins investigating. He's determined to find out Magnolia's darkest secret and discover the truth about his grandfather. Set during the Depression, this page-turner with an unexpected final twist brings readers back to a time when small-town secrets could most certainly come back to haunt you.
JAMES LINCOLN COLLIER is the author of more than fifty books for adults and children. He was awarded the Newbury Honor for My Brother Sam Is Dead and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. He is also well known for his writing for adults on jazz. He lives in New York City.
PRAISE FOR THE EMPTY MIRROR :
"This eerie suspense tale will appeal to kids who enjoy plot-driven stories that give them a good scare." -Booklist
"[A] fast-paced novel that will hook readers with a spooky ghost story while giving them interesting historical information." -School Library Journal
"[A] compelling tale of a young boy haunted by a vengeful spirit and his own tragic past . . . Spooky and satisfying." -Kirkus Reviews
When Gene is first visted by a specter, he assumes that the strange vision is just caused by a case of indigestion. Soon, however, he becomes all too familiar with this spooky apparition, one that tells him that his father and grandfather were mixed up in a horrible crime that took place in the town of Magnolia when Gene was only a baby. Even worse, the specter wants revenge. Then Gene’s friends experience tragedies: Sonny’s dad is killed on a construction site, and Sam’s dad is injured in a freak automobile accident. Both accidents occur after the men were haunted by voices. Together, Gene, Sonny, and Sam begin to investigate the supernatural terror, and encounter unexpected deaths, frightening clues, and a newspaper cover-up along the way. Collier has written an eerily weird and strangely believable historical mystery that will take readers back to the Depression, a time of sandlot baseball, Amos ‘n’ Andy, lost jobs, downsized houses, and justice meted out by mob rather than the law. A complex, spooky page-turner for middle-grade readers. Grades 5-8. --Frances Bradburn
Description:
A voice is talking to Gene Richards. It's a low, calm, spooky voice that tells Gene to hurt his own Grandpa. The voice says his grandfather did something that can never be forgiven. Soon it becomes clear to Gene: Something happened a long time ago in the town of Magnolia. And until Gene can get to the bottom of it, this voice, this specter, isn't giving up. With his two friends Sonny and Sam, Gene begins investigating. He's determined to find out Magnolia's darkest secret and discover the truth about his grandfather. Set during the Depression, this page-turner with an unexpected final twist brings readers back to a time when small-town secrets could most certainly come back to haunt you.
JAMES LINCOLN COLLIER is the author of more than fifty books for adults and children. He was awarded the Newbury Honor for My Brother Sam Is Dead and has twice been a finalist for the National Book Award. He is also well known for his writing for adults on jazz. He lives in New York City.
PRAISE FOR THE EMPTY MIRROR :
"This eerie suspense tale will appeal to kids who enjoy plot-driven stories that give them a good scare." -Booklist
"[A] fast-paced novel that will hook readers with a spooky ghost story while giving them interesting historical information." -School Library Journal
"[A] compelling tale of a young boy haunted by a vengeful spirit and his own tragic past . . . Spooky and satisfying." -Kirkus Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–7—In this Depression-era tale set near St. Louis, Gene receives visits from some sort of specter, as if he is temporarily possessed by a presence that speaks to him in vague threats and riddles. When he learns that the death of his pal Sonny's father was preceded by a voice urging him to kill himself, Gene assumes that his specter is the same ominous being. This spirit urges him to solve a mystery many years old with little in the way of concrete clues. Gene gains the help of Sam, daughter of the local paper's editor, and the two find stories about the purchase of the old Toffey farm by oil speculator-con man, Ernest Gallen. Gene learns that the spirit of the con man wants revenge on the lynch mob that killed him as well as on Gene's grandfather, the judge who sent him to a low-security cell. The novel features mostly flat characterization and dialogue that subdue any real tension. Even the spookiest episode, in which the three kids explore the Toffey farmhouse and find a noose with a dressed skeleton on the floor, doesn't create an eerie atmosphere, and the story has several lapses in logic.— Suzanne Gordon, Peachtree Ridge High School, Suwanee, GA
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From Booklist
When Gene is first visted by a specter, he assumes that the strange vision is just caused by a case of indigestion. Soon, however, he becomes all too familiar with this spooky apparition, one that tells him that his father and grandfather were mixed up in a horrible crime that took place in the town of Magnolia when Gene was only a baby. Even worse, the specter wants revenge. Then Gene’s friends experience tragedies: Sonny’s dad is killed on a construction site, and Sam’s dad is injured in a freak automobile accident. Both accidents occur after the men were haunted by voices. Together, Gene, Sonny, and Sam begin to investigate the supernatural terror, and encounter unexpected deaths, frightening clues, and a newspaper cover-up along the way. Collier has written an eerily weird and strangely believable historical mystery that will take readers back to the Depression, a time of sandlot baseball, Amos ‘n’ Andy, lost jobs, downsized houses, and justice meted out by mob rather than the law. A complex, spooky page-turner for middle-grade readers. Grades 5-8. --Frances Bradburn