Graveyard Shift

Gr 6–9—A loner, more content to hang out sketching in graveyards than to hang out at the mall, Ben Harvester has trouble fitting in at school. It does not help that on his first day in a new school, he sees three ghosts in his classroom, beseeching him for help. It is through the intervention of mysterious Mr. October, whom he meets in London's Highgate Cemetery, that Ben learns he has a gift, to see and assist the dead pass on. As he becomes an apprentice in the Ministry of Pandemonium, he also becomes involved in an ongoing war between Mr. October's associates and a league of sinister malcontents intent on stealing lost souls for their own nefarious purposes. As his own powers grow, Ben actually feels more powerless, attempting to understand and accept his mother's cancer diagnosis. When her name appears on a list of the soon-to-be-deceased, though, he makes a decision that could jeopardize not only his position in the Ministry, but also the fate of many, many more souls. The intriguing world Mr. October inhabits sets the stage for a great ghost story. Though the book can stand alone, readers will find themselves longing for a sequel.—Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT