The Crossroads: A Haunted Mystery [Paperback]

Chris Grabenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: A Haunted Mystery (Book 1)

★ “A rip-roaring ghost story.”—Booklist, Starred

Zack, his dad, and new stepmother have just moved back to his father’s hometown, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took 40 innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn’t over . . . and Zack is directly in his sights.

Award-winning thriller author Chris Grabenstein fills his first book for younger readers with the same humorous and spine-tingling storytelling that has made him a fast favorite with adults.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–8—A well-told ghost story with plenty of twists and chills. Eleven-year-old Zack believes that his mother, who died from cancer, haunts his New York City apartment, continually disapproving of his behavior. He is immensely relieved when Dad marries Judy, a kind woman, and they move to Connecticut. Unfortunately, Zack cannot seem to escape the dead. Shortly after arriving in North Chester, they meet Gerda Spratling, the last survivor of the town's founding family. The abrasive woman mourns the loss of her fiancé, making a weekly pilgrimage to the crossroads outside Zack's yard where a massive oak marks the spot where Clint died almost 50 years ago. When Zack sees this tree, he fears that something evil is trapped within, and after the oak is split open by lightning, it soon becomes apparent that a malevolent spirit has been set free. With the help of Judy and a new friend, Zack takes on the menace that is plaguing their town and riling up a plethora of ghosts. This riveting tale is written in short, easy-to-read chapters, making it a good choice for reluctant readers. Throughout the story, the main characters grow closer to one another and gain heroic traits while the "bad guys" reveal greater depths of wickedness and insanity. Readers will relate to Zack and enjoy the book's scare factor and adventure.—Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* If Grabenstein’s first YA book were to receive a one-word review, the word would be Coooool, a term that applies in a variety of ways—from the book’s cover image (a face peering out of the bark of a tree) and its hitchhiking, hot-rodding ghosts to its creepy atmosphere, believable story, and suspense that engulfs readers from the very first page. Even the characters are cool, including contemporary, doo-wop, and even Dickensian types. Grabenstein, who has won the Anthony Award for his adult mysteries and whose writing career encompassed writing for television and work for the Muppets, brings a great sense of timing to this mysterious fright ride. Zack Jennings, a kid uprooted after his mother’s death and his father’s remarriage, sees a leering face in a gnarled tree in the park near New York City’s American Museum of Natural History. A move to Connecticut doesn’t extricate Zack from evil apparently lodging in trees. Readers soon learn that at a crossroads just behind Zack’s new home there’s an oak tree capable of branching out into murder—and a number of dissatisfied ghosts that prey on passing motorists. An absorbing psychological thriller (the ghost of Zack’s malevolent mother plays a part), as well as a rip-roaring ghost story, this switches points of view among humans, trees, and ghosts with astonishing élan. Expect lots of requests. Grades 5-8. --Connie Fletcher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 329 pages
• Publisher: Yearling; Reprint edition (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375846980
• ISBN-13: 978-0375846984
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Stepfamilies

More About the Author

Chris Grabenstein did improvisational comedy in New York City with Bruce Willis before James Patterson hired him to write advertising copy.

His first John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mystery TILT A WHIRL won the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery in 2006 and was followed by the critically acclaimed MAD MOUSE, WHACK-A-MOLE, HELL HOLE, MIND SCRAMBLER, ROLLING THUNDER (nominated for The Best Sidekick award) and, coming in 2012, FUN HOUSE. A Ceepak short story RING TOSS appeared in the June 2010 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Chris has also published two holiday thrillers: SLAY RIDE and HELL FOR THE HOLIDAYS and became a New York Times Best Selling author thanks to his short story "The Demon In The Dunes," which appeared in the anthology DEATH'S EXCELLENT VACATION, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (thanks Charlaine and Toni!)

FOR YOUNGER READERS....

His fist book for middle grades readers, THE CROSSROADS, won both the 2008 Agatha and Anthony Awards as Best Children's/YA novel, appeared on several "Best" lists, and has been optioned to become a movie. The second book in the series, THE HANGING HILL, also won the Agatha Award. The third Haunted Mystery, THE SMOKY CORRIDOR, all about a zombie who lives in the basement of a middle school, was published by Random House in August. The fourth book in the series, THE BLACK HEART CRYPT, will be published in 2011.

Chris wrote CURIOSITY CAT, the play within the book from THE HANGING HILL, for friends at the Children's Theater of Knoxville. The script is now available for production everywhere through world renowned play publisher Samuel French.

Chris's new middle grades caper series, RILEY MACK AND THE OTHER KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS (an Ocean's Eleven starring eleven-year-olds) will be published by HarperCollins in January 2012 with the sequel slated for 2013.

Chris has also written for Jim Henson's Muppets and co-wrote THE CHRISTMAS GIFT, starring John Denver, a made-for-TV movie that first aired on CBS in 1986 and still shows up somewhere on cable very early in the morning every holiday season.

Chris's dog Fred, however, has the best credits in the family: Fred starred on Broadway in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect ghost story for summer reading - for kids or adults, June 8, 2008

By 

Lesa Holstine (Glendale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crossroads: A Haunted Mystery (Hardcover)

"Have you ever seen a face hidden in the bark of a tree and known that the man trapped inside wanted to hurt you?" It's the perfect opening for Chris Grabenstein's ghost story, The Crossroads.

Grabenstein, author of the John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mysteries, and the Christopher Miller holiday thrillers, has tried his hand at a book for young readers, ages 9 to 12. And, he captures boys and ghost stories beautifully.

At eleven, Zack Jennings is moving to his father's hometown, North Chester, Connecticut, with his father and new stepmother, Judy. None of them know that their house sits on a haunted crossroads, an intersection where 41 people died in a collision with a car, a bus, and a police motorcycle. There are stories about the intersection and the killer trees at the crossroads, but newcomers have to discover the horrors themselves.

Zack is haunted by the memories of his mother, a woman who died of cancer. Because she blamed him for her life, he blames himself for her death. He'll discover a new life in Connecticut - a fun stepmother, a dog, a best friend unlike any friend he could imagine. And, he'll meet the woman who still tends the memory of her dead fiancé by bringing roses to the tree at the crossroads. When Zack's father said they'd move for a new life, he had no idea what Zack was getting into.

My compliments to the author for avoiding stereotypes. Judy, the stepmother, is a wonderful character, a children's author who enjoys Zack and his imagination. And, as a librarian, I appreciate the Mrs. Emerson, the public librarian. She does her job well, but she also shows spunk. And how many adult readers picture librarians going to "submarine races"?

Grabenstein does a wonderful job bringing this ghost story to life. He includes the urban legends so many kids enjoy scaring themselves with - the motorcycle cop who died, but came back to prevent another accident, the woman hitchhiker who disappears. He adds his own creative ghost story, one fifty-years-old, and adds humor. There are explosions and fire, kidnapping, ghosts, and wild chase scenes. The Crossroads is a perfect book for summer escape reading. And, if you can pry it from your kids' hands, it's enjoyable summer reading for adults as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining & Crazy, June 18, 2008

By 

Ami Hassler "www.bookami.com" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crossroads: A Haunted Mystery (Hardcover)

Zack Jennings is a fairly average kid. He's just moved from the city to Connecticut with his Dad and a fabulous new stepmom. Now he can even have a dog. It's a chance to start over after the death of his mother, except there is this mean, nasty ghost who has been waiting for fifty years to get revenge on those who played a roll in his death, and the Jennings family happens to be on his list.

While there is nothing particularly special about this horror novel, I found I enjoyed it much the way I enjoyed the movie, The Frighteners. That's the one where Michael J. Fox has developed psychic abilities after his wife is killed in a car accident. The movie is not exactly a comedy, but comedic moments are skillfully thrown in to mitigate any scene being too scary, and Grabenstein has applied this same device to The Crossroads. Whether it be the over-the-top country-boy accent applied to Zack's friend Davy, the freakish burger cravings of a possessed plumber, or the crazy, dangerous antics of a lady too old to physically hurt a fly, The Crossroads makes for a fun summer read. Oh, and the best part is that the stepmom and a librarian provide the key clues to solving the mystery of this ghost. Who says stepmoms are evil and librarians are boring?

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent story from Mr. Grabenstein, June 13, 2008

By 

Lynne C. Fraser - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crossroads: A Haunted Mystery (Hardcover)

Chris has written an excellent adult series, a fabulous series for those older kids and young adults and now he has followed up with this new story that is perfect for the younger readers out there. The story is fast moving and exciting and guaranteed to catch the attention of even those kids who do not like to read. Great book!