The Ghost of Fossil Glen [Paperback]

Cynthia Defelice (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Series: Avon Camelot Books

Allie Nichols is being pursued by a ghost. Her friend Karen calls Allie a liar and doesn't want to hear "stuff like that." But her old pal, Dub, listens eagerly as Allie tells him about the voice that guides her down a steep cliff side, the girl she imagines who begs, "Help me," and a terrible nightmare in which that girl falls to her death. Who is that girl? Is she the ghost? And what does the ghost want from Allie?

01 Nutmeg Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Masterlist (Gr. 6-8), 00-01 Young Hoosier Book Award Masterlist (Grds 4-6),00-01 William Allen White Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 3-6), 00-01 Sequoyah Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Young Reader's Choice Award Program Masterlist, 00-01 South Carolina Book Award Masterlist(Grds 3-8), and The 2000 Texas Bluebonnet Award

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-An imaginative and adventurous sixth grader makes a connection with the ghost of the victim of an unsolved murder and puts her own life in jeopardy to find the killer. Strange events begin when a calm, unknown voice prevents Allie from panicking and falling from a dangerous cliff while fossil hunting. Then, an old journal mysteriously appears in her mailbox. Allie often feels a presence nearby and dreams of a girl falling from the cliff. She then discovers the grave marker of an 11-year-old girl who was missing and presumed dead in 1994. Because of her reputation for telling stories, Allie cannot convince anyone to believe her except her longtime friend and fellow fossil hunter, Dub. Driven to pursue the mystery, Allie finds an old diary that provides her with facts about the girl's death. Foolishly, she reveals what she knows and endangers her own life. Tension builds throughout the story. A contemporary murder and ghost make the threat immediate and the danger real. Allie is a compelling and well-drawn character. She is determined and unsure of herself, foolish, impetuous, and brave. The dynamics of adolescent relationships add depth to the story. Fans of ghost stories by Betty Ren Wright and Mary Downing Hahn will find this excellent book difficult to put down.
Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. A tense opening scene draws children right into this beautifully crafted thriller: Allie Nichols hangs by a thread on the side of a steep cliff in Fossil Glen. Readers have nothing to worry about, though, because Allie is guided safely down by a reassuring voice belonging to the ghost of a young girl who died in the glen four years earlier. It seems Allie has been chosen to avenge the girl's murder, which was made to look like an accident by a greedy real-estate developer, the boyfriend of the girl's mother. As she did in her historical novel The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker (1996), DeFelice does a splendid job of unfolding the complicated plot, dispensing information in just the right amounts, and making connections. Very little time is given to characters and events that don't advance the story, resulting in an expertly paced, dynamic page-turner that never gives readers the chance to become distracted or lose interest. It's another fine title from a fine author. Lauren Peterson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: HarperTrophy (October 6, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380731754
• ISBN-13: 978-0380731756
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,419,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghost of Fossil Glen, November 16, 2000

By 

DENNIS RHOADS - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ghost of Fossil Glen (Ghost Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This was an awesome book by Cynthia Defelice. Our class thought this was an exciting book and it was as if Allie was on a mission.We could picture the setting in our heads, since we live near Glen's very similar to that one in the book. We did not want to stop reading as we went along.We recommend this book to everyone because we liked it. Cynthia Defelice kept us in suspense.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Barbara's Review, January 13, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Ghost of Fossil Glen (Paperback)

I liked the book. It was exciting and you never know what's going to happen next.
Allie Nichols is eleven and is in the sixth grade. She is stuck on a ledge about 100ft. up. She hears a soothing voice and trusts it right away, and lets herself slide. She only has a few cuts and her hands were raw. She tells Karen and Pam about the voice but they think she's a liar. Her friend Dub listens intently with great interest. She hears the voice more and in one of her dreams she witnesses the first part of Lucy's death. Lucy is the ghost that is haunting her. She had died four years previously. Later she finds Lucy's diary in her new desk that once belonged to Lucy. That's when she finds out about Gag-me. (Raymond Gagne) She thinks that he had murdered Lucy. Did he really murder Lucy or was her death really an accident?
The type of person who would like this book is some one who likes mysteries, ghost stories, or both. It's a really good book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Ghost of Fossil Glen, December 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ghost of Fossil Glen (Ghost Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The book I am reviewing is The Ghost of Fossil Glen. It was written by Cynthia DeFelice. The Ghost of Fossil Glen is about a girl named Allie Nichols. One day a ghost starts following her around after she gets stuck on a cliff and the ghost tells her how to get down. She tries to figure out why the ghost is following her. I think this book was excellent. I think the author did really good at writing this book. The characterization was good because she gave a lot of details about the characters and I felt that I really knew the main character. I think the authors style was really good because I didn't know what was going to happen and there weren't any boring or slow parts. One of the books weakness is the setting. didn't really know where she was and what her surroundings looked like, but the author was really good with the mood because the book was suspenseful all the time. I think this book is really good, and if your interested in this kind of book, you should read it.