Violet Addison can chat with the dead, but what really frightens her is starting her sophomore year at a new school. Still reeling from the loss of her mother, Violet is about find herself in the company of ghosts . . . both playful and deadly evil. Standing at the threshold to an unseen world with newfound friends at her side, only Violet can uncover the truth behind her mother’s death and save the family business--paranormal investigation.
Spookygirl: Paranormal Investigator
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Gayle Forman Reviews Spookygirl
Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist. She began her career writing for numerous publications, including The Nation, Family Circle, Cosmopolitan, Details, Elle, and Seventeen Magazine. In 2002, Forman took a trip around the world, resulting in her first book, a travel memoir called You Can't Get There From Here: A Year On The Fringes Of A Shrinking World. In 2007 she published her first young adult novel, Sisters in Sanity, based on an article she had written for Seventeen. Two years later, Gayle Forman wrote If I Stay, an emotionally arresting story of 17-year-old Mia in the 24 hours after a catastrophic car accident. Currently in development with Summit Entertainment, If I Stay received five starred reviews, was honored as the 2009 NAIBA Book of the Year and was a 2010 Indie Choice Honor Award winner. Her newest novel, Where She Went, is a companion novel to If I Stay. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family. Read her review of Jill Baguchinsky's Spookygirl:
Like her mother before her, fifteen-year-old Violet can communicate with ghosts. But the one ghost she cannot talk to is that of her mother, who died seven years earlier during a paranormal investigation. After having been exiled to live with an aunt, Violet returns to live with her father above the funeral home he now runs, which, as you might expect, is a popular haunt for spooks. So, it turns out, is Violet’s new Florida high school. No sooner does she enroll than she discovers a mysterious dark presence in the girls’ locker room, and the spirit of Dirk, a dead jock, lurking in the art classroom. Violet’s ability to see Dirk earns her the moniker "spookygirl" from her classmates and the respect of the Goth kids and of Timmy, a wanna-be Goth and half vampire. Part of the book’s charm is the normalcy of it all--Violet has a pet poltergeist named Buster that is as rambunctious as an unruly animal--but this can sometimes rob the narrative of its tension. There’s no price to be paid for Violet’s powers. A plotline with the locker room and a potentially demonic gym teacher goes nowhere. When Violet takes up her mother’s mantle as a sort of ghost whisperer, trying to find resolution for the conflicts between ghosts and the humans they haunt, the story finds its heart, though the narrative seems to raise some unintentional questions: Is it really healthy for the dead and the living to go on together as though nothing has happened? That said, this is a fully realized novel, with a sweet voice, humor, some lovely descriptions, and a unique premise. Violet would be at home on bookshelves alongside the likes of Paranormalcy’s Evie. --Gayle Forman
(Photo © Nick Tucker)
Read more expert reviews of Spookygirl
Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist. She began her career writing for numerous publications, including The Nation, Family Circle, Cosmopolitan, Details, Elle, and Seventeen Magazine. In 2002, Forman took a trip around the world, resulting in her first book, a travel memoir called You Can't Get There From Here: A Year On The Fringes Of A Shrinking World. In 2007 she published her first young adult novel, Sisters in Sanity, based on an article she had written for Seventeen. Two years later, Gayle Forman wrote If I Stay, an emotionally arresting story of 17-year-old Mia in the 24 hours after a catastrophic car accident. Currently in development with Summit Entertainment, If I Stay received five starred reviews, was honored as the 2009 NAIBA Book of the Year and was a 2010 Indie Choice Honor Award winner. Her newest novel, Where She Went, is a companion novel to If I Stay. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family. Read her review of Jill Baguchinsky's Spookygirl:Like her mother before her, fifteen-year-old Violet can communicate with ghosts. But the one ghost she cannot talk to is that of her mother, who died seven years earlier during a paranormal investigation. After having been exiled to live with an aunt, Violet returns to live with her father above the funeral home he now runs, which, as you might expect, is a popular haunt for spooks. So, it turns out, is Violet’s new Florida high school. No sooner does she enroll than she discovers a mysterious dark presence in the girls’ locker room, and the spirit of Dirk, a dead jock, lurking in the art classroom. Violet’s ability to see Dirk earns her the moniker "spookygirl" from her classmates and the respect of the Goth kids and of Timmy, a wanna-be Goth and half vampire. Part of the book’s charm is the normalcy of it all--Violet has a pet poltergeist named Buster that is as rambunctious as an unruly animal--but this can sometimes rob the narrative of its tension. There’s no price to be paid for Violet’s powers. A plotline with the locker room and a potentially demonic gym teacher goes nowhere. When Violet takes up her mother’s mantle as a sort of ghost whisperer, trying to find resolution for the conflicts between ghosts and the humans they haunt, the story finds its heart, though the narrative seems to raise some unintentional questions: Is it really healthy for the dead and the living to go on together as though nothing has happened? That said, this is a fully realized novel, with a sweet voice, humor, some lovely descriptions, and a unique premise. Violet would be at home on bookshelves alongside the likes of Paranormalcy’s Evie. --Gayle Forman
(Photo © Nick Tucker)
Read more expert reviews of Spookygirl
From School Library Journal
Gr 9-11-Violet, 15, can see and talk to ghosts, save the one ghost she'd love to chat with-her mother, who died under strange circumstances during a paranormal investigation. Her father, now a funeral-home owner, refuses to talk to her about it. Violet is starting in a new high school where she earns the nickname Spookygirl for talking to a dead football player. With the help of her new Goth friends, she solves a couple of ghostly mysteries, just as her mother did, and decides that she is ready to return to the old house where her mother died and find out the truth about that night. Baguchinsky delivers a funny, fresh story with some chilling scenes and a likable and smart protagonist. Secondary characters, the setting, and the mysteries are all well done, keeping readers entertained and engaged throughout.-Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canadaα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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More About the Author
Jill Baguchinsky was the only kid in town who used to dress up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween. Jill lives in Florida, where she spends too much time on the Internet, sneaks off to Disney World whenever possible, and serves as secretary to her grumpy muses. Spookygirl: Paranormal Investigator, winner of the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Young Adult Fiction, is her first book.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spookygirl is a great read that's different from most young adult novels today.
August 22, 2012
By GrumpyLou
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
By the time I was done with Spookygirl I couldn't help but think, "Are... there really ghosts just hanging around here?"
Spookygirl is a young adult novel that focuses on the paranormal. No, not vampires, although Spookygirl does poke fun at them. This story is about a confident teenage girl named Violet who can see ghosts, and she doesn't really care who knows it. She lives with her dad in an apartment above the funeral home her Dad owns, and she is just trying to survive her new high school.
The young adult shoe fits Spookygirl perfectly. The story is engaging without needing to rely on a lame romance subplot to drive it forward, and there are some genuinely funny and creepy moments as well. The writing keeps you wanting more, and I was always excited to see what happened to Violet and her unlikely group of friends next.
While it's in the young adult genre, I would recommend Spookygirl to anybody looking for a good read. It has something for everybody and it is a MUCH better alternative than Twilight and the like. Hell, I'd even recommend it to the high school jocks around the world. You might learn something about that person you've been picking on.
Spookygirl is a young adult novel that focuses on the paranormal. No, not vampires, although Spookygirl does poke fun at them. This story is about a confident teenage girl named Violet who can see ghosts, and she doesn't really care who knows it. She lives with her dad in an apartment above the funeral home her Dad owns, and she is just trying to survive her new high school.
The young adult shoe fits Spookygirl perfectly. The story is engaging without needing to rely on a lame romance subplot to drive it forward, and there are some genuinely funny and creepy moments as well. The writing keeps you wanting more, and I was always excited to see what happened to Violet and her unlikely group of friends next.
While it's in the young adult genre, I would recommend Spookygirl to anybody looking for a good read. It has something for everybody and it is a MUCH better alternative than Twilight and the like. Hell, I'd even recommend it to the high school jocks around the world. You might learn something about that person you've been picking on.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By reginasirois
Format:Hardcover
Spookygirl is an easy, light-hearted read. Completely opposite of the eery "I see dead people" ghost stories, this one is closer to ghostbusters. Sarcasm and adventure meet up in a almost flippant fashion as one brave and confident teenage girl takes on the world of unruly spirits. Guaranteed laughs and sure to entertain.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By Ang
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
"There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it." Ż Bertrand Russell.
TWO DAYS....I LOVED Spookygirl!! What a fantastic, fun, funny, heartwarming and delightful book! Violet grabbed me into her life from page one and took me on a journey that was worth every word! It was so REFRESHING to read your book....so nice to read something other than what is out there for the old and especially the young! I love Violet, her spirit and her for acceptance of who she is.....Isobel and Dirk tugged at my heart and every character became a friend.....SO, EVERYONE, I encourage you to go out and get this book at your local book store or from Amazon....I assure you, you will enjoy it and boast about it!!! I can't wait for the Sequel and to continue Violet's journey!!!
TWO DAYS....I LOVED Spookygirl!! What a fantastic, fun, funny, heartwarming and delightful book! Violet grabbed me into her life from page one and took me on a journey that was worth every word! It was so REFRESHING to read your book....so nice to read something other than what is out there for the old and especially the young! I love Violet, her spirit and her for acceptance of who she is.....Isobel and Dirk tugged at my heart and every character became a friend.....SO, EVERYONE, I encourage you to go out and get this book at your local book store or from Amazon....I assure you, you will enjoy it and boast about it!!! I can't wait for the Sequel and to continue Violet's journey!!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spookygirl: Paranormal Investigator
I discovered this book because it was an award winner in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. I really liked it! Read more
Published 1 month ago by I Love to Teach
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cute Paranormal Read for Younger Readers
I thought Spookygirl was a cute book with a fun storyline, and not creepy at all. I was particularly fond of Buster, the dog-like ghost who lives with Violet, loves cookies,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by StephTheBookworm
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, Light, Paranormal Mystery
I bought SPOOKYGIRL because it won the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, YA division. I did not enter that year (I am in the 2013 contest) but I was curious to see what... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rondi Olson
5.0 out of 5 stars
good book
this was my first book for my IPAD. i liked it and will look forward to reading more from this author.
Published 4 months ago by bonnee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love, love, love Spookygirl!
I really enjoyed reading Spookygirl, even though I'm an adult and this is young adult material...it just caught my eye and my heart. Would love to see a sequel soon...?!
Published 4 months ago by dewmaniac
4.0 out of 5 stars
Super Cute and Completely Charming
Spookygirl: Paranormal Investigator by Jill Baguchinsky is one part cheese factor with a large dose of an adorable story about a not so typical teenage girl's life. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Erica
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bow chicka wow wow!
This book is AWESOME. It deserves an award for best paranormal investigation book. I love all the details and scene descriptions.
Published 4 months ago by Maddie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spookygirl is a Mystery Novel gone Ghostly
I walked into Spookygirl not sure of what to expect. The premise of a teen paranormal investigator who solves mysteries, sees ghosts, and goes to high school all at the same time... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Trevor Faulkner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun YA Read
I'm not a huge fan of the paranormal genre, but the book cover and plot outline drew me in. And, I'm happy to say, the writing made me stick around. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Amy Martin
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Blast!
A fun, fun, read that managed to give me goosebumps more than once. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait for more of Violet's adventures!
Published 7 months ago by Adam Randall Russell
Listmania!
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