Customer Reviews

There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a college student taking an Adolescent Literature course that requires me to read 25 adolescent books over the course of the semester.

I was not eager to read this book because my professor designated it as a FANTASY book, a genre I am not particularly fond of. However, "There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around" has changed my attitude about FANTASY literature and I am now a fan.

Vivian Vande Velde's character development and imagery is superbly done. The story is surprisingly educational in the historic references to the Underground Railroad and the plot twists are creative and entertaining.

Anyone who has a teenaged sibling will relate to twelve-year old Ted and five-year old Vicki's relationship with their obnoxious older brother, Zack. Zack thinks he knows everything, but he is not the hero of the story. It is Ted and his cousin who unearth the sad history of the "dead person following his sister." Their discovery enables them to bury the haunting past and provides two very deserving souls the peace and freedom they so richly desire.

"There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around" is educational, suspenseful, funny, sad and a must-read for all ages. I was pleasantly surprised and I look forward to recommending this book to my future elementary school students.

Children often have imaginary friends sometimes, within their lives. But how often can these friends move objects or haunt the dreams of their brother. Ted is convineved that his five-year-old sister's new friend is a ghost and evil ghost. Why
does she choose Vicki to play with, and what does she want? Who is her mother, and why is she haunting Ted's dreams? Why doesn't she want Ted in the attic? What's up their that is so important? When Ted calls his grandparents to find out what is in the attic, he learns of hi great-grandmothers diary. As Ted reads through the diary,he finds who the ghosts are and what happened to them. But can he help Vicki before it is too late?

This is a fast-paced, stimulating book. I was reeled in from the beginning. It is the style of book that cannot be put down. It keeps the reader's attention with twists and turns on every page. This book keeps you guessing what will happen next
and I feel it is a very excellent book, combining fact and fiction.

As a children's librarian I read a LOT of books. Some of them are pretty stinky, a few of them are perfect...and some are just plain great reads. This is one of this last category.

I just finished reading this book for the second time (first time was to review it for School Library Jourrnal). THIS time, I read it to use it with my middle-grade book discussion group & I know the kids will love it.

It is spooky. It is full of sly humor. It has history, and it has thrills. Most importantly its narrarator sounds like a REAL kid. His friends and family are real too. Even the ghosts sound (?) authentic. I'm glad Vande Velde has so many books out there. I've only read two...and I'm looking forward to the rest. Your middle grade readers (say 4th to 7th grade) will love this.

(I still think the title is a little...odd though) :-) Happy Reading!

What could possibly be scarier than your brother or sister ruining your school project? I can't think of anything except coming home to find our that your project has been ruined by a GHOST! This is just what happened to Ted when he left his Luxemburg project alone at home for a few hours. But why would a ghost want to bother Ted or destroy his project for that matter? Something that happened at Ted's house long ago is not only back to haunt him, but his sister as well. It is Ted's job to find out who or what was haunting him, his sister, and their house. This novel keeps your attention from the first to the last page. It provides both suspense and a learning experience for the reader. Each chapter is full of significant historical events which would motivate students to research why those events are so important. It could also help spur classroom discussions or teaching lessons in many different subject areas. This book would be appropriate for middle school aged students. I encourage each person to read this book both for the spook and for the learning experience!

This book is set in the present, but takes you back to the past by painting mental images. It begins with Ted's sister talking to her imaginary friend. Most people have an imaginary friend at one time or another during their childhood, and Ted didn't think much about it when his sister told him she was talking to her new friend. Then strange and unusual things began to happen. Ted's Luxemburg project is tossed around in the basement. He begins having nightmares and becomes sick one night after waking up from a bad dream. He dreamt he was drowning, and that he had swallowed alot of water. This convinces Ted that his house must be haunted, and that his sister's 'friend' is actually a ghost. The problem is that there seems to be a bad ghost haunting them also. As Ted delves into the fact that his house may be haunted, he uncovers many things. When he called his grandparents to ask about the house, he learned that his great, great grandmother kept a journal, and that it might be up in the attic. As he searches through the attic, he is faced with the ghost trying to keep from it. The first time he attempted opening the attic door, it was slammed shut and the key flew out of the lock. Determined to find the journal, he tries again, only to have boxes and books fly off shelves at him. As he read the journal, he discovered who the ghosts were, and what happened to them.
This book keeps you guessing at every turn of the page. It is definitely a book you can't put down until you're finished. I feel it is an excellent book, and well worth reading. There are many ways educators can tie this book into lesson plans and framework competencies.

What do a five-year old, a twelve-year, two ghosts from the past, a house located on the Erie Canal, and the Underground Railroad all have in common? Vivian Vande Velde incorporates all these elements by using historical fiction to educate young readers about the many truths of the Underground Railroad. Ted, a twelve year old middle child, begins to realize that his life is not so normal when his five year old sister, Vicki, invents an imaginary friend who turns out not to be so imaginary. This imaginary friend is actually a ghost who has haunted their house for a hundred and fifty years. Ted begins a journey to discover his family's past with the Underground Railroad through his and Vicki's encounters with the ghosts. When Ted uncovers the family secret, he is lead to many revelations of the connection between past and present. This book reminds us to never underestimate the imagination of a child. History classes could benefit greatly from this book because, it shows different perspectives of the Underground Railroad, and it has a significant amount of history about events prior to the Civil War.

I read this book with my fifth grade classes for the past 2 years, and they LOVED it. They begged me to read more each day. There are actually 2..count 'em...2 ghosts inhabiting Teddy's house, and one is befriending his little sister, Vicky. Things are not as clear cut as they seem, and it's up to Teddy and his cousin Jacqueline, (not Jackie), to solve the mystery and rid their home of the ghosts.

I am 14 years old and I read this book in the 7th grade. I am now in the 8th grade, and this book still sticks in my mind. It blew me away, and I never expected this book to turn out this good! When I saw the title of this book I thought what a waste of time, but how wrong I was. To any young readers out there who are looking for a good book to read I would advise you to check this book out.

Bought this book for my kids, as part of an Underground Railroad/Black History month project that we are doing. Didn't expect much out of it--but I started reading it myself, and didn't put it down until I'd finished. Verdi is an excellent writer and a great storyteller. Keeping in mind that this novel is aimed at the preteen set, I had goosebumps through one of the passages (his dream) and actually had started to wonder whether or not it would end in a way I wanted my younger kids (2nd and 4th grade) to hear. But yes, it is kid-friendly in the end, and in a good way that leaves the reader satisfied. In fact, the ending is the only mildly contrived part of the story and even that is told with a semi-smart-mouthed main character's wit that keeps it fun and in keeping with the book. There aren't easy, black-and-white, perfect characters here but believable kids and adults. And it's a great ghost tale!

There's A Dead Person Following My Sister Around, by Vivian Vande Velde, is a great example of a mystery novel. The characters are well developed, and even though all typical mysteries happen in a big abandoned house, Vivian made it seem as if it was a house that you ride past in a regular neighborhood everyday.Yet, is was a lone house on a hill.
These characters were made with characteristics that a real human would have. Like the little sister being scared of ghost and having imaginary friends.Or like the older brother thinks he's to good to help around the house when the parents aren't home.Another example is the parents.They don't have the best jobs infact the mom is a waitress who works long,long,and I do mean long hours.
I think it would be very easy to make a movie based on this book (if one isn't already made) because it's very easy to read.Plus, alot of people of people like mysteries.So people would like watching something exciting and suspenseful.
This is one of the better books that I've actually read being The non-reader that I am. To me, being able to finish a book and understanding what you read and being interested in it the whole time is most important. I rated this book a five and I recommend it anyone,not just people who like to read, but also the people who need to do a book review and they just hope they don't pick something they aren't going to read it.