THE CROSSROADS   Listen to an audio sample from the book! "If Grabenstein's first YA book were to receive a one-word review, the word would be Coooool..."    —BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW (read the full review here) hris Grabenstein's first book for younger readers is filled with the same humorous and spinetingling storytelling that has made him a fast favorite with adults. Order now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Random House, and wherever books are sold! (also available in audio here!) "Have you ever seen a face hidden in the bark of a tree and known that the man trapped inside wanted to hurt you?" Zack, his dad, and new stepmother have just moved back to his father's hometown in Connecticut, 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 forty 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!   Check out the Treemendously Spooky CROSSROADS stuff at Chris' Official Café Press CROSSROADS Shop! Read the Prologue and the first two chapters! Hop on the bus Climb into the treehouse Spot the author when he was Zack's age!   The Crossroads Trailer (a spooky one, starring Fred in a cameo role!)   Random House hardcover: ISBN: 978-0-375-84697-7 Also available in library binding To buy the Unabridged Compact Disc: Amazon Barnes & Noble Random House   The Crossroads unabridged audio (CD or MP3) is read by Chris's wife, the extremely talented Voice Over actress J.J. Myers!   PRAISE FOR CROSSROADS "I just wanted to actually tell Chris how much I loved his book! In 2 days I was finished! I have also been advertising his book to all my friends and even just from reading the back they were hooked! I am doing one of my book reports on it over the summer! HURRY UP AND MAKE THE 2ND!"    —Maddie, Age 11 "Ghosts vengeful and benevolent, evil possession and dark secrets from the past all figure in this suspenseful page turner destined to grab reluctant readers, especially boys, and R.L. Stine fans. When 11-year-old Zack Jennings moves with his father and new stepmother from New York City to rural Connecticut, he becomes the target of a hateful old woman and the ghost of her 1950s sweetheart, now a body-possessing demon bent on wreaking vengeance on Zack's ancestor by murdering the boy. Brief, fast-paced action chapters, tight plotting, several murders and a sympathetic main character keep things moving, as long-buried clues to the mystery of a tragic accident are revealed with some help from kindly phantoms. One friendly ghost in particular may come as a surprise. Fans of the genre won't mind some of the implausibilities; they'll keep reading." (Fiction. 10-12)    —Kirkus Reviews "Chris's book was great! Tell him it was amazing! Wonderful! And another great word that is more than spectacular! It was really scary too!"    —Riley, Age 12 "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. Grabenstein, who has won the Anthony Award for his adult mysteries and whose writing career encompassed work for the Muppets, brings a great sense of timing to this mystery-fright ride. Zack Jennings, a kid uprooted following his mother's death and his father's re-marriage, 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 elan. Expect lots of requests."    —Connie Fletcher, BOOKLIST STARRED REVIEW "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."    —Lesa Holstine, USA Today.com "The Buffalo-born author of adult novels "Tilt a Whirl" and "Whack a Mole" hits one out of the park in this nifty psychological thriller for middle-grade readers. Rich in characters and plot, it's the story of an 11-year-old boy named Zack Jennings who is starting a new life in Connecticut with his busy father, new stepmother and a dog. Zach is haunted by memories of his abusive mother, recently dead of cancer, and also haunted by an evil spirit that inhabits a huge tree in his backyard. The author creates a marvelous parade of ghosts along with a great villain—a nasty old lady named Gerda Spratling—and neatly ties the threads of the story together with a riproaring finale."    —BUFFALO NEWS