![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
THE CROSSROADS
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! 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! (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 PRAISE FOR CROSSROADS
Kirkus Reviews
"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 waysfrom 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 murderand 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 villaina nasty old lady named Gerda Spratlingand neatly ties the threads of the story together with a riproaring finale." BUFFALO NEWS |
![]() ![]() |
||||||