Time for a little mystery with today's read. This is a summer camp mystery set back in the 1960's. The cover is dark and spooky, isn't it? And who doesn't love to canoe across a river...maybe, not in the dark, but still.
Anyway, let's see how this one goes!
THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED DANCEHALL
by Charis Cotter
Tundra Books
Middle Grade Mystery
392 pages
ages 9 to 12
COMING...
MAY 13th!!!
Set in the '60s at a summer camp, The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall is a spooky, atmospheric middle-grade story for fans of classic ghost stories, unlikely friendships and intriguing mysteries.
Bee's mom has a job in New York City for the summer, so Bee is being sent to summer camp. She's not excited about it. Being around other people is hard for her, plus she knows nothing about campfires, she's not a good swimmer and she's never even been in a canoe.
When she first arrives, things go pretty much as she expected. The other girls either make fun of her or ignore her, and the woods surrounding the camp give her the she keeps hearing elusive music coming from somewhere in the distance, and there's something unearthly about it.
But then Zippy comes on the scene — an oddball like Bee, but with a lot more confidence and hard-won knowledge gleaned from many summers spent at this exact camp. And most importantly, Zippy has also discovered mysterious behavior going on at the the older girls from the Hawks cabin are sneaking out to do . . . something. They're always exhausted, and their flashlight batteries are running out at an alarming rate. But their counselors are never woken up by girls sneaking out, no one on staff doing nightly rounds ever sees them outside the cabin, and even when they start doing a bed check at night, the girls all seem to be in their bunks.
Zippy and Bee are on the case, and with the help of an unlikely ally, they try to figure out what the Hawks are up to. But they soon discover there's more going on than just the usual summer-camp hijinks. How are the Hawks getting out at night? What is the deal with the (very cute) mysterious boy who seems to be working with the groundskeeper? Where is the distant music coming from? And what does the reclusive camp founder know about all of it?
Bee's mom has a job in New York City for the summer, so Bee is being sent to summer camp. She's not excited about it. Being around other people is hard for her, plus she knows nothing about campfires, she's not a good swimmer and she's never even been in a canoe.
When she first arrives, things go pretty much as she expected. The other girls either make fun of her or ignore her, and the woods surrounding the camp give her the she keeps hearing elusive music coming from somewhere in the distance, and there's something unearthly about it.
But then Zippy comes on the scene — an oddball like Bee, but with a lot more confidence and hard-won knowledge gleaned from many summers spent at this exact camp. And most importantly, Zippy has also discovered mysterious behavior going on at the the older girls from the Hawks cabin are sneaking out to do . . . something. They're always exhausted, and their flashlight batteries are running out at an alarming rate. But their counselors are never woken up by girls sneaking out, no one on staff doing nightly rounds ever sees them outside the cabin, and even when they start doing a bed check at night, the girls all seem to be in their bunks.
Zippy and Bee are on the case, and with the help of an unlikely ally, they try to figure out what the Hawks are up to. But they soon discover there's more going on than just the usual summer-camp hijinks. How are the Hawks getting out at night? What is the deal with the (very cute) mysterious boy who seems to be working with the groundskeeper? Where is the distant music coming from? And what does the reclusive camp founder know about all of it?
MY TIDBITS
Bee is a bit different from other kids and so far, has been able to avoid summer camp thanks to all of her quirks. But not this year. Her mother needs to head to New York for a few weeks for work, leaving Bee with a 'must go' ultimatum. At camp, things start out a little rough as she just doesn't seem to fit in, but she expected that. When she meets Zippy, things do a turn around, and she has a friend. Before she can sink into camp fun, Bee notices strange things occurring. There's music coming from somewhere in the middle of the night, and no one seems to notice the older girls sneaking out. Or are they? Because the few times anyone checks, the girls are in their beds. But something's up, and Bee is going to get to the bottom of it.
This heads back to earlier summer camp days, where cell phones didn't exist and kids found other ways to keep themselves busy. Bee enters the camp with a closed door to others and doesn't really feel comfortable in her own skin, There's a bit of bullying, but that is quickly dimmed as she finds Zippy and her first friend. The friendship between the two is inspiring, which is great since they are up against quite the mystery.
While the twists and turns are unexpected and things such as hidden passages and dark forests draw in, this is a calmer spooky read, which slowly draws in and let's things unfold as they come. It's not easy to guess what will happen next, and the odd occurrences will have readers questioning what is going on. The pacing is steady, but it isn't necessarily for action fans. Rather, it's for those readers who want to enjoy the characters and discover what secrets the camp holds.
And here she is...
CHARIS COTTER went to camp for ten years and never wanted to go home at the end of summer. Growing up beside a graveyard, she became well acquainted with ghosts and has been living with them ever since. Charis studied English in university and went to drama school in London, England. She is the multi-award-winning author of several novels and picture books, including The Swallow, The Ghost Road, The Dollhouse, and Screech! Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland. Charis has worked extensively in schools and libraries from coast to coast, using drama and storytelling to bring her books to life. Her performances of Newfoundland ghost stories have thrilled audiences of all ages, from Florida to Vancouver Island. She lives at the end of a road beside the ocean, in one of the most haunted parts of Newfoundland, Canada.
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