Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?

Have You Met My Ghoulfriend? (Mostly Ghostly Book #2). R.L. Stine. (2004). 136p. New York: Delacorte Press.

Awards and Honors: none

Review:

Eleven-year-old Max has a hard time at school, he's bullied by his older brother and threatened with boarding school by his father. Compounding Max's problems is the fact that he is being haunted and no one in Max's family believes him. Nicky and Tara are two new ghosts who are trying to get Max to help them out how they died and where their parents are. Unfortunately, an evil ghost named Phears is trying to use Max to get to Nicky and Tara, which is making Max's life even harder. Max tries to protect Nicky and Tara from Phears, but when he doesn't cooperate, the evil ghost sends a ghoul to possess Max and force him into turning over the two young ghosts.

Opinion:
I can't say that I was a fan of this book. The writing was repetitive and lazy, the characters were stereotypical and unimaginative, the dialogue was clunky, and most importantly the book just wasn't scary. 

Ideas:
I don't think that I would recommend this book at all. 

Clay

Clay. by David Almond. (2005). 256p. New York: Delacorte Press.  

Awards and Honors: none

Review: 

David Almond has a knack for conjuring up strange and curious stories. Where Skellig was bizarre but uplifting, Clay is entirely creepy. Altar boy Davie is a mischievous, but innocent, student growing up in the North English countryside during the 1960s. When a strange new boy named Stephen Rose comes to town, Davie finds himself simultaneously repulsed and attracted by the boy, and soon finds himself entangled in a quickly escalating situation. Stephen, a talented sculptor, has the ability to create living things from clay, and together with Davie he creates an enormous clay monster which he intends to have do his bidding. Davie is horrified by the creature, and when a death takes place he is plagued with guilt at his own culpability in creating such a monster. The book raises big questions about good and evil, creation and destruction and about God.

Opinion:

Even though the plot was predictable, I thought that Clay's discussion of some very deep and philosophical questions kept the book interesting. This is definitely a book for older tweens who can appreciate and tackle the heavy issues that are raised by Almond.

Ideas:
Pair this with Shelley's classic gothic horror, Frankenstein, for an interesting discussion of creation and destruction.