The Ghost Inside the Monitor

Sarah is resigned to spending a long, lonely summer helping out at her father's new computer store. Deciding to make the best of it, she begins writing her autobiography, only to find that her text disappears and is replaced by the life story of a long-deceased girl named Pascale. Convinced that Pascale's ghost haunts the computer store, Sarah and her new friend Jeff make plans to lay the wandering spirit to rest. The author of Searching for Shona proves once again that she can start with an improbable idea, explore its possibilities and end up with a credible novel. Unfortunately, while this is certainly a pleasantly creepy ghost story, it lacks the singular voice that made her earlier novel so engrossing. That book's heroine was as memorable as the unusual circumstances in which she was involved; Sarah and the ghostly Pascale pale in comparison to the eerie events that bring them together. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)