Unraveling Isabel

When Isobel’s mother marries a recent widower after a whirlwind courtship, the high school senior is angry about moving from Seattle to her stepfather’s crumbling estate on a nearby island. Soon, she is upset for another reason: she thinks she is being haunted by the ghost of her stepfather’s young daughter. “Avenge her death?” quick Isobel quips, discussing the strange occurrences with her best friend. “Does she think I’m some sort of teen version of Chuck Norris?” Meanwhile, Isobel’s stepfather is persuading her mother that Isobel is mentally unstable, just like her biological father. An old mansion near a stormy ocean is a spine-tingling setting for this ghost story, especially when Isobel learns about other suspicious events that have taken place there. Cook (The Education of Hailey Kendrick) sometimes relies on overly familiar devices (such as when Isobel and her new friends try out a Ouija board during a slumber party), but Isobel’s sass and her steamy romance with her new stepbrother will help readers race toward the dramatic conclusion, even if the climax predictably occurs on a cliff during a rainstorm. Ages 14–up. Agent: FinePrint Literary Management. (Jan.) ■