Through Her Eyes

Adult author Archer (Off Her Rocker) makes her YA debut with an evocative and unusual ghost story. Sixteen-year-old Tansy Piper is less than thrilled about being uprooted yet again so her novelist mother can work on a new book, and she is determined to hate her grandfather's tiny hometown of Cedar Canyon, Tex. Worse yet, their new house ("three stories of pure creepiness") is said to be haunted by the ghost of 17-year-old Henry Peterson. Tansy becomes increasingly intrigued by Henry's story, and she is stunned when her camera's viewfinder shows her black-and-white images of moments that have long passed, moments that include Henry. Feeling transported into the photographs, Tansy starts to spend more and more time in Henry's world. As the color in Tansy's world begins to drain away and fill Henry's colorless world, Tansy is pulled deeper inside until she's on the cusp of entering it forever. Archer's engrossing story gracefully weaves together the contemporary and historical into an eerie mystery, while examining relationships, reality, and the power of the mind. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)