Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards

An apprehensive girl ventures into unknown territory in new environs—and within herself—to uncover the truth behind a local legend in this thrilling otherworldly novel from Tan (the Cilla Lee-Jenkins series). After her stepdad leaves, Chinese American 12-year-old Mo Lin, her five-year-old half sister CeCe, and their mother move to a new town to live with Uncle Ray. Helping with her younger sister, watching her mom navigate depression, and facing racism in the largely white Massachusetts town makes the transition a difficult one for Mo, as does her heightened fear of fire following a toast incident at the family’s prior home. Strange dreams and bouts of sleepwalking add to her worries, especially when they turn out to involve the ghost of a circus elephant named Maudie, who perished in a local fire and whose spirit lives on via a ghostly white dog. When unsettling occurrences begin happening around town, Mo teams up with new friend Nathaniel, a ghost enthusiast who is white and Jewish, to investigate, finding that it takes living a little dangerously to uncover truths about their town’s erased history. Mo’s sincere first-person narrative portrays the way that finding emotional safety—via attending therapy, and bonding with Uncle Ray over music—gives way to a feeling of peace. Ages 8–12. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (Apr.)