It Found Us by Lindsay Currie

 

Yesterday, I finished reading It Found Us by Lindsay Currie. This horror novel is about Hazel Woods, a 12-year-old girl who wants to launch a podcast called What Hazel Knows and enjoys solving mysteries even if some consider it snooping. After she overhears her brother, Den, on the phone talking to his best friend, Everett, about going to the graveyard for a game of hide-and-seek, she secretly follows him that evening because she wants to figure out if it's really haunted. When the game ends and Hazel and Den see no sign of Everett, they realize that Everett has vanished. Although there is a search party, which includes Hazel and Den's parents, looking for Everett, they decide to do their own investigation, along with Hazel's best friend, Maggie, to find him. As the ghost of a child haunts them and terrifying clues, like the smell of smoke, footprints, and smiley faces, are revealed to them, they must solve the mystery relating to the history of the cemetery to save Everett before it's too late.

I was so excited to read this novel for a long time because I had previously read Scritch Scratch by the same author and it exceeded all my expectations. It Found Us was perfectly creepy and I really enjoyed the mystery of why Woodlawn Cemetery is haunted. I don't want to say too much, but it incorporated the real life tragedy of a train wreck and I found it utterly fascinating. I also really liked the characters. Even though Hazel and Den sometimes have trouble getting along as siblings, it was truly satisfying how solving the mystery of Everett's disappearance brought them together. Maggie was really awesome, as well. She's a good listener and her knowledge of everything going on in their town came in handy. I'm glad the siblings had her help. There were also two standout adults, Mrs. Forster, a woman who used to work in the front office of the cemetery, and Mr. Jeffries, a groundskeeper. Hazel was able to interview them to gather more clues. The suspense built over the course of the story and things became quite terrifying before the climax, but I loved the ending because it shows how important forgiving yourself is when feeling guilt. I highly recommend reading the author's note at the back of the book because she shares a little bit about how the "lost" history of the Hagenbeck-Wallace train wreck inspired the story. Additionally, I read an advance reader's copy. Anyone who enjoys a mix of horror and mystery should read It Found Us.

Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie

 

On Friday, I finished reading Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie. This horror novel is about Claire, a girl who prefers science to the paranormal. When the bus driver of her dad's ghost-themed Chicago bus tours gets sick and has to cancel, Claire is roped into helping her dad despite her reluctance. During the tour, Claire notices unexplainable things happening and eventually sees a young boy at the back of the bus who is mysteriously gone when she checks for him at the very end of the tour. The only thing she finds in his place is a wet piece of paper with the number 396 on it. Soon, she begins to hear scratching and voices whispering in the dark. Then, she sees 396 again written on the wall of her shower and decides to tell her brother, Sam, that she's being haunted, leading them to investigate the history of haunted locations in Chicago. When the sad, dark-eyed boy follows her to school, she has to figure out what he wants before it's too late, even if it means asking her best friend, Casley, and Casley's new friend, Emily, for help.

This novel was very creepy and I enjoyed it so much. I had my suspicions about what had happened to the ghost boy who followed Claire after the bus tour because I saw an episode of the Disney Channel show, So Weird, about the same tragedy when I was a kid, but the story was no less suspenseful and compelling because of my previous knowledge. I didn't know exactly what the boy wanted or how Claire could help him. It was definitely quite the mystery as to why he chose her, but I thought it was pretty cool how Claire used the scientific method to solve it. I also really liked Claire's relationship with her brother, Sam, because not only is he the first one to believe her about being haunted, he also decides to help her when she agrees to help him with math. On the other hand, sometimes I just wanted to shake Claire when she kept pushing Casley away just because Casley befriended Emily, a girl with different interests, but I was really happy when they decided to all work together. It was nice seeing Claire open up instead of closing herself off to others and actually getting to know Emily. If you want to read a spooky tale that gives you the shivers, I highly recommend Scritch Scratch.