Crooked Hills by Cullen Bunn is an excellent read for children nine or older. Look for it in your local Denver bookstore, such as the Tattered Cover, starting October of 2011. This book is bound to make your kids keep reading. Almost every chapter ends with a spooky cliffhanger that kept me turning pages late into the night.
Crooked Hills chronicles the adventures of Charlie Ward. Charlie and his family move to the spookiest town in American for the summer, located in the Missouri Ozarks. He tracks down the source of ghostly happenings around town with the help of his cousin Marty, younger brother Alex, and new friend (and crush) Lisa. This book gave me chills. The main antagonist, a witch of great local legend, is truly scary but the book is still suitable for children.
Charlie’s narration rings true and reminded me of summer adventures I had as a kid. The book is a modern mystery and ghost story, reminiscent of other great series like The Hardy Boys. Charlie is very funny, without the over the top coolness present in so many other contemporary young adult novels and TV shows.
Crooked Hills sets the stage for what could be a several volume mystery series. I look forward to book two in this series. I received an advance review copy from the publisher of this novel.
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