Age Range: Middle Grades

Genre: Horror

Twelve-year old Brianna Jensen isn’t happy to be sent to stay with her uncle for two months while her mother trains for a new job, but things get even worse when strange events begin to happen along lonely Shadowrun Road, where her uncle lives. Sounds of footsteps following her, glimpses of a girl in an orange dress, a driverless car, and worse yet, the refusal of her classmates to even speak about what might be happening even though they apparently know something. All she can get from them is that she might be the next victim of the ghost if she’s not careful.

Can Brianna solve the mystery of the Ghost of Shadowrun Road before it’s too late?

This book (published by Scholastic) is a scary story for middle graders. A decent intro to horror for this age group, it taps into the vein of “haunted road” stories found in folklore around the country.

Relationships and characters seem a little 2-dimensional, and older readers might find the story a little tame for their taste. Still, younger budding horror fans may find this to be a worthwhile addition to their reading list.