99. Ghost Club Book 1: The New Kid by Deborah Abela

Ghost Club Book 1: The New Kid by Deborah Abela
Published March 2012 Random House

From the publisher:
Angeline and Edgar might be kids, but they're also two of Ghost Club's youngest ghost-catchers. Got a problem with a ghost, poltergeist or ghoul? Can't sleep because of all the rattling chains and cackling laughter? Angeline and Edgar are the experts to call.So it's entirely logical that when new kid Dylan joins Ghost Club, Angeline and Edgar are the perfect candidates to introduce him to everything he needs to know, from which ghost-catching gadget will do the trick to when to run like crazy to avoid being splattered with ectoplasm.The trouble is, Dylan's not quite sure he wants to be a ghost-catcher . . .

If you work in a school library how many times do you get students coming up to you saying "I want a scary book"?  Usually the student is about 8 and they probably don't want an actual scary book, but more a book that looks scary.  Maybe one with ghosts?  Well now you have something to give them.

Angeline and Edgar have been born into a family of ghost catchers.  To them ghosts are an everyday occurrence, if a ghost is causing trouble it's their job to get rid of it, some more easily  than others.  Dylan their newest recruit, is new to this paranormal world, and dealing with ghosts is something he's not sure he can stomach.

In this book they receive a call from Mr Griswold, who has been faking ghostly 'goings ons' in his castle to bring in tourists, only to find that he now has a real ghost in the castle who is scaring away his tourists!  The ghost hunters  are called into find out why the ghost is there, and they manage to find a solution that keeps everyone happy.

There is also a busy body of a next door neighbour who calls in the police to investigate Angeline and Edgar;s family.  She is sure that the children are being mistreated, as they are kept out to all hours of the night and always come home filthy and exhausted! 

It's the first part of a new series that's scary (but not actually that scary) and full of goo (ectoplasm) with a lot of eccentric crazy family members thrown on for a bit of a giggle.

Who will like this book: Boys and girls age 9+
Read it if you like: ghost stories