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Reviewed by Courtnee Turner Hoyle for Readers' Favorite
Charlotte's Ghosts: The Mystery of the Vanishing Boy is a middle-grade novel by L.P. Simone. Charlotte Cross is grieving inwardly for her father when her mother moves them to Manassas, Virginia. While walking with her dog, Charlotte sees a boy around her age, but as they exchange words, he disappears. In 1861, Jeremy Turner heard about President Lincoln's fight for the abolition of slavery. His father goes off to fight, leaving Jeremy and his mother, while Jeremy hopes to find a way to join him. Charlotte doesn't understand why she sees the mysterious boy or his attraction to her dog, but she vows to help him when she understands they are both missing something dear to them.
As an author who believes in the paranormal, L.P. Simone's vision of an exchange between the living and the dead will resonate with readers as they experience shock, suspense, and tears. As a seventh-grader, Charlotte has intense emotions, and readers can almost feel these as they turn the pages. The author's vivid descriptions paint the perfect picture of an area during two different times and bridge the gap between them. I enjoyed reading about the children through their perspectives as it was much easier to include important elements without stating these outright. Simone relates a good deal of history around the Civil War, expressing the hardships of the people who had to fight for their food and possessions - even from the soldiers who fought for the cause they supported. Charlotte's Ghosts is a great selection for teens or older readers who enjoy a historical element in a coming-of-age story.
