Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
This is a great book for readers who love ghosts and history! Chapters 19-21 just gave me chills. I had to keep reading! - Guest Reader Persephone, age 10
— From Kids and Teen BooksIt's 1898 in New York City and ghosts exist among humans.
When an unusual spirit takes up residence at the Roosevelt house, thirteen-year-old Eleanor and fourteen-year-old Alice are suspicious. The cousins don't get along, but they know something is not right. This ghost is more than a pesky nuisance. The authorities claim he's safe to be around, even as his mischievous behavior grows stranger and more menacing. It's almost like he wants to scare the Roosevelts out of their home - and no one seems to care!
Meanwhile, Eleanor and Alice discover a dangerous ghost in the house where Alice was born and her mother died. Is someone else haunting the family?
Introverted Eleanor and unruly Alice develop an unlikely friendship as they explore the family's dark, complicated history. It's up to them to destroy both ghosts and come to terms with their family's losses.
Told from alternating perspectives, thrills and chills abound in Dianne K. Salerni's imaginative novel about a legendary family and the ghosts that haunt their secrets.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
"Salerni skillfully incorporates facts about the extended Roosevelt family . . . into a lively and inventive ghost story/mystery/historical fiction mashup. . . . Although the novel is engrossing right from the start, tensions build very quicky to a thrilling, Ghostbusters-esque climax"—The Horn Book
"A spooky, fast-paced, and inventive tale. Salerni expertly blends fact and fiction, providing a glimpse of Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt's childhood that is so compelling, you almost wish the ghost parts were true."—Erin Bowman, Edgar Award–nominated author of Contagion and The Girl and the Witch's Garden
"Salerni places [Eleanor and Alice Roosevelt's] true story of loss and friendship in a fictional world plagued by ghostly eruptions of supernatural energy, and their strength in the face of adversity is made all the more memorable and noteworthy. The young women, teenagers in the tale, must investigate an unexpected haunting that brings to light a hidden and complicated family history. Their alternating perspectives provide fascinatingly different depictions of their resilience in the face of tribulations. This book is highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and thrilling mysteries."— Booklist
"This mix of history and fantasy creates a nifty setting for a middle-grade mystery" —Kirkus Reviews