The release of this ghost story perfectly coincides with the approach of cooler weather and the spooky days of Halloween – it will not stay on shelves. The themes of this story – bullying, friendship, responsibility – make great topics for debate, especially as it implies the past is not so different from the present. Elsie’s ghost is as cruel in death as in life, and Annie cannot help but be influenced by the mean-spirited nature of her haunting. Hahn returns with another ghost story that mixes historical fiction with the supernatural. When Annie starts hearing voices, she fears the worst, but ghosts aren’t real, are they? However, the flu takes hold of their town, and Elsie perishes to the disease. When Elsie bullies her way to Annie’s house and ruins a favorite doll, Annie decides that she can’t be friends with Elsie and joins Rosie’s group, which insults and snubs Elsie. Besides, Elsie is a rude, lying, mean girl. On her first day of school, Elsie claims Annie as a new best friend, but Annie finds out quickly that to be Elsie’s friend is to risk social isolation. It is 1918, and Annie has moved to a new town.
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