Stagecoach robberies. Shoot-outs. Striking it rich. Throughout the Wild West small towns were formed, thriving with men and women from the East and gold from the mines. Notorious outlaws, desperadoes, and gunslingers rustled up trouble in town after town. When the gold disappeared, the outlaws, as well as the local folks, abandoned their towns. Or did they? There are still sounds, not just the paint peeling from the deserted storefronts, or the tumbleweeds whispering as they somersault down the empty streets. There are voices, whispering stories--are they real or imagined? Stories like the one about the Lost Mine in Maiden, Texas, or the Bad Man from Bodie, California, who's still searching for his lost finger. . . . From the Hardcover edition.
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Gr 3-7-Each of these seven mildly spooky stories takes place in a real ghost town. Forced to visit Tombstone, AZ, with his family, a boy encounters a ghost who tells him the real story of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. A girl in Shakespeare, NM, helps a forlorn spirit rest in peace. Another girl is nearly lured away by a handsome ghost, until she sees his true skeletal features. Each tale is followed by a couple of pages of factual narrative about these towns, which include resources for more information. Nixon also mixes historical facts into the stories themselves, at times using parent lectures to their unenthusiastic kids to convey background material. The young protagonists are not particularly memorable, but the story premises are varied enough to make an entertaining collection. The heroes either learn a valuable lesson from their ghostly experiences or interact with the spirits to help them in some way. Only the last story, "Trade-off," has more palpable results, as a ghost takes the place of a spoiled child and doesn't look back. Though the tales are generally too tame to truly thrill readers, the ghost-town settings give the book a unifying and intriguing element that may draw readers looking for "scary, but not too scary" stories.-Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
From: Reed Elsevier Inc.
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Gr. 4^-7. Combining history and mystery, this somewhat uneven collection, set in real American ghost towns, recalls classic campfire tales. In "Payback," eighth-grader Alan finds protection from school bullies in a Cerberus-like ghost dog. "The Magic Eye" has 14-year-old Ashley discovering that a romantic young man isn't what he seems. In "Trade-Off," a disgruntled human boy provides unexpected opportunity for a 13-year-old ghost to come back to life. Town facts, travel directions, and resources follow stories, and an afterword offers practical advice for exploring ghost towns. The simple yet descriptive prose and modern protagonists entertain, but the repeated lesson about appreciating history makes the stories predictable. Even so, there's a ready audience for this. Give it to Nixon fans and readers who like spooky stories or books about Wild West days. It may spark interest in a fascinating, if often violent aspect of history. --Shelle Rosenfeld
From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc.
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Joan Lowery Nixon was born in Los Angeles, California. She attended the University of Southern California where she received a B.A. in journalism and later an education certificate from California State.
She has written over 100 mystery books for young adults. She is known for her Orphan Train Adventure Series and other titles including A Family Apart, The Seance and Other Side of the Dark. Her works have earned her the honor of being the only writer to win four Edgar Allen Poe awards and in addition, two Spurs from Western Writers of America. She is currently the President of the Mystery Writers of America.
She died from complications of pancreatic cancer on June 28, 2003, in Houston, Texas. She was 76.
(Bowker Author Biography)
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