Loved it! Easy hand sell, full of creepy ghost filled Chicago history, very well done! It will be a good read aloud for classrooms.

Scritch Scratch is a great middle grade paranormal mystery book. I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Claire Koster has a problem. After joining her father on his ghost tour bus through Chicago, she finds that a ghost followed her home. Readers beware: The spooks and frights in Scritch Scratch are not for the faint of heart! Will Claire be able to figure out what this ghost wants before it tears her house apart?

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for a review copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I knew as soon as I saw this cover and read the blurb that this would be just the spooky read I needed, and I for sure wasn’t wrong. Oh boy, it gave me chills in several places!

Scritch Scratch is an addicting ghost story that’ll give you all kinds of goosebumps, but also deeper feels, filled with sibling bonds, growing friendships, and a peek into haunted Chicago’s tragedies.

The writing is easy, and the scare level itself is low, but I think I’d caution that it may not be for the lower end of middle grade. This book touches on a lot of mature content that might be upsetting for smaller kids. As it turns out, most hauntings involve mass deaths and tragedy. Who knew?

My Thoughts:

- What struck me immediately was the writing: easy to read with a fun voice, yet full of beautiful, poignant lines. It’s a balance that’s difficult to keep, which makes this book perfect for all ages of readers, in my opinion. There’s the descriptions that may appeal to older readers, but the easygoing, funny writing voice that mid-grade books do so well. It was such a joy to read that I whipped through it in a day, unwilling to put it down and wanting to know the ending. Claire makes for a fun, sassy protagonist, because she’s at a point in time where she questions everything she thought she knew as fact. Like her unwavering friendship. Or how horrible her brother is. Or that ghosts aren’t real. Especially that ghost thing. Claire likes science and approaches the world with a scientist’s lens, which makes the investigation both fun and educational (at one point, they even bring up using the scientific method, which is the kind of dorky stuff I like).

- The haunting in this is guaranteed to give you goosebumps! But also presents a fun mystery to solve. Scritch Scratch delivers on the spooky premise by building an atmosphere that embodies all that is wonderful about fall and spooks and hauntings. It starts out small, with shadows and weird sightings, but gradually builds into something more, with the haunting itself providing some much-needed clues to the mystery. There were definitely times I had goosebumps reading a passage. Currie takes advantage of all the universal things that scare people, like something in the darkness, fear of the unknown, rattling door handles, and various little things that I think we can all agree are spooky, even if they’re not downright terrifying. This makes the level of scariness manageable for younger readers, but enough to raise anyone’s hackles.

- In the midst of everything, the main character, Claire, is facing the all-too-common struggles of learning how to be a good sister and a good friend. Not gonna lie, not the sort of commentary I expected to find in this book, but the way it works into the overall story was fantastic! When the haunting clearly proves to be too much for one little girl, Claire has no choice but to learn how to trust the people around her, which makes for some nice squad vibes with a few well-earned lessons thrown in. Claire isn’t exactly innocent in all this, and she realizes it, which I find refreshing. I’m loving the books I’ve read lately that show that it’s okay to be wrong, as long as you can admit it and rectify the situation. Kids are gonna kid. Heck, adults do the same thing. It’s human. Mistakes were made. Fix them the best you can and learn. Plus, the sibling bonds in this are fantastic! I always love seeing siblings work together and be there for each other, and this book delivers on that, too. Despite the fact that siblings are, unarguably and assuredly, annoying and frustrating, I loved the fact that they came through for each other anyway.

- Where Scritch Scratch really shines is its highlighting of haunted areas in Chicago, complete with a commentary about what it really means for a place to be haunted. Spoiler alert: it’s not because people have had so much fun there that they just decided to never leave. This has to be one of my favorite things about this book, hands down. I’ve never been to Chicago, so I actually didn’t know about a lot of the tragedies mentioned in this book, or the supposedly haunted locales those areas have now become. It was interesting to learn about them, and I often found myself hitting good ol’ Google to find out more. The main mystery of this book is focused on a particular true tragedy that impacted Chicago, and while I won’t say more than that, I actually did research on it after reading this book, and the amount of true details added is astounding! The real meat of this book that will stick with me is as much as we, as a country, seem to be obsessed with the paranormal, we also quickly and easily forget the story behind these hauntings … and that should be important! This book does such a fabulous job of reminding the reader that there were real people behind these haunted areas, real tragedies that people suffered through and that left their marks on the overall city at the time. It adds a little more humanization behind the ghosts, and in doing so, this book sets out to do the very thing its message pleads for us to do: don’t forget.

Ghost tours are sooo much fun! This might make a fun pre-Halloween gift for a child going on his or her first ghost tour. Lots of adventure and mystery in this story; and plenty of spookiness, too. Kids who love the paranormal are going to love this story.

Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc! 5 stars! Middle grade spooky season! Middle grade spooky books are my absolute fave and this one didn't disappoint! Couldn't wait to rush out and buy my own copy! Loved it! Read it in 1 sitting. A ghost follows Claire home from her Dad's ghost tour and she must solve the mystery.

Claire is very science minded and doesn't believe in ghost, so she finds it embarrassing that her father owns a ghost tour bus that he takes people around Chicago in. When one of his hires can't work one night Claire gets roped into helping him and ends up being haunted by the ghost of a kid.

This ghost doesn't seem to be the happy kind either and it's hard for Claire to wrap her head about the fact that ghost do exist and that he seems bent on scaring the life out of her. She is also having some problems with her best friend so she isn't sure she can confide in her so tells her brother. Eventually she tells her friend and her  best friends new friend, Emily (the problem Claire was having was the new friend) and together they try and figure out what the boy wants and how to stop the haunting.

I really enjoy this one as it was a lot of fun and a little bit spooky in places which would be great for young readers who like a spooky read. The characters were pretty good though at first I wasn't a huge fan of Claire because of her treatment of her best friend, but she does end up showing growth towards the middle to end of book and learns some valuable lessons about friendships and not keeping secrets from her parents. Her brother, Sam and her two friends where pretty great characters as well.

It had some really interesting spooky facts about Chicago woven through it which I also found pretty interesting! I would recommend this to any young reader who enjoys a slightly spooky but not real creepy scary book.

Rating 4

First off, I love the cover of this book! It fits the story perfectly. The book "Scritch Scratch" by Lindsay Currie is a good ghost story that shows the power of friendship. The book follows Claire, a young girl who hates how into ghosts her dad is due to the backlash she faces from it. She wants nothing to do with her dad's 'scary' bus tours and after a ghost starts to haunt her she definitely doesn't want to tell her dad. She is scared that it will draw even more attention to her family being 'weird'. On top of ghosts, Claire's best friend is growing up and now has another best friend that Claire doesn't have much in common with, so she thinks. The author did a good job showing Claire's struggle of feeling alone and not being able to confide in anyone. She gets too wrapped up in her own thoughts and her insecurities that she doesn't see that her friends were always there for her when she was ready. This book is perfect for children because it teaches them no matter how different something is you should always confide in someone. You should never face a problem on your own and two heads are better than one. If that person is a true friend they will stand by your side and help you find an answer till the end. I loved the history thrown into this book especially since I was unaware of all of those tragedies. The story has several spooky elements and suspenseful parts throughout the book but nothing too scary for children. But I know if I was the main character I would have been so scared and would have probably told my dad on day one! Overall, this was a good easy read that I think will be perfect for kids especially in October to put them in that spooky mood.
 
Should you read "Scritch Scratch"?
Yes! This story is great for young readers as well as older readers. It is an intriguing ghost story mixed with history and middle school drama. 


**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

This was a good read, although a little slow even for a middle grade novel. I also wasn’t a fan of the “insta-friendship” when the MC’s feelings were hurt so badly.

More than a ghost story or a mystery, I would call this a haunted historical fiction. There were plenty of ghostly moments, but they were more part of the story telling than a scary feature. But this is a really great way to learn about, or generate interest in, a little known historical event. I will be recommending this book.

This was a fun, just-right-spooky ghost story for kids. I love the friendship aspect of the novel, along with the lesson that we're better together than alone. The author also layered in some fascinating bits of Chicago spooky history which was also really cool!

This was a fun read, great for the spooky vibes around the fall. I liked the overall message as well as the story and characters.

Fun ghost story that has underlying themes of friendship and asking for help.
Claire lives in Chicago with her parents and older brother. Her father is a big time ghost fan - wrote a book about it and operates a bus ghost tour through the city. When his driver calls out sick - Claire has to step in to help. What follows her home is a ghost with issues. As Claire tries to figure out who he is and why he is haunting her, she realizes that she needs help.
This is a quick read with action, enough spookiness to appease the ghost lovers, and a touch of Chicago history.

Wow! Lindsay has done it again with another spooky middle grade book that, if you’re squeamish like me, you’ll want to read with the lights on. As a reader, I love how suspenseful and spooky it was. As an educator, I love how she weaved in science facts and historical facts about Chicago into the story. Very well done!

Love, love, love this middle grade novel! Scritch Scratch is a the perfect amount of mystery for the middle grade readers. Taking place in Chicago, Currie combines the mystery along with interesting facts about the city!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy of Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie.

I couldn't put this book down. I loved that Clare was a paranormal skeptic with a background in science. Throughout the story, she is constantly battling between what the facts tell her and what she knows she sees in the back of the bus. This spooky story is one that I like middle-level kids will love. I am so glad that I picked it to ready in October. It was just the right Halloween/spooky feel.

Claire has a few issues, one of which is the fact her parents have a ghost-themed Chicago bus tour business?

I mean, what middle schooler wouldn't be totally traumatized by this or the fact a ghost has followed her home from one of the tours.

As "science minded" as Claire is, she's having trouble wrapping her head around it all, but there for sure a ghost who needs her help.

As she figures out what to do, author Lindsay Currie, pens a delightfully fun story about a girl who's sure she has it all figured out, only to realize that not all the answers can be answered logically.

I featured this book on San Antonio Living Book Picks: https://news4sanantonio.com/sa-living/spooky-reads-to-get-in-the-halloween-spirit

*I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

Wow! Lindsay Currie did an amazing job developing interesting and creepy settings in this ghost story set in modern-day Chicago. Claire is a likable protagonist with a unique problem: she is embarrassed by her dad’s ghost bus business. The terrible twist is that she’s being haunted by a ghost. The subplot surrounding Claire’s struggles with friendships provides and realistic element that keeps the story grounded and relatable for young readers. The middle-grade readers in my library are always asking for scary stories and I can’t wait to share this one with them.

Claire is an aspiring scientist who believes in the scientific method. Like most middle schoolers she likes to blend in and not call attention to herself but her dad runs a ghost tour business in Chicago and writes books on paranormal activity in the area. She tries very hard to distance herself from his obsession with disasters, hauntings, and ghost sightings. Unfortunately she is needs to help her father on the night tour, and that is when she finds herself being stalked by a ghost that is leaving clues as to his identity and what he would like her to do. Claire is reluctant to share the strange interactions, but she finally confides in her brother and friends. The first half sets up the events and clues, while the second half deals with the solving of the mystery. Chicago is crowded with ghosts, and the plot involves the history of Death Alley, Graceland Cemetery,and the Eastland Dis taster, and the Chicago History Museum. I definitely recommend.