Thanks to
@NetGalley, I got to read an early copy of #ScritchScratch by @lindsayncurrie! I loved taking this jaunt through some spooky Chicago history with Claire! Although I’m pretty sure I keep hearing scritch scratches whenever I’m alone! Delightfully creepy!

I had a hard time believing the protagonist. Did she really have no friends? Was she really so self-absorbed that she dare not tell her ghost-loving dad about what was happening? And the scratching- it just freaked me out.

What a great MG mystery!! For readers who loved A Peculiar Incident on Shady Street, you will be enthralled by this!!!!! A spooky, historical ride through Chicago takes Claire to places she never expected—especially encounters with the supernatural! This page-turner is full of clues, history and goosebumps. Bravo, Lindsay Currie! You’ve outdone yourself!!! My copy is pre-ordered!! Can’t wait to share this with my fifth grade ELA classes!!!!

Claire’s writer Dad loves all things spooky, especially the unknown mysteries and tragedies that happened in Chicago in the early 1900’s. His first book was a success and he now runs a bus tour company that offers customers a ghostly tour of Chicago at night. When Claire is stuck helping out one evening, she gets a big more than she bargained for. Finding an extra passenger, she is shocked when he disappears. Realising that no one else saw him makes her positive that he was a ghost.
Unable to share her encounter with anyone, Claire becomes more and more frightened of activities and events that start to happen. Weird scratching sounds, flooded drawers and having to sleep in her cupboard for fear of the ghost. All she has been given by the ghost is a number, 396. She doesn’t know what it means or why she is being haunted.
With a lack of sleep and fear over the events, Claire falls out with her best friend and now feels truly alone.
It takes older brother Sam to prise out the secrets and fears and together they try to figure out the clues left behind by the ghost.
Sam also helps Claire to make up with best friend Casley, and to make a new friend. It will take the 4 of them working together as a team to solve the mystery.
Claire puts her scientific research skills to the test and pieces together an incredible story of Willie Novotny and the SS Eastland disaster. It is a forgotten piece of Chicago’s history and Claire believes the ghost is leading her to tell the tale.

This is a wonderfully written ghost story, bringing to life a sad and lost ghost boy looking for his family and for his story to be told and remembered. Claire is an excellent character, one who learns that change can be good, new friends are not the end of your relationship with your best friend and that secrets need to be shared.
At times, scary, you can actually feel haunted by the descriptions of Claire’s encounters with Willie. Spooky and perfect for late night reading!

A sure fire hit with the over 9’s!

Although I received a copy of this e-book in exchange for a review, all opinions remain my own.

What can I say about this one? I should have known by the title this wasn't going to be a great bedtime read, but I did it anyway. Almost nightmare material. Ghost talk all over this book. Maybe I should have read about the book before I started it! Other then that, the friendship and family relationship stories that come out of this book are so worth it. I love that Claire is forced to investigate a ghost with her scientific methods and what she comes up with is amazing. It made me look into a few things a bit deeper myself. Amazing what our history can just gloss over...

Overall a really great book. Wouldn't recommend for kids who get scared too easily (like, I couldn't have handled it when I was the appropriate age lol) but a good book for the brave.

This book is amazing and is the perfect mix of creepy and scary with interesting history. Loved the main character:)

This one gave me chills. If you are looking for some serious middle grade spooks, then this is for you. The amazing cover has the phrase “Something Terrible Followed Her Home” and indeed it did. There is no “Friendly Ghost” in this story, Claire is clearly being haunted.

I’ve known about the Great Chicago Fire since I was young. However, I never knew how many other horrific tragedies this city has faced. In Scritch Scratch, Claire’s father has a ghost bus tour where he visits potentially haunted sites. Silly me was curious to know more about all the places they visited on the tour and as a result I spent way too much time on the Internet reading about these tragedies. So beware of what you may be getting into when starting this book. It can become so much more than this one story.

The main plot follows Claire who is required to help her dad out on his ghost tour one night even though she thinks it is embarrassing and not scientific. But between stops she sees a young boy among the seats that she can’t remembering counting in her numbers (as per the job her dad gave her at the beginning of the tour). Then, he is gone. But as the days progress she slowly begins to realize it has followed her home and is haunting her in ways that are fairly scary.

Scritch Scratch is a very good middle grade horror book. What I loved is that it wasn’t a fake haunting. In the context of the story, it was serious and very real and Claire finds she needs her brother and her friends (both old and new) to help figure out who is haunting her and why. What I also loved was how the author was able to blend Chicago history into it, which gave it a very authentic feel. On the flip side, I may now be a little too scared to visit Chicago again.

This is a terrific book and one worth reading if you get the chance. Highly recommended to fans of Small Spaces as well as anyone wishing to learn a lot about Chicago history. In addition, I also wish to congratulate the cover artist for a very stunning cover.

Rating: 5 stars

Thank you Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley for this arc by Lindsay Currie. Perfect for fans of Mary Downing Hahn and V.E. Schwab, Scritch Scratch immediately drew me in through its unique setting and family elements, specifically the main character Claire's quirky father and his ghost bus tours. With deliciously creepy haunts by a mysterious boy, this story was an absolute page turner from chapter one to the end. Add in some difficult friendship drama, a great mystery, and an overall strong ensemble including Claire's older brother, and you have a wonderfully balanced and organic middle grade novel. This is a book I will absolutely recommend to my middle grade readers.

All my students ask for scary books all the time, not just during Halloween. Lindsay Currie has provided what they want!

Do you like spooky stories? Are you interested in true stories? Lindsay Currie blends the best of both worlds into her newest novel, Scritch Scratch. Set in modern day Chicago, the main character Claire is trying to come to terms with her dad's weird job of writing ghost hunting books and leading a Haunted Chicago bus tour business. When she's forced to help out one evening she has a close encounter that will change her mind about her dad's job, the history of her city, and her own fears and friendships.
This story is such a beautiful weaving of true tragic events from Chicago's past and exciting middle grade story telling. Sure to send chills up your spine, Currie is able to include just enough spookiness to entice middle schoolers but not so much that upper elementary students will be scared away.
I highly recommend this book for students 5th grade and up who aren't afraid of the dark!

I have never been a big fan of ghost stories until I started reading books by Lindsay Currie. And just like Peculiar Incident on Shady Street, there are so many things to love about this book.
"Look for the story history does't tell, because that might be the one that matters." This is exactly what Currie has done in this story. One of the things I love most about her books is that she is a proud Chicagoan and it shows in her writing. The details and history she includes in her story are priceless. I also appreciate the fact that there is an historical element to her books. In an age where many readers do not appreciate history, she tells the story they did not know they wanted to hear.
Her characters are fun and realistic. The spookiness keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Even if you are like me and not a fan of ghostliness, I highly recommend reading this book! You will not regret it!

I absolutely loved this book! Lindsay Curries does a fantastic job of creating a creepy ghost story, blending unknown Chicago history, and telling the tale through the eyes of a middle school girl. The characters in the story are easy to connect with and the mystery of #396 keeps the pages turning. This is a great read! Not only are you intrigued by the ghost story, but the underlying themes of family, friendship and believing in yourself make this book something special. I can’t wait to add this title to my library collection.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I am definitely in the minority here with this book. This is the second Lindsay Currie book I've read and it will absolutely be my last.

I was not a fan of Claire, our main character, from the very beginning. Her attitude isn't very endearing, and I really didn't understand WHY she was so against her father's job as a ghost story writer and a tour guide.

We're TOLD a lot of things in this story, but we're never really shown much. Claire identifies as a scientist. We're told this over and over again, however, there was nothing in the story to really show us why she considered herself as such. Sure, there were a few mentions of her working on her science fair project, and how she should 'think like a scientist', but other than that, you would have no idea that this little girl was into science without constantly being told that she was.

Also, there was a GLARING error near the end of the book when Claire and her brother Sam were at the Chicago Museum of History researching the SS Eastland Disaster. In location 2557 (on the Kindle), the museum tour guide says to Claire (and I quote),,,

"You know, The Eastland disaster killed more passengers than the Titanic. Have you heard of the Titanic?"

Ummmm....NO. That is absolutely NOT true. The Titanic disaster killed 1, 517 people. The Eastland disaster killed 844 people. Yes, I had to google that info, but the second I read it I knew it was wrong. I knew that over 1,500 people had died on Titanic, I just didn't know the exact amount. I feel like such a large error in a Middle-Grade book is irresponsible. The Eastland disaster was awful and tragic, and I commend the author for bringing this forgotten disaster to light for young readers, but if you're going to give them information, make sure it's correct.

Overall, I just wasn't impressed with this story. It moved along so slowly and none of the characters felt real to me. I did enjoy learning about the SS Eastland, a terrible disaster that I previously knew nothing about, and the ending was sweet and satisfying, I just didn't really didn't care for Claire, and when you don't like the main character of a book, that makes getting through it very difficult.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reluctantly assisting on her dad’s Chicago Ghost Tour bus, evidence-loving Claire starts to experience strange events that cannot seem to be explained away by science. Scratching behind her walls, a soaking wet little boy who suddenly appears and disappears, and odd instances of flooding that seem to happen only when Claire is around cause her to investigate some of Chicago’s tragic historical events.

As someone who is not a big fan of scary stories, I was initially reluctant to read it. However, the story had just enough suspense to keep me on the edge of my seat without giving me nightmares. Instead, it created a mysterious plot that left me curious about what would happen next. The story mentioned actual historical events from Chicago and inspired me to learn more, and the pace of the story made it unputdownable!

Fans of mysteries and historical fiction may enjoy this book. In the classroom, it would serve as a roundabout way to introduce the idea of our role in preserving history.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Lindsay Currie and Sourcebooks for the digital ARC and for having me as part of Lindsay’s #streetteam. Scritch Scratch was a perfect amount of spooky mixed with history that genuinely makes me want to do some research on Chicago. I cannot wait to share this gem with my students and to reread it with them in the fall!

Fantastic book for young readers who are fans of horror and spooky stories. Currie has written the creep-factor very well- age-appropriate but still effective. I also love middle grade novels that weave real life issues (in this case evolving friendship and first crushes) with supernatural elements. Scritch Scratch does this very well. Highly recommended.

I was lucky enough to be part of the #ScritchScratch street team chosen by author Lindsay Currie. It was really cool to receive an ARC through #NetGalley as well. This book had the right amount of spooky, mystery, and drama. Based in Chicago and offering real routes and historical places, this story offered a lot of unbelievable and mysterious aspects for the middle grade reader.

Claire helped her ghost-story writing father out of a bind by helping him with his ghost bus tour - unwillingly. Something mysterious followed her home and weird things started happening, all involving water. Her clothes in her bureau were soaking wet one day, another time a huge flood from the upstairs bathroom ruined the carpets. Lucky for Claire, her brother Sam, best friend Casley and new girl Emily came together to solve the mystery that lead them to a terrible tragedy in Chicago - over a hundred years ago!

This will be hit for kids who love a good spooky mystery!

Claire is not your average Jane. She, of course, wishes she could be, but that's hard to do when her father has his own Chicago ghost tour bus. I mean, what could be more embarrassing than that? Especially as a seventh grade middle schooler, trying to figure out all of that day-to-day drama she already has to deal with at school. I was definitely able to connect with the characters in the story because of how relatable they are. I remember the good ole drama-filled middle school and my embarrassing dad, too. *eye roll* Just when she thought she could lay low for some time and be "normal", her father had an emergency. He needed someone to take place of his ghost tour driver. She decides to give it a go, but along the route she notices that something strange. Something that makes her feel on the edge. Something that makes her feel like she is missing something. Little did she know that helping her dad on this ghost tour would be worse than anything she's ever imagined. Something is following her and won't leave her alone. I felt for poor Claire all throughout the book, but I was also just as scared and anxiety-ridden too. The author does a beautiful job of being so descriptive throughout the story and I just love that she pulls in real Chicago history into this spooktacular novel too. By the time I was finished with the book I jumped straight over to her website to view the interactive map of all of the ghost tour bus stops. A MUST read for upper grade educators, lovers of eerie children's lit, or for those who enjoy learning about the history that is often forgotten about a city.

This book is the perfect blend of spooky and fun. Young readers will find strength in Claire’s brave spirit, which they’ll need for all the haunting moments. I especially enjoyed the Chicago history. Highly recommend to readers 9-up.

Lindsay Currie has done it again, writing a very spooky novel that can chill your blood while warming your heart! Perfect for fans of scary stories, this story is about Claire, whose scientific mind refuses to believe in the haunting tales her dad writes about - and now includes in his bus tour! But when she is pressed into helping him one night, she discovers a ghost has followed her home from the tour, and is now haunting her! If only her best friend Casley wasn’t so busy with the new girl, she might be able to help. Can Claire solve the mystery of what this ghost wants before it destroys her entire life? Find out September 1 when this book hits shelves, just in time for Halloween season!