I didn't really like this one as it seemed to be trying to capitalize on the Wednesday Addams craze of popularity. That being said, it established rules for the ghosts and fantasy elements, but it wouldn't be something that I think 5th graders would enjoy.

Middle school is rough, but its even rougher when your family is made of monster. Despite the monsters, the problems faced by the main character are all too relatable. In the end, the reader will have tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. This comedic middle grade novel is perfect for fans of The Adam's Family, halloween, and a good laugh.

Molly has a strange family. She lives with her dad and her brother Tim, her adopted sister Dyandra (a zombie), her twin brother Marty, who is dead and a poltergeist, and her mother, who also is dead and is a ghost. Her family lives in a spooky old house in a cemetery, where her dad is the keeper. It isn't scary, just a little spooky. A great read for middle schoolers. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you once again to Disney Publishing, Melissa de la Cruz Studio for providing an e-copy through NetGalley for an honest review.

Terrific book for middle grade readers who love monsters, mythical creatures, and the other paranormal beings but don’t really want to be scared while reading about them. Molly’s family is a unique blend of two different kinds of ghosts, a zombie and maybe a bit more and they live in a supposedly cursed house in a maybe haunted cemetery. With the added fact that her father is the caretaker of the cemetery, Molly always feels a bit different at school and is sure that no one really wants to be her friend, except for Grace who has been there through literally life and death experiences. But there are secrets and strange goings on that are taking their toll on that relationship. Readers will be drawn into usual middle school dramas that exist in every school, everywhere as well as an other-worldly mystery revolving around Molly’s family. Interesting characters who all seem to have peculiarities stemming from diverse experiences which will result in misconceptions while reading and allow for a surprising conclusion. The ending is complete, but does allow for a follow up book should author Kitty Curran choose to continue the adventures of a very interesting cast. References to real life witch hunts may lead readers to do a bit of outside research.

For a book that starts with a family that is half dead, this book is surprisingly silly. It doesn't take itself overly seriously. There is a mystery, sure, but the bulk of the plot is more about rivalries with school peers and the fear of being an outsider than it is about mysterious deaths. The primary plot is fairly straightforward and doesn't dig too deeply into characters. There is certainly a sense that something larger is going on in the town so there's room for this to grow into a more complex series.

This might be my favorite middle-grade spooky book of 2023. It's both a little weird, scary, and funny. I really did get Adams Family vibes from it. It'll be in our library for Halloween for sure.

Grave Mistakes presents readers with a most unusual family. Molly, her father, and brother, Timothy, all remain human after the accident that killed her mother and brother, Marty. But Molly's mother has returned as a ghost who can't be seen, but can be heard by anyone. Marty on the other hand has come back as a poltergeist, a ghost who can touch and move things. And the family has adopted a young girl who returned to life as a zombie. All of these changes creates awkwardness between Molly and her best friend, Grace. Molly's family encouraged her to tell Grace about the changes in their family, but Molly has yet to do so, creating a great deal of uncertainty and frustration in their relationship. At the same time, Molly gets paired with her rival on a town history project about the witch trials that occurred years earlier involving their ancestors. And Molly wants to play the violin solo at the upcoming Christmas concert but she isn't certain she can get herself to perform properly enough at her audition. As if all of this isn't challenging enough a new employee shows up at the cemetery (where Molly's family lives on the property with her father as the cemetery manager).

As things start to go catestrophically wrong (broken violin strings, flying pianos, tingling fingers and toes), Molly and Marty conclude the stories of a curse on their home must be true. Even worse, it seems the 'accident" that took Marty and their mother's lives may not have been an accident at all. With the help of Grace, Marty and Molly must discover who is cursing them before another such 'accident' occurs. Despite all the different things going on, the author manages to pull it all together into an entertaining story. Following the kids as they attempt to investigate proves to be both serious and amusing as the kids prove to be inexperienced investigators. Despite their sincerity they end up following multiple red herrings before an unexpected ally points them in a stunning and dangerous direction. I was delighted to discover that a prediction I made fairly early in the story proved to be true. Young readers will be pleased to have discovered some things before the characters in the book do. Despite this there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. The ending indicates that future volumes may be in the works as problems remain for Marty, Molly, and Grace to address. An entertaining read with interesting themes of friendship, honesty, and the dangers of making assumptions, especially about people.

Thank you Disney Publishing, Melissa de la Cruz Studio for providing an e-copy through NetGalley.
Rating: 3.5

Synopsis: Molly Dade just wants to survive her school year like a normal student, but that’s not possible when half of your family is dead. Her mother is a ghost that people can hear but not see, her younger brother Marty is a poltergeist that can move object and only she can hear, and her baby sister is a zombie. On top of having a big violin audition coming up and being paired with her nemesis at school, Molly has to keep her family a secret, else people will really start looking at her weird. They already live in a local haunted house near to a cemetery, and the accident that caused her mother’s and brother’s deaths still hangs over Molly’s head. Her father and older brother Timothy seem to be taking the weirdness of it well, but Molly…well, she’s struggling, especially when the rest of the family doesn’t understand how to keep a secret. So when her father’s strange new assistant shows up at the house and seems to know more than he should, Molly gets rightly worried. And then, when Marty starts regaining memories about the explosion that killed him, and both siblings realize that the accident might not be so accidental. In a town plagued with witchy history and weird supernatural tendencies, Molly must figure out what happened that fateful night, and, even scarier, who could be after her family.

What I Liked: Grave Mistakes is a light-hearted haunted house book that flips the script, making the protagonist’s own family the ones who do the haunting! Follow a mystery woven in an old town of secret history and supernatural hauntings, and find out how Molly’s family really died in this plot-driven story. The characters are quirky, odd at times, and delightful, and Marty herself is an interesting character who has to deal with grief in a very abnormal fashion and still move on with her regular life. This is a fun novel to read during the spooky season with ghosts, witches, and shapeshifters abound, so recommend this title to kids who like fun supernatural stories, monsters and ghosts, and solving murder mysteries.

What I Didn’t Like: Molly and Marty were the only ones acting like real adults in the story. The adults - especially Molly’s parents - were whimsical, sometimes absent-minded, and overall too cheery for the circumstances. They talked and acted like they were in a sitcom. That might have been what the author was going for, but the style doesn’t make sense with the serious threat to the family lurking in the shadows. The parent’s almost care-free attitude clashes against Molly’s concerned and rational mind, and the juxtaposition highlights even further how ridiculous the parents are acting. Many of the adults in the book are like this as well, to the point where it is hard to take anything seriously. The only anchor is Molly herself. It really brings readers out of the story and questions what the heck is anyone over 18 thinking.

Review Date: September 26, 2023

Grave Mistakes by Curran had me reliving my childhood in middle school. The Dade family is just as lovable macabre and kooky as the Addams family, however, in my opinion, their problems are greater and more real. Truly more akin to the newest iteration of the cartoon Addams family movies which your young patrons will love.
The protagonist Molly Dade is a very relatable middle-schooler and I felt every embarrassment, disappointment, and moment of pride that she undergoes. Even better, I read this aloud to my 5th-grade son, and he was just as hooked as I was. The zombie baby was a real hit with him.
I believe that once I purchase this for our library, this will be one of the titles that fly off the shelves through word of mouth for how funny and real this book feels- even if 'most' of the family is dead.

This is a book that I will definitely recommend to all of my ESL middle-grade readers. Just the right amount of secrets and macabre supernatural happenings. Just enough to keep the reader engaged.

A wonderful novel that is imaginative and accessible — I would gladly add this to my classroom shelf.

Molly Dade is trying to hide a secret from the rest of her little Maine community. Her family was living in a house reportedly haunted and next to the cemetery, but then her mother and twin brother were killed in an accident. Only, her mother is a ghost and her brother is a poltergeist. Molly’s younger sister is a zombie. While she's trying to keep it a secret, she has a violin audition coming up that her family wants to see. Her father's new assistant at the cemetery seems to know the Dade family secret, and the explosion that killed her mother and brother might not have been an accident. Someone might be after the Dade family—but who? And why?

Grave Mistakes is a middle-grade book that feels like it's part of a series because it references past events that would have been so much fun to read about. Molly has a hard time with middle school, as she has a best friend she's keeping secrets from, and the perfect girl in her class that seems ready to show her up at every moment. It's stressful and anxiety-provoking, leading her to believe that she's cursed, especially when odd things keep happening. While her brother is a poltergeist now, he's not the one making light bulbs explode or lights flicker. In a town as haunted as theirs is, with a history of witch hunts and curses, Molly is quick to believe she's cursed and must hunt down who cursed her in order to get rid of it.

I do notice that Molly's tunnel vision, prickling feelings, and shortness of breath happen whenever she's stressed. Kids with anxiety or panic attacks will relate to these episodes, and to how real she feels when worrying if Grace will still be her friend if she learns about the Dade family, or how upset Cara's competition makes her. Middle school drama is rough, even without trying to deal with three dead family members that are still present and interacting with her. There's homework and school research projects and the Christmas concert as well. She's juggling a lot at once, and then we get to add in accidents that seem to be targeting her specifically, so when her brother recalls how ordinary things were just before the explosion that killed him and their mother, it seems to be a serial killer targeting their family.

The mystery aspect of this novel, as the kids track down suspects and sift through clues, is very entertaining. There were no real clues for them to guess who the bad guy was until they're told in the end, but they're also twelve and not professional sleuths. To me, that was less the point of the investigation and more that they were figuring out their relationships with people around them and who to trust. That's such an important lesson, and this story brings it all together at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and hope to see the Dade family again!

Molly has a strange family. She lives with her dad and her brother Tim, and her adopted sister Dyandra (who is a zombie), and her twin brother Marty, who is dead and a poltergeist, and her mother, who also is dead and is a ghost. Her family lives in spooky old house in a cemetery, where her dad is the keeper.

Her mom and brother died in an accident last year, and while their family is grieving, they aren't as sad as they ought to be, given that their loved ones are still... here (if not in body).

Molly is having a tough year, trying out for a 1st violin place in the school show, being paired with her nemesis for a big school project (which is about their home and the supposed curse on it) and figuring out what really happened when her mom's kiln blew up, and killed her and Marty.

This was a fun read. It isn't scary, just a little spooky. The dead characters are all friendly and not much time is focused on death and the afterlife. I loved the story arc of Molly, especially with her nemesis.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

How can you not love a book about such a unique family. I love how every family member has their own little uniqueness from being a ghost, to a zombie, to a witch. Such a fun book to show families come in many different shapes, but that doesn’t make them family. This book is just heartwarming. Such a perfect set up if this series were to continue. The mystery is fast paced, and Molly is a super lovable character. Young readers are going to love this book. It is not too scary, yet still allows readers a window into a world where anyone could be anything. Magic is possible, and curses might just be real.
Thank you so much to Disney Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an early copy of this title

Molly Dade is not a typical sixth grader. Not only does she live in a haunted house on the grounds of a cemetery, but her deceased mother and brother are constant companions in the house, as well. But no one can know about their ghostly presence, so Molly must appear to be the grieving girl her whole town of Roehampton, Maine expects her to be, even while she is in nearly constant communication with her dead family members. When strange things begin taking place around Molly, however, she must team up with everyone she can to determine whether the supposed curse upon her house is truly real and if there is any way to stop it before it wreaks even more havoc on her unusual family.

This slightly spooky novel is well-suited to middle grade readers with an interest in the macabre and tongue in cheek humor. The story begins with excellent writing and world building, placing readers surreptitiously in Molly’s home and environment. As the narrative continues, more colorful characters find their way into the story, and some are more sinister than others. With all these people newly involved in Molly’s life, it becomes increasingly difficult to track if any of them may be responsible for the dastardly events taking place around town. Readers watch alongside Molly as she and her many companions investigate the clues they find, meticulously attempting to reveal the identity of the true culprit.

Confident middle grade readers will find this book to be quite accessible, especially as it is centered primarily on action and dialogue. Amidst the chaos of Molly’s story are her real-life feelings about the loss of her mother and twin brother and the discomfort she has at standing out from others in her middle school community. These additions anchor this book in the canon of middle grade novels because they offer readers a chance to investigate their own emotions through the safety of a character on a page. While poltergeists, ghosts, and zombies make their way into this story, the novel itself is only mildly intense in its delivery and is not likely to keep readers up at night. Fans of history and spooky experiences will appreciate this approachable and accessible middle grade novel.

Thank you to Publisher’s Weekly grab-a-galley, Disney Publishing, and NetGalley for the arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Is the Dade family cursed? Molly Dade lives at the funeral home in the cemetery with her living dad (a mortician) and brother Timothy, as well as with her poltergeist twin brother Marty and ghost mom who were killed in an explosion. As mysterious happenings continue to occur, Molly has to figure out if her family really is cursed. The book is highly plot driven and fairly predictable. However, middle school students will enjoy the spooky ride.

This was a fun story about a family with Addams Family vibes. Molly comes from a family that has always been considered strange. Her dad is a mortician/owner of a graveyard (I think), her mom was/is an artist, who died last year in an accident, along with Molly's twin, Marty. Her adoptive sister is a zombie, and the only somewhat normal one is her oldest brother, Timothy, who seems to be a pretty boy who dumb as a box of rocks. Or at least highly unaware. Marty is now a poltergeist and her mom is now a ghost. When things start to go wrong at school, Molly and eventually Marty begins to suspect their family is cursed. The trouble is that no one believes them.

I enjoyed the story as well as the mystery of what was going on. However, it was pretty easy to predict who had to be the bad guy and who definitely was not--I don't want to say anything because it might give things away. I also wanted a bit more character development. I know this is a middle school book, but I've ready many middle school books that have more character development. But that's just my personal preference. This is still a fun book, plot-wise and I enjoyed watching it unfold. I can think of several students who would enjoy this one.

Regarding character development, by the end, Molly became more confident and more willing to open up to those who had a history of being trustworthy (especially her best friend). She showed more maturity in how she related to others, especially her family, and she ended up with some good friends.

I didn't realize that this was a series until the end, when it was clear that they still had enemies out there. But I like that most of the major plot points were addressed in this story, so it still felt satisfying when I finished it. I look forward to the next adventures of the Dade Family!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Grave Mistakes is a fun, middle grade story. I think that fans of Wednesday would really enjoy this book.

I really enjoyed this unusual family - some living, some dead - as they make their way through a possible cursing by a descendent of the previous century's witch hunts. Life has never been "normal" what with them living in a house in the graveyard, but when an explosion results in her mother and brother existing only in spirit form, Molly is struggling to keep the secret while maintaining a normal middle school life. Some mysteries won't be ignored and Molly is forced to confront them. Great for fans of Lindsay Currie or Mary Downing Hahn. Keep the scary stories coming - it's one of the more requested genres in my library among all age readers.

I loved this one! Perfect for your younger Wednesday fans, this hits right in the Addams Family charm. Molly is a likeable and relatable protagonist dealing with big family (and personal) changes amidst a brewing mystery involving her family and her town. The ending sets up for more books in the series and I personally can't wait! Will be recommending to many patrons.