Marshall Seaver is 16 and has big plans for the summer, all involving his best friend since childhood, Cooper Foley. But Coop has other plans- he wants to hang out with girls more than build rockets. Then he gets in trouble for selling counterfeit tickets and gets exiled to his parent’s lake house for the summer. This really throws a wrench into the plans they both have, but they have no idea how much worse their summer will get.

When Marsh throws and breaks a metal egg in a fit of anger, strange things start happening. Knocking in the house. Messages that don’t really come from who they are supposed to. People acting strangely. Finally, the appearance of a villain- Gravedigger- that can’t be real- because Marsh made him up, drawing him for a graphic novel. And while this villain can’t hurt Marsh directly, he can possess people to do that work for him… and Coop has disappeared from the lake house. No one knows where he is, or if he’s gone voluntarily or not.

Marsh finds himself thrown into a fight for his own survival while trying to track down Cooper. Working with an unlikely ally, Coop’s icy older sister Sydney, Marsh must try to tell illusion from real peril and good spirit from evil.

It’s a good book but not great. The beginning is slow but then accelerates to the point where there is no time to catch one’s breath. This is the first of a projected trilogy, so I assume that the 2nd and 3rd books will take off fast, having gotten the introduction to characters done in this book. It’s a blend of coming-of-age, action and supernatural. Written for 9 to 12 year olds, it’s enjoyable for all ages.