I usually read the things on my kids' bookshelves, and not just because it's a fun, fast read. Though I thought I'd read this one already, enough of the story was new to me to convince me I hadn't yet.

Molly(12) and her brother, Michael(10), lived with their mom, Jean. Dave married Jean, bringing along his daughter, Heather(7), who has a much troubled past. It's hard enough trying to reconcile the differences between the kids without the excess baggage Heather brings. When they move, together, to the country and find an old graveyard on the property, things go from bad to worse.

You see, little Heather has made a friend. A ghost, Helen, who is as troubled as Heather but with a hundred years of being dead to compound the problem. Always on the lookout for a new friend to share her watery death, Helen has lured children into the nearby pond with promises of everlasting friendship. Molly is the only other one who has seen Helen, and no one believes her. To make matters worse, every time she tries to tell the truth, Heather creates hysterics trying to protect the secret of Helen's existence.

But Molly is determined. She has to keep Heather safe, even from herself.

I know this book is for children, but it's tiresome to find parent after parent reluctant to believe a child who insists they're telling the truth. And to go so far as to blame said truth-teller for everyone's problems is a bit too much for me. That's probably the biggest reason why this book didn't get 4 stars, but I will say the author did tie up that issue satisfactorily in the end. What other issues were resolved? You'll just have to read that for yourself.