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Ghost Mysteries #2
Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs, The
Just a few short weeks ago, Allie encountered her first ghost, the spirit of a murdered girl. Now another ghost has entered Allie's life! The ghost points Allie in the direction of Mrs. Hobbs, the scary cafeteria lady. Did Mrs. Hobbs have anything to do with the death of the ghost? Allie's life suddenly becomes complicated, with mysterious fires breaking out wherever she turns. Her best friend is mad at her, and soon she is in danger, along with her little brother -- but from whom?
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
20 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Cynthia C. DeFelice
34 books120 followersCynthia DeFelice is the author of many bestselling titles for young readers, including the novels Wild Life, The Ghost of Cutler Creek, Signal, and The Missing Manatee, as well as the picture books, One Potato, Two Potato, and Casey in the Bath. Her books have been nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award and listed as American Library Association Notable Children's Books and Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, among numerous other honors.
Cynthia was born in Philadelphia in 1951. As a child, she was always reading. Summer vacations began with a trip to the bookstore, where she and her sister and brothers were allowed to pick out books for their summer reading. “To me,” she says, “those trips to the bookstore were even better than the rare occasions when we were given a quarter and turned loose at the penny-candy store on the boardwalk.” Cynthia has worked as a bookseller, a barn painter, a storyteller, and a school librarian.
When asked what she loves best about being an author, she can’t pick just one answer: “I love the feeling of being caught up in the lives of the characters I am writing about. I enjoy the challenge of trying to write as honestly as I can, and I find enormous satisfaction in hearing from readers that something I wrote touched them, delighted them, made them shiver with fear or shake with laughter, or think about something new.” Cynthia and her husband live in Geneva, New York.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/cynthi...
Cynthia was born in Philadelphia in 1951. As a child, she was always reading. Summer vacations began with a trip to the bookstore, where she and her sister and brothers were allowed to pick out books for their summer reading. “To me,” she says, “those trips to the bookstore were even better than the rare occasions when we were given a quarter and turned loose at the penny-candy store on the boardwalk.” Cynthia has worked as a bookseller, a barn painter, a storyteller, and a school librarian.
When asked what she loves best about being an author, she can’t pick just one answer: “I love the feeling of being caught up in the lives of the characters I am writing about. I enjoy the challenge of trying to write as honestly as I can, and I find enormous satisfaction in hearing from readers that something I wrote touched them, delighted them, made them shiver with fear or shake with laughter, or think about something new.” Cynthia and her husband live in Geneva, New York.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/cynthi...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 24, 2019
1.5
I read the Ghost of Fossil Glen last year and looked into the rest of the series and discovered my library had the next two. Any time girl and boy main characters are introduced I hope for a little romance. So I was disappointed when nothing at all happened between Allie and Dub. I was worried about the mention of jealousy and hoped that Allie wasn't jealous of Dub and another girl, because I can't stand that kind of drama. But in the dedication DeFelice mentioned a girl who wanted a little romance so I was hopeful.
It started with Allie having a dream that someone was stuck in a fire. They're in 6th grade and their teacher assigned a project to interview an older person and give a presentation on it. Everyone was announcing who they were going to interview, when a voice came out and said they were going to choose Mrs. Hobbs. Everyone thought it was Allie and that was annoying. Even more annoying was that Allie thought she had said it. You know you didn't say it, Allie, when you said someone else said it.
Lamely, Mrs. Hobbs was so scary she made kindergarteners cry. Many bring their own lunches so they could avoid her "unblinking glare." She has "beady eyes darting from side to side, like a snapping turtle sizing up its never victim." "The nickname Hobbling Hobbs referred to her peculiar, lurching gait, which had caused some kids to speculate that she wasn't human at all but a robot whose inner controls had gone haywire." Allie realized she was being haunted just like with Lucy.
At home a male voice said all he wanted was a family like Allie's until "she" ruined everything, so she called Dub. It led Dub to think it must be about Mrs. Hobbs. She made a plan to help the ghost and start interviewing Mrs. Hobbs. She said she would have never gotten through it without him and then there was an embarrassed silence.
It felt even more childish than the first one. I know it's a kid's book, but this is an example of an author not being able to write as a kid anymore and they don't understand logistics or how kids interact and talk with each other. The fact that Mrs. Hobbs was called Snapping Turtle and a kid thought she wants to eat you or suck your brains out was so lame. And then there was Karen, the "mean girl," who was always muttering under her breath where the teacher couldn't hear what she said. It was pathetic and such a bad attempt at a mean girl.
Karen said to ask Mrs. Hobbs if her mom was a snapping turtle and her dad a warthog and if she auditioned for the Bride of Frankenstein.
Mr. Henry asked if she would come in his house and feed his dog while he was out of town. Your teacher asking you to come to their home. That would happen.
In class before her interview, she saw the young man and thought he was handsome, but he looked sad. He told Allie to ask her about the fire.
Mrs. Hobbs was giving her nothing, barely answering or speaking at all. She didn't react well to questions about family. Without intending to, Allie blurted out her question about the fire and Mrs. Hobbs got so upset. A fire started suddenly in the kitchen on some papers and the school had to be evacuated.
Despite Mrs. Hobbs not having move an inch, Allie thought she started the fire on the papers by using her mind. Like a telekinetic fire starter, a pyromaniac using the power of their mind. How could she accuse her of that?
Strangely, the principal gave instructions for bus students and walkers, those who took the bus or walked home, and didn't even mention parents picking kids up as if that didn't happen.
And then there was Pam, Karen's sidekick, except she doesn't really like Karen, she wants to break off the friendship and doesn't know how. Give me a break...She also said Karen is jealous of Allie because cool things like Fossil Glen happened to her and Mr. Henry and the kids like her and everyone is afraid Karen.
She told Dub about the ghost, that he was 19 or 20 and really cute. He looked so sad and was sweet and had helped her out with the interview, came to her when it was almost time for it. Dub rolled his eyes when she said the ghost was cute, and Dub said he's dead and she acted like she was in love with him or something. He quietly asked what does she think he's been trying to do when she said the ghost helped her.
Allie had the idea to look up the fire in newspapers and told Dub they had to go to the library instead of roller blading like they were going to, to help "her ghost" put. Dub looked odd and told her he wasn't going, that she could ask her boyfriend to help because he always seems to be there when she needs him.
There's a lot of lame details. Her brother Michael called Mrs. Hobbs the Snapping Turtle and went around pretending he was a snapping turtle, ambushing them and pretending to bite with his powerful jaws. Please stop being so stupid.
I thought ever since Dub reacted the way he did about the ghost that the jealousy would be on his end. And I thought I didn't have to worry about Pam because she was Karen's friend and Dub wondered if she could change her ways. But then Allie called him to propose they go skating after the library and he said he was going skating with Pam, and she was nice today. Thank you. So when that person you dedicated the book to asked for a "touch of romance," you decided to upset readers by employing the cheap and enraging tactic of jealousy.
The ghost was ridiculous and trying too hard. He looked so sad Allie wanted to touch his cheek. He told her she was special and she told him she'd help him. He asked if she'd let Dub stop her and that Dub was jealous of him. He knows Allie's someone he can count on, and that he was right to choose her. What an unnatural and forced conversation.
She went to feed Hoover but the dog barked and growled and wouldn't come near her. She realized dogs can sense the paranormal, but Hoover hadn't after that way with Lucy's ghost. Added to the summary mentioning the ghost wanted revenge, and it gave a spooky, suspenseful feel.
She found a paper about Mrs. Hobbs marriage and birth of a baby, but also mention of a fire that killed her husband and baby and visitor John Walker.
As she was getting to the next page of microfilm, the material started melting and the machine set on fire, causing the alarms to go off. The fire chief learned she was present at both fires, and was researching fires, and insisted on seeing her parents, assuming she started the fires. It couldn't get any more ridiculous. Then she goes home to her stupid little brother whining and crying that she was a big liar because she said Mrs. Hobbs didn't know where they lived and she wasn't that scary but she came over and she is scary. "She is, she is, she is!" Shut up.
Chief Rasmussen had been on duty when Mrs. Hobb's family was killed. He told Allie not to ask her any questions about it and bring up painful memories. Mrs. Hobbs had left a note for Allie telling her to be careful because she's playing with fire, so that sounded like a threat. Oddly, her dad didn't seem offended or think it was a threat. He asked what it meant and asked if she was playing with fire! Way to stick up for your child! Go ahead and side with the person threatening your daughter. There he was saying at first it sounds like a threat; but "if you read it a different way" it sounds like a warning.
I was so irritated with Allie that she believed that Mrs. Hobbs set the fire that killed her own husband and infant son. After reading that Mrs. Hobbs had been at church when the fire started and she raced inside to save her family when she got home and saw the fire and ended up with burns, how could she believe for one second that she wanted to kill her family? And that she tried to save them and got burnt just to make it look good? Allie was a trusting idiot.
Allie called Dub to talk about what happened and we had to sit through Dub saying what a great time he had and how cool Pam is. Allie was annoyingly protective of her ghost, insisting that Mrs. Hobbs melted the microfilm--when she wasn't even at the library, when she didn't know Allie was at the library, and had absolutely no way of knowing that Allie was reading about the fire. Dub thought it was too dangerous and Allie accused him of being a wimp. Of course they ended up arguing and he hung up on her. Leave Allie on her own and let her get herself killed. Who cares?
It was at this point I wanted to be freaking down with stupid, naive, gullible, idiotic Allie and boring, faithless, distrusting Dub.
Chief Rasmussen called and told her they'd believed the fire had been set but then the siren started going off and he had to go. At a lacrosse game Allie saw Dub light up and thought he had seen her, except he went to sit with Pam, who playfully took his hot dog out of his hand, took a bite, and handed it back. Screw authors who write petty, upsetting jealousy. Then you just hate the heroine because she brought it on herself. And worse, Karen was there and saw it and of course gloated about how devastated Allie was. Major eye roll there.
She learned the fire was a false alarm and Chief Rasmussen had gotten hurt. Of course this brain dead girl jumped to the conclusion that Mrs. Hobbs powers extended so far that she tried to hurt the chief before he could tell her the truth. Clearly John was obliterating everyone in his way to trick Allie to his side and she was too stupid to see it.
One morning Michael was nowhere to be found, so our stupid heroine Allie jumped again to the conclusion that the evil, murdering Mrs. Hobbs must have stolen him. She took off for her house on her bike, while misunderstanding that Mrs. Hobbs was talking about John and not Michael. Idiot.
Michael said that a man had led him there and rocks-for-brains Allie finally realized it was John who had convinced Michael to walk to Mrs. Hobbs house and go under it to play fort. Finally. She wondered why John had done that and wondered if John had been trying to protect Michael by bringing him to a place Mrs. Hobbs wouldn't suspect--to her house. Okay. You're a dumbass. I thought Allie would finally see the truth about John, except she still believed his innocence! Kill her now.
Dub found a newspaper article that said Mrs. Hobbs had been engaged to John that December but married Mr. Hobbs in March. They had been going to marry in April, and in January his motor business burned down and he was the suspect. It had been going to go bankrupt and Dub figured out that he burned it to get the insurance money. Because most 11 year olds understand bankruptcy and insurance policies...
It was the height of hilarity that Allie was finally faced with John's deceit. "Childish, vain, silly, blind, pig-headed, brain-dead idiot." Because that's what I called her this whole time! That's exactly what you are, stupid girl.
When Allie said she believed John that Dub was jealous and Dub looked uncomfortable. I wished for so much more though, for them to actually talk about it.
They went to Mrs. Hobbs and she told them John didn't want her to be happy, so he made Michael come to her house to make it look like she'd stolen Michael so she'd lose her job. She'd broken the engagement when she learned he burned his business down for the money. I already guessed this long before, as soon as I learned she had a baby and John died in the fire too. So it was only confirmation when Mrs. Hobbs told John that she was pregnant when they'd been engaged and Mr. Hobbs agreed to marry her and raise the baby as his own. John, upon learning he'd killed his own son, started to melt before he disappeared forever.
The only good thing was that Allie realized what kind of life Mrs. Hobbs had. She was a misunderstood character. She lived in a rundown house that she hadn't fixed up since the fire and her family's deaths. She sat there forlorn and a shell of a person, barely living at all. Allie decided to interview her grandma so Mrs. Hobbs could keep her secrets and the 3 of them agreed not to tell anyone anything.
Allie admitted that she was jealous of Pam and Dub admitted he was jealous of a ghost. I expected some feelings to be confessed or something. He just told her if he acts jealous again, call him John and he'll stop. I thought Is that it? Is that her idea of romance?
But then they went there and I was thrilled! I LOVE this kind of stuff. Allie said she wonders why they both acted so weird. He blushed on his neck and it gave her the courage to say she was jealous of Pam because she thought Dub liked her as a girlfriend. I was relieved when Dub said Pam's nice but no way. She asked why it hugged her so much, it's not like she's his girlfriend, right? He blushed from his neck to his face and said who said you're not? She said nobody and they grinned at each other.
I was disappointed the project wasn't in here. I looked forward to it but I guess she didn't think it was important enough. I wanted to hear what everyone had to say because the project was such a big part of the story. I also expected to see how Allie and the other students interacted with Mrs. Hobbs. I expected the cafeteria lady to turn over a new leaf and have a whole different appearance, to be happy in the food line and for the students to notice and feel differently towards her. I expected Allie to stand up for her and tell the others that Mrs. Hobbs had changed and she wasn't scary at all, she had a lot to deal with and that's why she acted the way she did. But my expectations were not met because it ended on that Sunday, with the report going untouched as of yet and them not even going back to school. I can't BELIEVE she left that out. I never understand how authors choose to finish their books off. I'll read the next because my library has it and I've added it to-read. I'm hoping for more between Allie and Dub; there needs to be more if you're "boyfriend and girlfriend." I don't want more stupid, immature banter, them not hanging out enough, and Dub not believing her. When she said a "touch" of romance, she meant it. That was all it was. A tiny, minuscule amount, a smidgen. And it took almost the entire novel to happen. I hate that. There is some humor, like a couple jokes that are funny, but I want a better ghost story out of this series.
I read the Ghost of Fossil Glen last year and looked into the rest of the series and discovered my library had the next two. Any time girl and boy main characters are introduced I hope for a little romance. So I was disappointed when nothing at all happened between Allie and Dub. I was worried about the mention of jealousy and hoped that Allie wasn't jealous of Dub and another girl, because I can't stand that kind of drama. But in the dedication DeFelice mentioned a girl who wanted a little romance so I was hopeful.
It started with Allie having a dream that someone was stuck in a fire. They're in 6th grade and their teacher assigned a project to interview an older person and give a presentation on it. Everyone was announcing who they were going to interview, when a voice came out and said they were going to choose Mrs. Hobbs. Everyone thought it was Allie and that was annoying. Even more annoying was that Allie thought she had said it. You know you didn't say it, Allie, when you said someone else said it.
Lamely, Mrs. Hobbs was so scary she made kindergarteners cry. Many bring their own lunches so they could avoid her "unblinking glare." She has "beady eyes darting from side to side, like a snapping turtle sizing up its never victim." "The nickname Hobbling Hobbs referred to her peculiar, lurching gait, which had caused some kids to speculate that she wasn't human at all but a robot whose inner controls had gone haywire." Allie realized she was being haunted just like with Lucy.
At home a male voice said all he wanted was a family like Allie's until "she" ruined everything, so she called Dub. It led Dub to think it must be about Mrs. Hobbs. She made a plan to help the ghost and start interviewing Mrs. Hobbs. She said she would have never gotten through it without him and then there was an embarrassed silence.
It felt even more childish than the first one. I know it's a kid's book, but this is an example of an author not being able to write as a kid anymore and they don't understand logistics or how kids interact and talk with each other. The fact that Mrs. Hobbs was called Snapping Turtle and a kid thought she wants to eat you or suck your brains out was so lame. And then there was Karen, the "mean girl," who was always muttering under her breath where the teacher couldn't hear what she said. It was pathetic and such a bad attempt at a mean girl.
Karen said to ask Mrs. Hobbs if her mom was a snapping turtle and her dad a warthog and if she auditioned for the Bride of Frankenstein.
Mr. Henry asked if she would come in his house and feed his dog while he was out of town. Your teacher asking you to come to their home. That would happen.
In class before her interview, she saw the young man and thought he was handsome, but he looked sad. He told Allie to ask her about the fire.
Mrs. Hobbs was giving her nothing, barely answering or speaking at all. She didn't react well to questions about family. Without intending to, Allie blurted out her question about the fire and Mrs. Hobbs got so upset. A fire started suddenly in the kitchen on some papers and the school had to be evacuated.
Despite Mrs. Hobbs not having move an inch, Allie thought she started the fire on the papers by using her mind. Like a telekinetic fire starter, a pyromaniac using the power of their mind. How could she accuse her of that?
Strangely, the principal gave instructions for bus students and walkers, those who took the bus or walked home, and didn't even mention parents picking kids up as if that didn't happen.
And then there was Pam, Karen's sidekick, except she doesn't really like Karen, she wants to break off the friendship and doesn't know how. Give me a break...She also said Karen is jealous of Allie because cool things like Fossil Glen happened to her and Mr. Henry and the kids like her and everyone is afraid Karen.
She told Dub about the ghost, that he was 19 or 20 and really cute. He looked so sad and was sweet and had helped her out with the interview, came to her when it was almost time for it. Dub rolled his eyes when she said the ghost was cute, and Dub said he's dead and she acted like she was in love with him or something. He quietly asked what does she think he's been trying to do when she said the ghost helped her.
Allie had the idea to look up the fire in newspapers and told Dub they had to go to the library instead of roller blading like they were going to, to help "her ghost" put. Dub looked odd and told her he wasn't going, that she could ask her boyfriend to help because he always seems to be there when she needs him.
There's a lot of lame details. Her brother Michael called Mrs. Hobbs the Snapping Turtle and went around pretending he was a snapping turtle, ambushing them and pretending to bite with his powerful jaws. Please stop being so stupid.
I thought ever since Dub reacted the way he did about the ghost that the jealousy would be on his end. And I thought I didn't have to worry about Pam because she was Karen's friend and Dub wondered if she could change her ways. But then Allie called him to propose they go skating after the library and he said he was going skating with Pam, and she was nice today. Thank you. So when that person you dedicated the book to asked for a "touch of romance," you decided to upset readers by employing the cheap and enraging tactic of jealousy.
The ghost was ridiculous and trying too hard. He looked so sad Allie wanted to touch his cheek. He told her she was special and she told him she'd help him. He asked if she'd let Dub stop her and that Dub was jealous of him. He knows Allie's someone he can count on, and that he was right to choose her. What an unnatural and forced conversation.
She went to feed Hoover but the dog barked and growled and wouldn't come near her. She realized dogs can sense the paranormal, but Hoover hadn't after that way with Lucy's ghost. Added to the summary mentioning the ghost wanted revenge, and it gave a spooky, suspenseful feel.
She found a paper about Mrs. Hobbs marriage and birth of a baby, but also mention of a fire that killed her husband and baby and visitor John Walker.
As she was getting to the next page of microfilm, the material started melting and the machine set on fire, causing the alarms to go off. The fire chief learned she was present at both fires, and was researching fires, and insisted on seeing her parents, assuming she started the fires. It couldn't get any more ridiculous. Then she goes home to her stupid little brother whining and crying that she was a big liar because she said Mrs. Hobbs didn't know where they lived and she wasn't that scary but she came over and she is scary. "She is, she is, she is!" Shut up.
Chief Rasmussen had been on duty when Mrs. Hobb's family was killed. He told Allie not to ask her any questions about it and bring up painful memories. Mrs. Hobbs had left a note for Allie telling her to be careful because she's playing with fire, so that sounded like a threat. Oddly, her dad didn't seem offended or think it was a threat. He asked what it meant and asked if she was playing with fire! Way to stick up for your child! Go ahead and side with the person threatening your daughter. There he was saying at first it sounds like a threat; but "if you read it a different way" it sounds like a warning.
I was so irritated with Allie that she believed that Mrs. Hobbs set the fire that killed her own husband and infant son. After reading that Mrs. Hobbs had been at church when the fire started and she raced inside to save her family when she got home and saw the fire and ended up with burns, how could she believe for one second that she wanted to kill her family? And that she tried to save them and got burnt just to make it look good? Allie was a trusting idiot.
Allie called Dub to talk about what happened and we had to sit through Dub saying what a great time he had and how cool Pam is. Allie was annoyingly protective of her ghost, insisting that Mrs. Hobbs melted the microfilm--when she wasn't even at the library, when she didn't know Allie was at the library, and had absolutely no way of knowing that Allie was reading about the fire. Dub thought it was too dangerous and Allie accused him of being a wimp. Of course they ended up arguing and he hung up on her. Leave Allie on her own and let her get herself killed. Who cares?
It was at this point I wanted to be freaking down with stupid, naive, gullible, idiotic Allie and boring, faithless, distrusting Dub.
Chief Rasmussen called and told her they'd believed the fire had been set but then the siren started going off and he had to go. At a lacrosse game Allie saw Dub light up and thought he had seen her, except he went to sit with Pam, who playfully took his hot dog out of his hand, took a bite, and handed it back. Screw authors who write petty, upsetting jealousy. Then you just hate the heroine because she brought it on herself. And worse, Karen was there and saw it and of course gloated about how devastated Allie was. Major eye roll there.
She learned the fire was a false alarm and Chief Rasmussen had gotten hurt. Of course this brain dead girl jumped to the conclusion that Mrs. Hobbs powers extended so far that she tried to hurt the chief before he could tell her the truth. Clearly John was obliterating everyone in his way to trick Allie to his side and she was too stupid to see it.
One morning Michael was nowhere to be found, so our stupid heroine Allie jumped again to the conclusion that the evil, murdering Mrs. Hobbs must have stolen him. She took off for her house on her bike, while misunderstanding that Mrs. Hobbs was talking about John and not Michael. Idiot.
Michael said that a man had led him there and rocks-for-brains Allie finally realized it was John who had convinced Michael to walk to Mrs. Hobbs house and go under it to play fort. Finally. She wondered why John had done that and wondered if John had been trying to protect Michael by bringing him to a place Mrs. Hobbs wouldn't suspect--to her house. Okay. You're a dumbass. I thought Allie would finally see the truth about John, except she still believed his innocence! Kill her now.
Dub found a newspaper article that said Mrs. Hobbs had been engaged to John that December but married Mr. Hobbs in March. They had been going to marry in April, and in January his motor business burned down and he was the suspect. It had been going to go bankrupt and Dub figured out that he burned it to get the insurance money. Because most 11 year olds understand bankruptcy and insurance policies...
It was the height of hilarity that Allie was finally faced with John's deceit. "Childish, vain, silly, blind, pig-headed, brain-dead idiot." Because that's what I called her this whole time! That's exactly what you are, stupid girl.
When Allie said she believed John that Dub was jealous and Dub looked uncomfortable. I wished for so much more though, for them to actually talk about it.
They went to Mrs. Hobbs and she told them John didn't want her to be happy, so he made Michael come to her house to make it look like she'd stolen Michael so she'd lose her job. She'd broken the engagement when she learned he burned his business down for the money. I already guessed this long before, as soon as I learned she had a baby and John died in the fire too. So it was only confirmation when Mrs. Hobbs told John that she was pregnant when they'd been engaged and Mr. Hobbs agreed to marry her and raise the baby as his own. John, upon learning he'd killed his own son, started to melt before he disappeared forever.
The only good thing was that Allie realized what kind of life Mrs. Hobbs had. She was a misunderstood character. She lived in a rundown house that she hadn't fixed up since the fire and her family's deaths. She sat there forlorn and a shell of a person, barely living at all. Allie decided to interview her grandma so Mrs. Hobbs could keep her secrets and the 3 of them agreed not to tell anyone anything.
Allie admitted that she was jealous of Pam and Dub admitted he was jealous of a ghost. I expected some feelings to be confessed or something. He just told her if he acts jealous again, call him John and he'll stop. I thought Is that it? Is that her idea of romance?
But then they went there and I was thrilled! I LOVE this kind of stuff. Allie said she wonders why they both acted so weird. He blushed on his neck and it gave her the courage to say she was jealous of Pam because she thought Dub liked her as a girlfriend. I was relieved when Dub said Pam's nice but no way. She asked why it hugged her so much, it's not like she's his girlfriend, right? He blushed from his neck to his face and said who said you're not? She said nobody and they grinned at each other.
I was disappointed the project wasn't in here. I looked forward to it but I guess she didn't think it was important enough. I wanted to hear what everyone had to say because the project was such a big part of the story. I also expected to see how Allie and the other students interacted with Mrs. Hobbs. I expected the cafeteria lady to turn over a new leaf and have a whole different appearance, to be happy in the food line and for the students to notice and feel differently towards her. I expected Allie to stand up for her and tell the others that Mrs. Hobbs had changed and she wasn't scary at all, she had a lot to deal with and that's why she acted the way she did. But my expectations were not met because it ended on that Sunday, with the report going untouched as of yet and them not even going back to school. I can't BELIEVE she left that out. I never understand how authors choose to finish their books off. I'll read the next because my library has it and I've added it to-read. I'm hoping for more between Allie and Dub; there needs to be more if you're "boyfriend and girlfriend." I don't want more stupid, immature banter, them not hanging out enough, and Dub not believing her. When she said a "touch" of romance, she meant it. That was all it was. A tiny, minuscule amount, a smidgen. And it took almost the entire novel to happen. I hate that. There is some humor, like a couple jokes that are funny, but I want a better ghost story out of this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2012
Braeden just finished this and really enjoyed it! I can't believe how fast she is flying through this series! :)
October 11, 2019
I read this so fast. Equal parts murder and ghost mystery. Loved it!
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October 25, 2011When I read this book in the 6th grade summer reading I enjoyed it because I am a HUGE mystery person!! This book has alot of mystery in it because people say that its boring but its not! Here is a little description for the book! This book is also by Cynthia DeFelice!
Just a few weeks after making it possible for the police to capture Lucy Stiles's killer -- with the help of Lucy's ghost -- eleven-year-old Allie Nichols is visited by another disembodied voice. Her friend Dub Whitwell decides she must be a "ghost magnet." Somehow, the new ghost is connected with the school's fearsome cafeteria lady, Mrs. Hobbs. Allie means to understand the connection, and to help the unsettled ghost find peace in the hereafter. Little does she know that what the ghost wants is not peace but revenge. And as the vengeful ghost begins to threaten people, including Allie's little brother, Allie discovers through her relationships with the ghost and Mrs. Hobbs, and through her friendship with Dub, that jealousy can indeed be a monster.
Cynthia DeFelice, a master of suspense, succeeds once again in creating a ghost as credible as any of her "real" characters, in a story as meaningful as it is entertaining
Just a few weeks after making it possible for the police to capture Lucy Stiles's killer -- with the help of Lucy's ghost -- eleven-year-old Allie Nichols is visited by another disembodied voice. Her friend Dub Whitwell decides she must be a "ghost magnet." Somehow, the new ghost is connected with the school's fearsome cafeteria lady, Mrs. Hobbs. Allie means to understand the connection, and to help the unsettled ghost find peace in the hereafter. Little does she know that what the ghost wants is not peace but revenge. And as the vengeful ghost begins to threaten people, including Allie's little brother, Allie discovers through her relationships with the ghost and Mrs. Hobbs, and through her friendship with Dub, that jealousy can indeed be a monster.
Cynthia DeFelice, a master of suspense, succeeds once again in creating a ghost as credible as any of her "real" characters, in a story as meaningful as it is entertaining
June 20, 2023
I bought my niece (Red Fish) some books I'd enjoyed as a child for her birthday, which sent me back down memory lane rereading The Ghost of Fossil Glen and its sequels by Cynthia C. DeFelice. I may have made a mistake in that they're a little young for Red Fish (who is now 12) — though she's pretty advanced for her age. I guess your mileage may vary, depending on whether your kid can handle concepts like child murder and animal abuse. Kid-me liked them, and I still like 'em now. They center around Allie, a pre-teen who is a bit of a ghost magnet; ghosts frequently come to her for help. Sometimes the ghosts are good and sympathetic. Sometimes they're evil liars. Sometimes they're dogs. Again: the books are quite simple and don't much beat around the bush, but as a kid I really enjoyed figuring things out with Allie, and feeling mildly spooked all the while. And you gotta love that late 90s cheese. I only re-read the first two before I felt satisfied; I didn't need to read all 4 books.
March 7, 2025
Just barely 3 stars. Everyone in Allie's 6th grade class is supposed to interview an "Elder" over the weekend. Allie has volunteered to interview Mrs. Hobbs, a lady who works in the school cafeteria. All the children at school are afraid of her and call her Snapping Turtle. The author beats around the bush about it but Mrs. Hobbs looks the way she does because she was disfigured in the fire that killed her husband and child. Although Mrs. Hobbs agrees to be interviewed, it doesn't go well at all and Allie is suspected of setting a fire. So, once again, her friend Dub Whitwell is the only person she can really trust to help her. But even that doesn't go smoothly.
In this book, Allie is seeing a handsome young ghost. He is not as open with Allie as the ghost in the earlier book so Allie has trouble finding out what she has to do to put him to rest. In my experience, it's a little unusual to find a book presumably aimed at elementary school children that involves
In this book, Allie is seeing a handsome young ghost. He is not as open with Allie as the ghost in the earlier book so Allie has trouble finding out what she has to do to put him to rest. In my experience, it's a little unusual to find a book presumably aimed at elementary school children that involves
September 5, 2019
Do I feel a little funny reading these as 24 year old adult? Yes, yes I do. Do they still stand the test of time? Absolutely! I read & absolutely loved The Ghost of Fossil Glenn in middle school so I was excited to learn it was a whole series. I loved it.
February 22, 2018
Always enjoy a good ghost story. One of my first graders wanted me to read this so we could talk about it! Love it!
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November 6, 2019pretty cool and exiting!
August 18, 2020
Even better than the first one
Love Allie and Dub and their ghost adventures. This story had a very surprising ending. Looking forward to the next story.
Love Allie and Dub and their ghost adventures. This story had a very surprising ending. Looking forward to the next story.
June 27, 2021
saw it on my shelf and humored 10 year old me. super sweet and fun. lol twas a blast. super riveting final 40 pages or so
January 6, 2022
This one was so much better than the first book. That ending, though…!!!! Do I see a teenage romance blossoming????
April 13, 2023
Saw the plot twist coming, but that's to be expected with these books. Was still shocked by it though.
April 18, 2011
The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs is a very appealing book. It's a sequel to the book, The Ghost of Fossil Glen. This book is about a girl named Allie. She faced her first ghost at Fossil Glen, a spirit of a murdered eleven-year-old girl named Lucy Stiles. Now, another ghost has entered Allie's life. The ghost tells and forces Allie in the direction of Mrs. Hobbs, the daunting cafeteria lady. Allie thinks Mrs. Hobbs has something to do with the death of this ghost. Her life suddenly becomes complex, and random, mystifying fires breaking out wherever she goes. Allie's best friend is mad at her, and both are jealous of each other. Same thing with her little brother, Mike, and he keeps thinking Allie is lying about Mrs. Hobbs being harmless. He thinks otherwise.
I have various thoughts on this book. I personally thought this book was okay. I mean, it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. So, it was somewhat in the middle. But, I liked it. I recommend this book if you love a good mystery, or a page turner. This book is also full of suspense. Even if it might seem confusing, it gets easier and easier towards the end. That is what I think of the book, The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs.
September 29, 2008
Mrs hobbs and the ghost
My book is really good. It starts with a good beginning but then it starts getting kind of boring. When you’re about to stop reading my book suddenly it stars getting excellent and you don’t want to stop reading. There are not those much important characters. But the most important characters are Mrs. Hobbs, Allie and John Walker the ghost. The climax comes when you didn’t expected .You get surprised because many things are reveled. Allie the main character knows all the truth. The author of this book is Cynthia Defelice she uses a very good Writing style its suspense. Her purpose of writing this book is to show us a lesson. That lesson is that theirs always a good thing on each person. I really like this book it was really interesting and full of suspense.
My book is really good. It starts with a good beginning but then it starts getting kind of boring. When you’re about to stop reading my book suddenly it stars getting excellent and you don’t want to stop reading. There are not those much important characters. But the most important characters are Mrs. Hobbs, Allie and John Walker the ghost. The climax comes when you didn’t expected .You get surprised because many things are reveled. Allie the main character knows all the truth. The author of this book is Cynthia Defelice she uses a very good Writing style its suspense. Her purpose of writing this book is to show us a lesson. That lesson is that theirs always a good thing on each person. I really like this book it was really interesting and full of suspense.
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January 27, 2017After a fight with her best friend Dub. and a mysterious fires, eleven-year-old Allie looks up the fire seventeen years earlier which claimed the lives of the husband and infant son of a school cafeteria worker, as well as the handsome young man whose ghost asks Allie for help. This ghost is good and bad. He started talking to Allie’s little sister.
A calse is she looks up the fire, and she finds angry ghosts. She decides to look stuff up and Dub gets mad. Dub gets mad, and he and Allie get in a fight. Allie makes a ghost mad, and the ghost ,supposedly, started a fire. So there are a lot of causes and effects in this.
I did like this book because I love the ghost and the mystery in it. I have always love mystery along with ghosts. So that is a big impact in my liking for it. I loved this book and I would recommend it.
A calse is she looks up the fire, and she finds angry ghosts. She decides to look stuff up and Dub gets mad. Dub gets mad, and he and Allie get in a fight. Allie makes a ghost mad, and the ghost ,supposedly, started a fire. So there are a lot of causes and effects in this.
I did like this book because I love the ghost and the mystery in it. I have always love mystery along with ghosts. So that is a big impact in my liking for it. I loved this book and I would recommend it.
November 18, 2007
Many of you already know that I'm not big on ghost stories. I get scared easily! But even I will admit that Cynthia DeFelice has another winner with The Ghost and Mrs. Hobbs.
In this second book in her ghost series, Allie has just recovered from the adventures at Fossil Glen when she is visited by a new ghost, who died in a fire years ago in Mrs. Hobbs' house. Meanwhile, Allie is supposed to be interviewing the very same Mrs. Hobbs, the mean old lunch lady, for a school project! But every time she tries to get information from Mrs. Hobbs, a fire starts. How far will the guilty go to protect their secrets this time?
In this second book in her ghost series, Allie has just recovered from the adventures at Fossil Glen when she is visited by a new ghost, who died in a fire years ago in Mrs. Hobbs' house. Meanwhile, Allie is supposed to be interviewing the very same Mrs. Hobbs, the mean old lunch lady, for a school project! But every time she tries to get information from Mrs. Hobbs, a fire starts. How far will the guilty go to protect their secrets this time?
December 17, 2010
This story was amazing! I loved the idea of putting in clues because I read the story with a friend and we kept trying to make inferences about what we thought was going to happen at the end of the story. At the end, we found out that some of the stuff we inferred was correct, and some was incorrect. I thought that the word choice was great because the author use strong verbs instead of weak ones. The author used conjunctions and other ways to make her story great. This story will probably be on my top ten book list forever!
June 10, 2014
The cover isn't the BEST in the world. I bought this book when i was 9 and its just been sitting on my shelf for 5 years with my ignoring it but i gave it to a friend to read and she liked it so I dicided to give it a shoot. It's really nice, I liked Alley and Dub- expesically his humor!! There are more than a few places in the book where i laughed out loud. Allia is a really sweet girl and i did like her and adored her little brother. the ending was well and satisfiying and allie learned a valuable lession.
January 6, 2010
Ally has delt with ghosts before but not like this!! A ghost came to her showing her his death, and the Lunch Lady is the first suspect. But as she gets more into the mystery, everybody she knows is endanger. Will she stop helping the ghost to protect the ones she loves! It wasn't my favorite book I have to say the first one was better but it still was pretty good. I recommend this book to people who love a good ghost stories.
November 18, 2007
While ghost mysteries really aren't my genre, I would definitely recommend this book to students. Cynthia DeFelice came to our school in a past year and the students LOVE her books. As I had never read any, I'm working my way through now...basically, in this series, the main character has an uncanny ability of attracting ghosts and is called upon to help these ghosts to rest, or whatever...
October 6, 2009
Great read for grade 4 to 6. This is the second in a series. Allie Nicolas is a sixth grader with the ability to see ghosts. For Elder's Day a ghosts encourages Allie to interview Mrs. Hobbs, a not so pleasant cafeteria lady. I enjoyed this book and think a young student would, too. Allie and her friends are likable kids. I listened on tape - good reader.
May 21, 2020
A sequel to The Ghost of Fossil Glen, Allie (self-proclaimed ghost magnet) becomes seduced by a handsome ghost and learns the perils of choosing sides before gathering the facts. When her younger brother is drawn into the drama, Allie begins to question her own assumptions and this leads to the truth. Very good mystery for young readers.
August 8, 2009
A kids' book about a ghost hunter named Allie and her friend Dub. In this book, they try to help the cafeteria lady, Mrs Hobbs, who apparently has been able to see ghosts as well. As with this entire series, all works out in the end.
May 11, 2010
Love books like this. A great book for young readers that like books with ghosts in it. A child that has found the has the gift of feeling/seeing ghosts and she is the one to help them. This ghost is different. You must read the book to find out.
November 9, 2015
It was really obvious to me what was going on (I think for the intended audience it might not be so much), but it was still pretty tense. Kids would probably love this book, as long as it wasn't too scary for them.
November 23, 2008
Talk about a firey personality
December 20, 2008
A great ghost story
December 14, 2009
This book was AWESOME!!!! It has lots of action!
January 27, 2010
you can get haunted by ghost at any time.
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