Lily's Ghosts

by Laura Ruby

She can't believe she has to move again after her mom's break-up with the latest boyfriend. Now they're broke and they'll have to spend the winter in Uncle Wes's creepy summerhouse in Cape May, New Jersey. And the place is crawling with ghosts. From the spiteful teenager who mistakes Lily for her high school nemesis to the restless spirit of her eccentric Uncle Max, Lily is haunted by a host of unhappy phantoms. But why are they here? And what do they want? With the help of some mysterious clues, Lily and her new friend, local boy Vaz, uncover a sinister plot. If they don't foil the villainous plan in time, they may end up doing some eternal haunting of their own.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Mystery, Ghosts, Fiction, Paranormal

258 pages, Library Binding

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Raised in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, Laura Ruby now lives in Chicago with her family. Her short fiction for adults has appeared in various literary magazines, including Other Voices, The Florida Review, Sycamore Review and Nimrod. A collection of these stories, I'M NOT JULIA ROBERTS, was published by Warner Books in January 2007. Called "hilarious and heart-wrenching" by People and "a knowing look at the costs and rewards of remaking a family," by the Hartford-Courant, the book was also featured in Redbook, Working Mother , and USA Today among others.

Ruby is also the author of the Edgar-nominated children's mystery LILY'S GHOSTS (8/03), the children's fantasy THE WALL AND THE WING (3/06) and a sequel, THE CHAOS KING (5/07) all from Harpercollins. She writes for older teens as well, and her debut young adult novel, GOOD GIRLS (9/06), also from Harpercollins, was a Book Sense Pick for fall 2006 and an ALA Quick Pick for 2007. A new young adult novel, PLAY ME, is slated for publication in fall of 2008. Her books have sold in England, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Serbia and Montenegro. THE WALL AND THE WING is currently in development with Laika Studios for release as an animated feature.

Ms. Ruby has been a featured speaker at BookExpo, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention, the Miami Book Festival, the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) convention, the Midwest Literary Festival, the International Reading Association's annual convention, and Illinois Reading Council annual conference, among other venues, and she has presented programs and workshops for both adults and children at numerous schools and libraries.

Currently, she is working on several thousand projects, drinking way too much coffee, and searching for new tunes for her iPod.

Reviews

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good ghost story, and this one is quite entertaining. Throw in family dysfunction and protagonist confusion, and stir up the ingredients for this paranormal middle grade novel. There is some logic lacking as to how the ghosts are able to move solid objets, and why wouldn't the uncle just look for the treasure himself, but those are minor issues in an otherwise engaging offering.

[Leci Peci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time many years ago when I was about 9 or 10. I remember that it was one of the first books that ever made me cry. I recently revisited this book as a 24-year-old adult woman out of nostalgia. And while I am definitely no longer the target demographic for this book, I still remember why it is that I loved this book so much as a little girl. It will always be a five-star book for me. I hope I can encourage my daughter to read it when she's older, and she enjoys it as much as I did.

And that ending still makes me cry a little!

[Cathyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a great book. People might wish that the plots in the story is much more scarier, but I think it is just right. Anyways, you learn stuff by reading books. In this book, I learned that helping people, such as ghosts, can really bring them at peace. I like how Lily really wanted to learn about her family history and how she helped those ghosts that lived at the beach and the family mansion.

[Rea K]

I LOVED THIS BOOK. In fact, I read it at least three times. Oh, shush. That's how I read things. I don't do that whole... "reread it fifteen times" anymore. I find it ridiculous looking back that Lily is only thirteen. Goodness, I'd thought she was fifteen or sixteen. Whoops. Shows what I remember.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lonely teen and her flaky mother move to her wealthy great-uncle’s mansion in a small coastal village. Encounters with ghosts and an old mystery help the main character develop some confidence. Casual description of inappropriate relationships makes this particular piece of juvenile fiction unsuitable for younger readers.

[theghostwriter · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very vanilla ghost story with a very vanilla main character. the ghosts in the small town were silly and all of them had a small part to play in helping vanilla girl and her sidekick hot guy solve the wacky mystery :)

[Claudia Finseth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Laura Ruby at her quirkiest. Sometimes the ghosts are crazy, sometimes the alive people are. All have unique, hilarious voices. I don't even like ghost stories, but I love this one.

[Jillian Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is super cute...and after rereading, it continues to be so

[Chazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily and her mother have just moved into an old Victorian house filled with antiques and old paintings. Her mother had broken up with her latest boyfriend and they had to move out. Uncle Wesley, the last of her mother’s family, is letting them stay in the hold house in Cape May, New Jersey.

Lily’s mother prefers the Bohemian life style, which means Lily has moved around a lot. This place doesn’t look any better than the rest. The difference is that Lily and her mother aren’t the only residents; there seems to be some ghosts that live under the same roof.

Lily meets Vas, a local boy, and both stumble upon an old mystery involving the ghosts and Lily’s family. Lily and Vas wonder why the ghosts are still around and how they are linked to the mystery.

One ghost has targeted Lily and gives her grief. The ghost thinks Lily is an old school rival. There is the ghost of Lily’s Uncle Max. What is it he is trying to tell her?

Along with dealing with the spirits, Lily also has some of her own problems to resolve. Where is her missing father and why did he leave; having an unconventional mother. Lily discovering that she might really like Vas as more than a friend. Thirteen is a tough age.

The format of the book weaves between the ghosts and Lily’s life. You see things from both sides. The pace is steady and doesn’t drag, so you keep reading. Not a long book but a good chapter book for tween-agers and a fast read for adults.

[Nekochimachan (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily and her mother went to Cape May since they don't have a place to stay. Lily likes science rather than math while her mother (Arden) is an artist. For awhile, Lily's been experiencing a lot of things in their new home such as her mother's kewpie doll moving place to place, her books missing and someone messed up her clothes with strawberry jam. Sadly, her mother doesn't believe in ghosts because it's ridiculous. Then she met the handsome Val where they team up to look for a treasure at the same time finding out how her uncle max died. I guess the story is somewhat fresh and it's good for all ages. Well, the main character can be (quite) stubborn at times but it's her only way to become more involved in Cape May about the fire accidents. Might read it next year if my brain wants to or not.
🌟 RATING:4/5
🖤Hate: The man hit lily so hard that she has a 50-50 chance of survival of being alive and quite odd that's where she met her relatives (neverwhere or nowhere).

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily's ghost is about a girl and her mom who move into their uncles house,lily kept hearing weird noises while her mom was out. Lily ends up meeting a boy and they start to collect evidence of the haunting so to share to Lily's mom. Lily is very carefree a go with the flow type of girl. Lily's mom is the type of person who needs evidence to believe somethings,you can't just tell her I saw a ghost and she believes it. Personally the book is really good! It's very interesting and there's a lot of suspicious things happening.

[Twyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't really have a favorite part in this book, but my least favorite part was when Wesley and Bailey Burton were being very mean to Lily and her mother in their attempts to try and find the treasure, and when it turned out that Wesley had killed Max, and it wasn't Max who set the fire that killed himself. The book was a little bit slow in the beginning, but near the end, it became very much more interesting.

[Sparrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lily's ghosts starts off with Lily disliking a strange painting that in the house that she and her mom move into.
The book takes us on a journey telling us about the strange happenings in Lily's house. It flips back and forth between what Lily is going through and what the ghosts are going through.
The characters are wacky and it makes for a fun read.
Lily does end up having a crush on Vas however and even though I'm aware children can have crushes I would have preferred if it was left out because I only cared about the ghosts and the mystery.
I thought the ending was a great one matching the silliness of the book even if it does have some tense moments.
I loved going on a journey with Lily and the wacky residents of her town. Including Vas.

[Kandice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. It was alright at first but it began to drag in to the point I would forget the plot and have to rewind. Not a fan of the language “bitchin” and "Jesus Christ!" in a book for 11 year olds. Boring and forgettable. Story line isn't great. Confusing chapters in between chapters of ghosts point of view. The ending didn't tie things up. Donated this one.

[A. Mickey Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes a while to get into, but once you get into it, it’s great. The ending does come out of nowhere, but things do get patched together so by the end it does- mostly- make sense. Really fun and fascinating.

[Melon · Rating 4 out of 5]

STILL A BANGER AFTER 15 YEARS
Sara had this in the youth section when I was 11 and I loved it then and I love it now. Sometimes I find exactly the book I'm looking for, and I think about how all her books are still on the shelves, and even though she's gone, I feel that she's looking out for me.

[Ayanna N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

the ending was a little odd and didn't really go with the story so well. Also they never really explain who the couple at the beach are it just says they are there.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun read - good summer beach book as they say, my friend lent it to me so I had to read it!!!

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was was really good! Spooky and funny at the time. The only thing is the few swear words. Just a few and don't let that deter you from reading it this is an excellent book!

[Terry Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun young adult novel that could be enjoyed by adults too.

[Hannah S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was too confusing switching back and forth between that many characters. The ending didn't tie things up.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a slow one, but Lily ended up solving the mystery of the ghosts that were haunting her house in the end.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice tween book that involved a likeable girl and her eccentric mother and family history. I loved the part about the hunt for family stories.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute young adult ghost story that isn’t scary.

[Elise Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is a good mystery book . she live with her uncle.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a kid. Read it so many times over the years and the characters still make me laugh as an adult.

[Sambridhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 :)

[Eada Gendelman]

A childhood favorite. So nostalgic to read. Still love it ❤️

[Madame Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and interesting story. The ending was unpredictable.

[Stephanie Lafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread from when I was a kid. Always a favorite.