Put Some Ghosts In Your Beach Bag With "The Ghosts of Nantucket"

October is my favorite month. I love apple picking, the chill in the air...oh, and scary stories!! I am always on the hunt for a good spooky tale but too often I get stuck with gory books or stories that fall flat. When I saw this book at my local library, I thought that I would take a shot (even if the book is older than I am!). I am SO glad that I picked up this book because it was the perfect combination of scary, eerie, and chilling. Better yet, there are no dead bodies or bloody corpses.


The author has compiled a beautiful collection of stories that was born out of an oral history project. Perhaps this is the reason why the different tales come together so well, because she is not writing for the sheer scream factor. Additionally, she allows the people to speak for themselves without ever making them sound crazy or delusional. Due to this, the book is spine-chilling and that chill is perfect for cooling you off during this hot summer!!

Spoon River Anthology Takes It To The Stage!

First Edition

I am a huge lover of Spoon River Anthology! It is by far one of my favorite books. So when I heard that it had been turned into a play, I was a bit suspicious but also curious. I was pleasantly surprised. Though nothing can compete with the original!

Basically, this play picks up where the play “Our Town” left off. For those who have not read “Spoon River Anthology”, it takes place in a town cemetery in which every inhabitant of the cemetery gets a chance to speak about their life and death. These soliloquies are compact and are typically about ten lines of free verse poems. Many of the poems are connected with others as the majority of the inhabitants of the cemetery are related to others. Due to this, each verse gives a clearer picture of the town’s residents as well as the town itself.

Takin' It To The People!

In regards to the play, each poem is read by its subject which include adulterers, bastards, widows, town drunks, murderers, and a whole gang of colorful residents. Similar to “Our Town”, there is minimal stage direction which places the focus of the play on the story’s strong and emotional content (where it belongs). That being said, there are few interactions between characters but those that do occur are pivotal. The poems in the play are only a selection from the original book but they are still very moving and just as dark and depressing as the original book. Despite the serious tales, there are a few glimmers of hope.

A Ghostly Graphic Novel (don't worry...it's not scary)

I love ghost stories. I love stories of haunted houses, spooky encounters, and ghostly meetings. When I saw a book with “ghost” in the title, I requested it from the library without even reading a single review. Because of this, I had no expectations and this graphic novel certainly exceeded any that I did have.

Anya is the epitome of misunderstood; her mother wants to fatten her up with traditional Russian cuisine, her best and only friend makes fun of her crushes, and school is far from being a cake walk. One day, while on her way to school, she falls into a well where she meets a friendly ghost. Emily, the ghost, has been trapped in the well for 90 years and can’t wait to escape with Anya. The two become fast friends until Emily’s guidance takes a nasty turn. Anya must uncover Emily’s past before Anya’s future is jeopardized.

But not as friendly as this "friendly" ghost

This graphic novel has very few flaws. The illustrations are in grays, blacks, purples, and whites which become progressively oppressive as the story becomes darker. Anya is a very relate-able character as she is your typical fish out of water teen. I think teen readers will sympathize with Anya and when Emily starts to improve Anya’s life, readers may even be envious that they don’t have a ghostly pal. However, a dark twist occurs that causes Anya to give thanks for her typical teenage life. Thus causing the reader to do the same. I found the investigations into Emily’s past to be the most interesting aspect of the graphic novel. Overall, this graphic novel teaches a good lesson while remaining interesting and a bit eerie.