Reviews

• Chris Grabenstein's sequel to the award-winning THE CROSSROADS is every bit as good and even more SCARY, as Zack, his dog, his stepmom and several new friends battle ghosts and demons in a haunted theater on Hanging Hill. Although THE CROSSROADS and THE HANGING HILL deal with ghosts, the supernatural, and scary things that go bump in the night, don't be afraid to let your children read this book. Three generations in our family loved THE CROSSROADS and are now thrilling to HANGING HILL. Since I was the first to discover Grabenstein (I love his John Ceepak/Danny Boyle adult mysteries!), I get to read his new books first. As soon as I finished H.HILL I passed it along to my adult daughter, who's reading it before handing it down to her oldest two boys (8 and 11). Grabenstein brings to his children's books the same mix of mystery, suspense, and humor that makes his Ceepak/Boyle mysteries so good. CROSSROADS and HANGING HILL are spiced with twists and subplots that you might not expect in children's books, which is probably why they appeal to adults and kids alike. I'm now impatiently waiting for the next story!

• This scary, funny sequel to "The Crossroads" is even better than the first book! Young Zack, accompanied by his stepmother, Judy, and his Jack Russell terrier, Zipper, travels to the Hanging Hill Playhouse, where a play based on Judy's "Curiosity Cat" children's books is scheduled to be performed by the Pandemonium Players. Unfortunately, the director, who obviously has a screw loose, has other plans, which involve using an ancient Carthaginian ritual that will feed children to Moloch and summon demonic spirits from hell that he believes will bring him untold riches and make him ruler of the world. "The Hanging Hill" is a marvelous mixture of the supernatural, thrills and chills, suspense, twists, humor, and terrific characters, some of whom are creepy, while others are delightful, including the famous child actress Meghan, her mother, and a helpful local librarian who helps Zack and Meghan research the origin of the word "pandemonium" and find out why the theater's acting company is called the Pandemonium Players. This book is great fun for both kids and adults, and I can hardly wait for the next installment!

• I've read all of Chris Grabenstein's novels and, "The Hanging Hill" is one of his most creepy and fun-filled books thus far. Mr. Grabenstein has a unique way of combining "warm and fuzzy" with creepy - loved it. I got to meet his lead characters, Zack, Zipper, and Judy, in his previous novel ("The Crossroads") and this time around it was like meeting up with old friends. Both "The Hanging Hill" and "The Crossroads" may have been written with the teen reader in mind but this oldster had a great ride each time. Can't wait for the next installment.

• As I said in another review, my granddaughter absolutely loves the author. Whenever she gets a hold of these books, she will read them non-stop.

• I read this story to my sixth graders after t he author visited my school. I liked the first book much better. This is a little too gruesome in places with killers who killed kids violently in the past. I was disappointed, but some of my students liked it.

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