Reviews

The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein

critter's review

4.0

Zack and his family have recently moved into a house in his dad's hometown. However, this town has a terrible past. Nearby their home, a killer caused an accident that took the lives of 40 people. The killer died soon after when his vehicle hit a tree. When that tree is struck by lightning, the killer's spirit is released and Zack finds himself targeted by the ghost.

The Crossroads is a very suspenseful read with a great atmosphere. It was delightfully creepy at times. I loved the relationship between Zack and his step mother. It is a fast paced read that gripped me with every twist and turn. It's a great beginning to this series.

depizan's review

3.0

While it was a reasonably enjoyable read, and parts of it - particularly some of the atmospheric bits in the first part of the book - were quite good, it felt a little like it was trying to be too many things at once by the end. Horror, action, family drama, ghost story, even a touch of the police drama. And I can't help thinking that kid me would've been put off by the fact that the story happened almost more to and around the main character than as a result of his actions. (Barring parts of the climax, though even then, the idea wasn't his.)

On the other hand, the main characters were likable and, again, some of it was quite good. I don't know, something was just...missing. Of course, it's the first of a new series, so the series could well come into its own in later books.

elizabethseebee's review

5.0

A creepy, ghost story told through multiple perspectives... Loved it!

mcampany's review

2.0

It was interesting, but it was very cliched and the mystery seemed waaaaay overcomplicated.

megallina's review

4.0

I got the second book in this series free on Audible, and it legitimately scared me. In fact, I was so frightened that I actually looked up the book to see if it was actually a children's book, or if it was an adult book with a child protagonist. While the first book in the series wasn't as frightening, it was much more emotionally resonant. And while Grabenstein's writing was better in the second book, I see a lot of promise in this series down the road.

booksandbosox's review against another edition

5.0

I really really really loved this book. The whole time I was reading, I was amazed at how impressed I was by the story. I really liked the fact that this book presented a negative portrait of a mother who has passed away. In our society, we have a tendency to revere the dead, no matter what sort of person they were in life and I liked that this book was unafraid to go against that traditional view. I thought the plot here was great. I think mysteries are great for kids and this one has a really interesting one. I wouldn't recommend it probably to anyone under the age of ten, just because some of the subject matter can be scary. I actually don't even think I can think of one negative thing to say about this book. I loved it!

luaucow's review against another edition

3.0

This one was a little hard to get into, because the story jumped from person to person just giving you little tidbits. I think that part went on a little too long. My other beef was that Judy was a little too smart at guessing what was going on. And wasn't it a little unrealistic that the police went along with her ideas wthout question whatsoever?

iceangel9's review

Zack, his father, and his new step mother move back to his father's hometown after his mother dies of cancer and his father re-marries. Zack likes his new home, his new step mother, his new dog, and his new friend - there's just one little problem. There's a ghost, an evil ghost who wants him dead. A great ghost story boys and girls will enjoy.