Set in London 1665, and a world of orphaned children, apothecaries and secret alchemists, this is a perfect page-turner for middle school students. It would also work very well in literature circles. The Night Gardener would be a great read-aloud, where middle grade students are encouraged to sketch the perfectly described world into reality. It is a great addition to any classroom library Grade 5 and up. Auxier weaves a perfect tale, slowly revealing pieces of the mystery and then bringing them perfectly together in the end. The characters are well-developed and all struggle with deep moral questions. It may start out a bit slow for some students but it builds well and the story is well told. This book is appropriate for Middle Grade readers who enjoy a bit of scare. Students are often looking for scary stories and The Night Gardener does not disappoint, it is creepy and atmospheric.

What is the real price of living in the cursed house? Everyone seems to be getting a gift from the tree, but at what cost to each individual in the story.

They quickly learn that there is something quite off about the family they have come to work for. Set in the 1800’s, The Night Gardener is a thrilling adventure with just the right amount of spooky! Two orphan siblings leave behind a dying land, Ireland during the potato famine, to become servants at a crumbling mansion with an evil reputation and a black tree growing through the walls. The second book The Whispering Skull was released September 2014. Note this is the first book in a new series by Jonathon Stroud. This well-crafted novel with engaging characters is a great book to recommend to students Grade 6 and up. This story, full of ancient evil, unsolved murders and powerful apparitions, which will keep students captivated and a little bit scared. Soon they are caught up in a mystery that may result in the loss of their agency and possibly their lives.

Lucy Carlyle flees to London after a horrible accident in her home village and joins the small agency, Lockwood & Co., headed by the young and slightly reckless Anthony Lockwood. Lockwood & Co, though, is an agency run only by teens. Children and teens make the best ghost hunters and most agencies are run and supervised by adults. As a result, a large number o f Psychic Investigation Agencies have been created to help eradicate the dangerous spirits. The novel takes place in an alternate modern day version of London, where for more than 50 years, England has been affected by an epidemic of ghosts. – The Screaming Staircase, and I was thrilled to have another great suspenseful, supernatural book to recommend to middle school readers.

Students often ask me for books that are creepy and a little bit scary, and well-written books in this genre are hard to find for young readers. Lockwood and Co – The Screaming Staircase

WARNED by Mahtab Narsimhan