Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currie
Release: September 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Source: Netgalley
Synopsis:
For fans of Small Spaces comes a chilling ghost story about a malevolent spirit, an unlucky girl, and a haunting mystery that will tie the two together.
Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone.
Claire tries to brush it off, she must be imagining things, letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her. But then the scratching starts. Voices whisper to her in the dark. The number 396 appears everywhere she turns. And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her.
Claire is being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something…and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late.
Scritch Scratch Review:
A BIG Thank You to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for providing me an advanced reader’s copy of “Scritch Scratch” for my review. This book had so much potential. It was right my alley for a good read, because it is a middle grade, creepy, supernatural tale.
Firstly, I loved the friendship element in the story. Even though Claire is jealous of Casley and Emily, I love how Casley takes charge and hangs on to Claire and works on their friendship. I love when books emphasize the importance of friendship and promotes working on them even during bad times. In fact, I loved Casley more than the others as she is a very good role model.
Secondly, the story is very atmospheric and creepy and the author manages to maintain the same throughout. I found the writing on the bathroom wall to be particularly disturbing. I also liked how Claire teams up with the other eventually to come up with a plan to solve the mystery.
Thirdly, I also loved how the author showcased the less known side of Chicago’s history. I had not heard of the SS Eastland nor the Iroquois Theatre Fire before. Hence I enjoyed reading about them, and made me want to research more about Chicago’s history post reading. So, yes, I liked a lot of things about this story.
However, the plot threw me off towards the end and the climax was disappointing. The reasons for why the ghost did what it did was weak. Did he crave attention? Did he want the public to remember him? Also, the reason the author provides as to why the ghost chose Claire to communicate with doesn’t make sense. I felt confused and disappointed after reading it.
Overall, this book was nice but I wished it had ended in a better manner.
