Ghost squad

First Title Value for Searching:

Ghost squad

Personal Author:

Ortega, Claribel A.

Physical Description:

237 pages ; 22 cm.

Summary:

"For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business. Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late."--Jacket flap.

Subject Term:

Magic -- Juvenile fiction

Halloween -- Juvenile fiction

Ghost stories

Fantasy -- Juvenile fiction

Paranormal fiction -- Juvenile fiction.

Audience/Lexile:

810 L

Publication Info:

New York, NY : Scholastic Press, 2021, c2020.

Subject:

Magic -- Juvenile fiction

Halloween -- Juvenile fiction

Ghost stories

Fantasy -- Juvenile fiction

Paranormal fiction -- Juvenile fiction.

Saint Augustine (Fla.) -- Juvenile fiction.

Ghost stories -- Juvenile fiction

Ghosts -- Fiction

Ghosts -- Juvenile fiction

Occult fiction

Occult stories

Occultism -- Fiction

Occultism -- Juvenile fiction

Paranormal stories

Parapsychology -- Fiction

Parapsychology -- Juvenile fiction

Supernatural -- Fiction

Supernatural -- Juvenile fiction

Witchcraft -- Fiction

Witchcraft -- Juvenile fiction

St. Augustine

St. Augustine (Fla.)

City of Saint Augustine (Fla.)

City of St. Augustine (Fla.)

San Agustín (Fla.)

SAILS ISBN:

9781338280128

9781338280135

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Attleboro Public Library	J ORTEGA,C	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... East Bridgewater Public Library	ORTEGA,C	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Easton - Ames Free Library	JUV FIC ORTEGA	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Elizabeth Taber Library	J ORT	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Fall River Main	JFIC ORT	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hanson Public Library	ORTEGA	YOUTH-FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Holmes Public Library	J ORT	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mansfield Public Library	J FIC ORTEGA	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mattapoisett Free Public Library	J ORT	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Middleborough Public Library	JF ORT	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norfolk Public Library	JF ORTE	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Pembroke Public Library	J FIC ORTEGA, C.	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Raynham Library	JFICTION ORT	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Seekonk Public Library	JFIC ORTEGA	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Somerset Public Library	Y ORTEGA CLARIBEL	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Swansea Public Library	J ORTEGA, C	CHILDREN FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Taunton Public Library	J PB ORTEGA	CHILDRENS ROOM	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A New York Times bestseller!

Coco meets Stranger Things with a hint of Ghostbusters in this action-packed supernatural fantasy.

For Lucely Luna, ghosts are more than just the family business.

Shortly before Halloween, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, cast a spell that accidentally awakens malicious spirits, wreaking havoc throughout St. Augustine. Together, they must join forces with Syd's witch grandmother, Babette, and her tubby tabby, Chunk, to fight the haunting head-on and reverse the curse to save the town and Lucely's firefly spirits before it's too late.

With the family dynamics of Coco and action-packed adventure of Ghostbusters , Claribel A. Ortega delivers both a thrillingly spooky and delightfully sweet debut novel.

Reviews (5)

Publisher's Weekly Review

When Dominican-American Lucely Luna, 12, learns that her single father might lose their house, her primary concern is for the myriad ghosts of her family, who inhabit the willow tree out back as fireflies, at least when they're not manifesting in human form. When her grandmother's spirit warns her of a coming darkness before falling dormant, Luna and her best friend, Syd Faires, seek to revive Mamá. Borrowing a book of magic from Syd's grandmother, who owns an occult store, they cast a spell that unleashes malevolent forces upon the town of St. Augustine--one that they must reverse to defeat the evil that seeks to destroy them all. With this delightfully spooky adventure, Ortega draws upon her Dominican heritage to craft a heartwarming story with a strong focus on family genetic and found. A peppering of pop culture references--a nod to Ghostbusters, a clowder of cats named for Goonies characters--add humor, but it's the personal touches, such as Lucely's opinionated, ever-present ancestors; her dedication to those she loves; and an emphasis on Latinx food, love, and folklore, that gives this debut its distinctive spirit. Ages 8--12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Apr.)

Horn Book Review

Twelve-year-old Lucely Luna has big problems: her father's St. Augustine, Florida, ghost-tour business is struggling; the bank is threatening to foreclose on their mortgage; and a sinister supernatural force is coming to take its revenge on the good ghosts in town -- many of whom are Lucely's beloved relatives. Fortunately, Lucely also has a devoted best friend, and together she and Syd set out to vanquish the invaders before Halloween night, when an "army of evil spirits" plans to wreak destruction on the city. The action is nonstop, the demons are truly creepy, and Lucely is a sympathetic and brave heroine. Dominican American Lucely's conversations with her ghost relatives incorporate Spanish naturally and seamlessly. Martha V. Parravano September/October 2020 p.51(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Death puns, dark humor, mystical vibes, and pop-culture references to the 1980s and 1990s abound in this action-packed ghost hunt featuring two preteen friends trying to save their hometown, the very haunted St. Augustine, from a horde of vengeful spirits. Lucely Luna is quite familiar with ghosts she still lives with a whole family of friendly, supportive, deceased Lunas, who fluctuate between spirit form and firefly form. But when the willow tree they reside in is threatened, Lucely and her best friend, Syd, must identify the culprit to save the Lunas' struggling Ghost Tour business and the entire town. Along the way, Lucely and Syd learn about the bonds between friends and family as they encounter enchanted books, cryptic catacombs, and a coven of cats who are more than they appear. Shoutouts to Harry Potter, Ghostbusters, Hocus Pocus, The Goonies, and the like crop up continually as debut author Ortega expertly weaves a feel-good, phantasmagorical adventure that readers won't want to miss.--Stephanie Cohen Copyright 2020 Booklist

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4 Up--Looking for a Halloween read? Look no further. Something strange is happening to Lucely's ghost family of fireflies, known as cocuyos--they are fading away. They tell her that something evil is coming. In an attempt to revive her Mama Teresa, Lucely and her best friend Syd perform a spell to raise the dead, but accidentally awaken old evil spirits that want to revenge against their town. Lucely, Syd, and Syd's grandmother Babette (who is a witch) must undo the curse and save her ghost family. This is a fast-paced adventure rooted in Dominican mythology and packed with action and humor. Readers are pulled into the family's close bond and supernatural world easily, with tender moments like abuela singing Lucely to sleep during a storm and the collective urgency as Lucely feels Mama's spirit quieting. VERDICT Ortega's debut is filled with action, humor, and originality. Lucely and Syd's adventure gives readers paranormal thrills akin to Ghostbusters and the Goonies, from a refreshingly different cultural perspective.--Ruth Guerrier-Pierre, New York Public Library

Kirkus Review

After unwittingly unleashing dead spirits on St. Augustine, Florida, Lucely Luna works to restore the city with the help of friend Syd and the spirits of her family. Dominican American Lucely Luna lives with her family. Her father, Simon, runs a ghost tour business. The rest of them are deceased but are still very much in her life, their spirits appearing to her as cucuyos, or fireflies. Alarmingly, after one ghost tour, the spirit of Lucely's grandma, Mam, goes dim. At school, Lucely learns of Las Brujas Moradas, witches who fled Spain during the Inquisition and who were reputed to have a lost spell book. Lucely and her best friend, Syd, decide to look for a spell that can awaken the dead so they can wake Mam up, so they prowl through the library of Syd's grandmother Babette, who owns an occult shop. When they recite a spell they find there, they accidentally awaken otherevilspirits of the town. Lucely and Syd join forces with Babette and Lucely's spirit family in the fight to save St. Augustine and Mam. Lucely's action-packed and ghost-filled adventures unfold briskly, with seamlessly incorporated and unitalicized Spanish. While it's undeniably a ghost story, Lucely's love for her family, both corporeal and spirit, carries the narrative, giving it warmth and depth. Readers will root for Lucely and Syd as they try to save St. Augustine and Lucely's cucuyos. Both girls present black on the cover.A warmly spooky middle-grade debut. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpts

LIGHTNING STRUCK, and a brilliant white light bloomed, illuminating the night sky outside Lucely Luna's bedroom window.Four hours had passed since her bedtime, but the thunderstorm outside kept her wide-awake.She'd tried every one of her abuela's tricks--including taking slow, deep breaths while focusing on the warm glow of the fireflies coming from outside her bedroom window--but nothing had worked.Lucely hugged her knees to her chest, gazing out the window. She counted the seconds between the flash of lightning and clap of thunder, praying that it was still too far away to strike her home."One, two, three. . ." BOOM! Lucely threw the covers over her head with a shriek."Niña," a voice whispered.Lucely slid the blanket slowly from her face so only her eyes were exposed. The soft glow of one of her firefly family members filled the room."Mamá?" Lucely asked.Like water sparkling in the sun's rays, the firefly transformed before her. The translucent form rippled before becoming whole, solid.Lucely's grandmother, Mamá Teresa, settled onto the bed beside her. Well, her ghost did."¿Qué te pasa, mi niña?" Mamá reached for Lucely's hand. Her touch was soft and warm, just like it had been when she was alive. Her voice always comforted Lucely like fuzzy socks and Dominican hot chocolate."I'm scared," Lucely whispered to her abuela.Mamá brushed Lucely's curls out of her eyes and kissed her forehead before beginning to sing softly, her accent thick yet clear as the sound of rain on a metal roof."Duérmase, mi niña,"Duérmase, mi amor,"Duérmase, pedazo de mi corazón . . ."Mamá's voice wrapped around Lucely like a wool blanket, and before the song had ended, Lucely was drifting away from the storm outside and to a place that was quiet, safe. Excerpted from Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.