Bestselling author and poet
Bestselling author and poet
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Eliza loves hunting ghosts — too bad she's spending the summer helping her scientist mother study weird plants instead. But when a mysterious plant goes missing, things go from strange to downright spooky. Eliza is convinced something—or someone—is haunting the plant shop. Is she digging into dangerous ground?
Like Stuck in the Stone Age, the first in the Story Pirates Present series, this spine-tingling mystery doubles as an introduction to the basics of creative writing. With the help of Story Pirate Captain Vincent Rolo and the Mystery Creation Zone, kids can use this kid-generated story as inspiration to create their OWN great mysteries!
- An Amazon Editors' Best Book of the Month, January 2019
☆ "West’s tale, decorated with Aly’s eerie, cartoon art, is well worth reading on its own—the writing manual takes it to a whole other level."
- Kirkus, starred review
What a fantastically fun way to learn about writing a story!”
- Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author
The house is as much a character as are Olive, Morton, and her family, and a wicked sense of humor tempers the book's creepiness. A suspenseful plot and insight into childhood loneliness - handily amplified by Bernatene's moody and dramtically lit b&w illustrations - will have readers anxiously awaiting the next book.
- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Middle-grade writing as it should be."
"Beautifully written, deliciously scary..."
West creates a delightful concoction of quirky humor blended with a rumbling ominous undertone...
- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Starred Review
Ms. West's deliberate choice of words and lyrical phrasing reveal her background as a poet. Her understated storytelling style, fast pacing and realistic heroine Olive are sure to please reluctant and experienced readers alike.
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 5, 2010
THE SHADOWS is creative, exciting, hilarious, spooky, mysterious, adventurous, and heaps of fun, all wrapped between two covers.
The fast moving plot aided by talking cats and excellent black and white drawings will grab the attention of even the most reluctant middle school reader. Laced with just the right amount of spookies and mystery, watching Olive put all the pieces together and overcome her fears is a delight.
A fantastic story full of magic and mysteries that starts when a young girl climbs into an old painting.
"I found The Shadows mesmerizing, partly due to the story itself; partly due to Jacqueline West’s remarkable writing."
Jacqueline West builds an eerie and mysterious world. A steady stream of details ensures that readers will continue turning the pages as they try to solve the mystery of Olive's house along with her. - Junior Library Guild, Summer Selection [West] has a knack for description and excellent prose. There’s a sense of the weird and creepy throughout the book, like in roald dahl’s best stories... I couldn’t wait to see what it said next. This is an absolutely lovely read for the connoisseur of fantasy for the young... West's writing carries things along just swimmingly, with enough description to make things come alive in vivid detail without hindering the build-up of tension. I enjoyed it tremendously, and recommend it highly, and eagerly anticipate the next book. West's writing is something special...She has woven the tension of a good mystery with magical touches that make this book sparkle. This is a book to be raced through and then read again... - Kids Lit Golly, this is a good read even if you’re seven times as old as you’re supposed to be. [Olive is] an intrepid adventurer, the more charming for her determination to overcome her fears. West brings this launch title to a roundly satisfying close but leaves room for plenty more excursions to Elsewhere. - Jennifer M. Brown, Shelf Awareness With illustrations from Poly Bernatene enhancing the strong haunted house mystery, Jacqueline West provides an exhilarating middle school age tale.
© Jacqueline West
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