What Lives in the Woods

What Lives in the Woods
By: Lindsay Currie
Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2021. Middle Grade.

All twelve-year-old Ginny wanted was to attend her summer mystery writing workshop at home in Chicago, but her dad takes on a job doing historical restoration in an old manor in Michigan over the summer. When Ginny does her own investigating into the house they’ll be staying in, she finds out that residents of the town believe that there are mutant creatures living in the woods surrounding the old manor. Over the following days, a string of spooky incidents occur in Ginny’s room and the old ballroom. Mannequins seem to move by themselves, a tree crashes through a window, and a mysterious ticking seems to lead Ginny to the ballroom. This is a spooky story that will be enjoyed by horror fans but also by mystery lovers. Although there is enough action to make the book feel fast-paced, readers will also enjoy getting to know Ginny and her new friend Will and watching their friendship develop.

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