Open Mic Night at Westminster Cemetery by Mary Amato

An illegal ash-burying brings a new, modern soul into a closed, historic cemetery - the famous Baltimore Hall and Burying Ground where Edgar Allan Poe's remains reside. Once Lacy adjusts to what's happened, she's determined to make the most of her afterlife.

This is a fun book intended for teens, but it has cross-over appeal. Lacy's a modern poetry-loving dramatic teen and her adjustment to the mostly Victorian-era spirit society adds to the fish-out-of-water story. There's an unusual "mean girl" twist to the story, and the main drama is in winning over and conquering the clique that is the ruling class of the cemetery.

The book is structured like a play, and I think it could actually almost be performed as such, with a few dramatic special effects. If you don't know much about Poe you'll learn it, but the more you know the more laughs you'll find. The Raven is a great silent narrator - the only character that can cross over to communicate with both the living to the dead.

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

When her family moves to aid her little sister Maya's health, Cat is horrified to discover their new town is full of ghosts.

Telgemeier's a graphic novel rock star, and this book's been getting a lot of love. I totally understand why! The characters are rich, emotional, and very real. And the diversity of the characters isn't a plot point - it's just a given. While the main characters are in sixth grade, I think this book could be read by younger ages who were interested and engaged readers.

The book does a great job explaining Cat's fear; it also does a fabulous job explaining cystic fibrosis and Dias de los Muertos for a younger audience. And even with that much information, the story moves along nicely and keeps you interested.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

A fake mystic scams her way into a "home cleansing" job and gets way more than she bargained for.

This short story (60 pages) was originally published in the 2014 anthology Rogues, edited by George R.R. Martin and now has been published as a stand-alone title.

Perhaps my favorite part of this book was that you don't know what you're in for: Is this going to be serious or funny? About the supernatural, or a crime? The back says, "You like ghost stories?" Yes, please! But we're not really given any other clues.

It begins with a hand job - or more accurately, approximately 23,546 hand jobs. Our narrator grabs you from page one, and you're captivated by her tale. Amazing!

The Elevator Ghost by Glen Huser

A new tenant in a bustling, ancient apartment building adds drama to all the residents' lives with her dramatic flair and fantastic stories.

Carolina Giddle attracts all the kids' attention right from the start - she's got a trinket-decorated art car, a pet tarantula in a cage, and an endless bag full of homemade snacks. She quickly becomes everybody's favorite babysitter, able to calm savage tantrums and coax reluctant bedtimes with her ghost stories and impeccable timing.

This is a great, not-too-scary Halloween story with fresh ghost stories to be enjoyed by all ages.

John Dies @ The End by David Wong

Profane and hilarious, this book is like a mashup of "Ghostbusters" with "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." Humanity is in peril as portals to another dimension open and spit through evil beings, and the only ones (maybe) able to save us are a pair of twenty-something slackers.

David works in a movie rental store, and John can't keep a job for more than a couple months. At a summer party where John's (horrible) band plays, a new drug gets passed around. Nearly everybody who takes the "soy sauce" dies in a dramatic and horrific way - except John, who goes comatose.

Turns out the drug turns your brain into a supercomputer able to do astronomical calculations of probability in a split second, and allows you to see horrific and fantastic things invisible to everyone else.

This book is incredibly smart - and also really, really dumb. It's twisty and unpredictable, funny and fun, but not the kind of thing that will last long in your memory. Sometimes you just need a good flight of fancy, and this one has certainly been entertaining for me.

There is a sequel, and I will be looking that one up too.

An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor

Fans of Taylor's "Irish Country" series have come to love all the charming small-town characters that make up Ireland's Ballybucklebo community. But the good doctor's housekeeper, Kinky Kincaid, was once a girl with big dreams and a close-knit family of her own.

Here, Kinky tells her story through flashbacks, reminiscence, and even a ghost story for the kiddies who come a-caroling this Christmas day. Readers find there's much more to Mrs. Kincaid than we may have suspected.

This book is very different from the others in the series because it deals little with either the doctors or the village we've come to know and love. It's really Kinky's story, set in Cork and filled with a kind of ancient folkloric mysticism that Kinky has only hinted at in prior books. It's a good yarn, but an unexpected departure from the series' storyline.

Maybe this time

by Jennifer Crusie

Do you like ghost stories? How about romance? This one has them both. Andie stops by to tell her ex-husband that she's getting remarried. The next thing she knows, she is in charge of two very disturbed children that live in a haunted house. Can she get the kids up to grade level, and moved out before the ghosts kill again? Normally, I am not a fan of ghost stories. However, I was absolutely riveted. Just like Andie, I began to see more to the children and the haunting than previous characters were given credit for seeing. The twist at the end was also a nice touch.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Couldn't do it. Sorry, but it just ain't happening.

I made it through two of the five discs before I was so disgusted that I had to put in some Springsteen to make my world balanced again.

Even for chick lit, this is dumb. Lara's life is already messed up, and now she's being haunted by a younger, bratty version of her dead 105 year old great-aunt. I didn't even reach the book's climactic scene, and I already know that Aunt Sadie will change Lara's life for the better by teaching her to loosen up. ACK.

Not. Going. To. Do. It.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I'd been telling people I was reading a great middle-school book about a boy who's family was murdered and so he was raised by the ghosts in the graveyard. Never fails: adults give you the cynical, distrusting head-tilt and say acerbically, "For kids?"

Yes. For kids. But as is true with all great books, really ... for anyone.

I really enjoyed Bod's story. It was dark and full of suspense without being too frightening or depressing. I listened to the audiobook (read by the author!) and found myself wishing for more necessary travel.

It's really a tale of growing up and finding oneself. And even if you have the best parents in the world - or the graveyard - eventually you've got to set out on your own and find out what the real world is like.