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    Ghost Town
    Ghost Town
    Ghost Town
    Ebook120 pages1 hour

    Ghost Town

    By Phoebe Rivers

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    In this start to a paranormal series, Sara’s new town has a lot of history—and a lot of ghosts who want to tell her all about it.

    Sara Collins is a normal twelve-year-old girl with an abnormal secret: She is psychic. She’s had her abilities for as long as she can remember, but she doesn’t like to talk about them. She hopes that if she ignores them, they might go away. Sara wants nothing more than to have a normal life, and to her, “normal” doesn’t include anything paranormal.
         But Sara’s life is about to be turned upside down, because she’s moving across the country with her dad to an old shore town in New Jersey. A shore town with a lot of history…and more than its fair share of ghosts roaming around. As Sara tries to settle into her new home, she discovers that for the first time, the ghosts around her can communicate with her. One ghost in particular desperately needs something from her and won’t leave her alone. Sara wants to help, but she’s scared. Can Sara put her fear aside and help the spirit? Will doing so put her in jeopardy?
         Meanwhile, Sara meets a great local girl named Lily Randazzo, and against all odds, really bonds with her. Sara has made a true friend for the first time in her life. Maybe New Jersey isn’t so bad after all….
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon Spotlight
    Release dateMay 1, 2012
    ISBN9781442440395
    Ghost Town
    Author

    Phoebe Rivers

    Phoebe Rivers had a brush with the paranormal when she was thirteen years old, and ever since then she has been fascinated by people who see spirits and can communicate with them. In addition to her intrigue with all things paranormal, Phoebe also loves cats, French cuisine, and wiling her afternoons away in coffee shops writing stories. She has written dozens of books for children of all ages and is thrilled to now be exploring Sara’s paranormal world.

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    • 4/5
      It was short but I liked it. It was different than most books I have read.

    Book preview

    Ghost Town - Phoebe Rivers

    SARANORMAL

    The beach. The boardwalk. The ghosts . . .

    Sara Collins is a normal girl with an abnormal secret: She sees spirits. Sara has had this ability almost as long as she can remember, but she doesn’t like to talk about it. She wants nothing more than to have a normal life, and to her, normal doesn’t include anything paranormal.

    But Sara’s ability isn’t going away . . . In fact, changes are happening in her life that will make it even more powerful. Her world is about to be turned upside down because she and her dad are moving across the country to an old shore town in New Jersey. A town with more than its fair share of ghosts roaming around.

    Look for more Saranormal books at your favorite store!

    Meet the author,

    watch videos, and get extras at

    KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com

    www.saranormalbooks.com

    This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

    SIMON SPOTLIGHT

    An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

    1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

    www.SimonandSchuster.com

    Copyright © 2012 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

    SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

    Text by Heather Alexander

    First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

    ISBN 978-1-4424-4038-8 (pbk)

    ISBN 978-1-4424-5378-4 (hc)

    ISBN 978-1-4424-4039-5 (eBook)

    Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2012931295

    Contents

    Prologue

    Chapter 1

    Chapter 2

    Chapter 3

    Chapter 4

    Chapter 5

    Chapter 6

    Chapter 7

    Chapter 8

    Chapter 9

    Chapter 10

    Chapter 11

    Chapter 12

    Chapter 13

    Chapter 14

    Chapter 15

    About the Author

    PROLOGUE

    The car sped past a playground and I was instantly reminded of that day, eight years ago, when I saw one of them for the first time. Well, two of them, to be exact.

    We drove past the playground and a strip mall, and then the car slowed as we veered onto a ramp to the Garden State Parkway. I was too distracted to take much of anything in—not that the highway was all that scenic, but it was new to me and so I should have been curious. But I couldn’t focus. I was remembering that day eight years ago.

    I felt her eyes on me before I realized she was there.

    I squinted across the fenced-in area, trying to bring the girl into focus. She seemed to shimmer in the heat. I had never seen her before at my Little Learners School. Her chestnut-brown hair was divided into two tight braids. Braids that tight would have given me a headache, I remember thinking. She wore a plain gray dress and brown shoes. Her dress was longer than the ones the other girls at school wore. It was, in fact, totally unlike any of the dresses I had in my closet at home, even the ones I wore for dress-up.

    She stood silently, staring at me as I rocked slowly on the teeter-totter horse. The white horse with its flowing, molded-plastic black mane was my horse. All the kids in the fours class knew I never rode the brown horse, only the white one.

    I rocked with my pink skirt cascading over the seat and my white sneakers with magenta sparkles planted firmly on the footrests. The heat rose in waves off the recycled rubber-tire shavings on the ground.

    I could feel Miss Susie’s curious gaze resting on me from the bench near the entrance. I wondered if she knew the new girl’s name. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand and remained on the shaded bench, too warm to play with the kids today.

    I glanced over at Kendra and Emmy. Their bare legs stuck to the slide and made a squeaking noise as they slid down, one after the other. Noah, Will, and Jack played in the sandbox. No one else seemed to notice the girl. She stood by the far edge of the enclosed play space, her eyes on me.

    I closed my eyes and rode my horse. Tiny beads of sweat tickled the roots of my sun-kissed hair. Suddenly I didn’t feel so good.

    My eyes flicked open, and I slowed my rocking. An odd tingling danced across the soles of my feet. Tiny pinpricks of sensation. I took my feet off the footrests, dangling my legs, wiggling my toes inside my sneakers. I felt like I might throw up. I opened my mouth to call for Miss Susie . . . and then I saw the girl sitting on the brown teeter-totter horse next to me. She smiled.

    I smiled back.

    The girl began to rock. I started up my horse too. Side-by-side, we rocked together, our plastic horses keeping time. I glanced back at the other kids. Still no one noticed the new girl. I was glad. I liked her. Maybe she would be my friend. I didn’t want bossy Kendra to see her yet. Kendra never wanted to play with me, and she might convince the new girl not to play with me.

    The girl grasped her horse’s chipped black mane with her right hand, gripping the handlebar with her left. I did the same. The girl nodded at me, and it was clear: Our horses would race. We galloped back and forth, our horses neck and neck. I turned to smile at her and sucked in my breath. The brown horse had no rider.

    My new friend was gone. Just like that.

    I gnawed my bottom lip, confused. Where did she go? I twirled about, searching the playground. But I didn’t see her anywhere.

    A wave of intense nausea washed over me. Climbing shakily off the teeter-totter, I wondered if I’d be sent home. When Will threw up during circle time a few weeks ago, he had to go home. I was pretty sure my dad was at work, and I wondered if he’d have to leave to come pick me up.

    Suddenly a different girl stood beside me. She had long black hair swept back into a shiny blue headband. She wore a pretty white blouse, navy-and-green plaid skirt, and tall navy socks that stretched all the way up to her knees. She began to skip around the teeter-totters. She waved her hand, beckoning me to join.

    I wasn’t sure what to do. Suddenly I realized that I no longer felt sick. Miss Susie sat on the bench, fanning herself with a magazine. She didn’t seem to notice this new girl either. Noah looked over at me and waved. But he didn’t wave at the new girl. I watched the girl’s thick hair bounce as she skipped. I looked over toward Kendra, sure that she would tease the new girl for skipping around like a baby, but Kendra wasn’t paying attention. I decided that I wanted to skip too.

    Around and around we went. I giggled as she made silly faces at me.

    Suddenly the girl with the braids was back, atop the brown horse. She pointed toward the white horse. She wanted me to ride with her again. I stopped skipping and stepped in her direction. Not only did I have one new friend, but I had two!

    The black-haired girl was suddenly in front of me. She scrambled onto the white horse. My white horse. The two girls began to ride. I wanted to ride too.

    That’s my horse, I said quietly, pleading.

    The girls kept rocking.

    That’s the horse I always ride, I said, louder this time. I was on it first.

    The girl stared ahead, as if she didn’t hear me. Tears pooled in my eyes, and I swallowed hard. I didn’t understand what was happening. Why wouldn’t she listen? Why didn’t

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