Carol: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Darin Kennedy

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has been retold and reimagined so many times. The tale of redemption reaches beyond the holiday season to remind us all to examine our own lives and ponder how we walk amongst our fellow humans. 

In this version, Carol is the 'Scrooge' of the story. She has many reasons to hate Christmas, but really no excuse for how she treats those in her life. Her parents and little sister died on Christmas day (which is also her birthday). She rarely thinks about the people who took her in, watched out for her, and gave her opportunities. She also lost her best friend just last year at Christmas time. 

Carol has lived with her aunt and uncle for teen years. They have raised her as the child they couldn't have on their own. She has not made it easy on them. No Christmas celebrating. Constant back talk and insults. Carol is aloof and bratty with them. She is completely ungrateful for everything they have given her. 

The story mostly follows the familiar pattern: visit from the ghost of an old friend followed by ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. The story is updated and spread out over several days leading to the final ghost's visit on Christmas Eve. That is also the night of the big annual dance which turns out messier than anything Scrooge could have imagined. 

The author veers enough away from the traditional story's outline to keep it interesting while giving it a modern twist. The story itself will never grow old because there is always someone who is worthy of redemption. 

For more info, check out the author's site. 

 

Now Entering Addamsville by Francesca Zappia

Zora sees dead people. Ghosts linger all around her small Indiana town of Addamsville. Some died in the coal mine. Some died of disease. And some died in the tragic fires that have put Addamsville on the map. The deliberately set fires have captured the attention of people, particularly those interested in the paranormal.

Zora's abilities come from her mother (who walked into the woods five years ago and never came back). Her mother was training her to be a hunter. A hunter of ghosts? No, ghosts mostly hang around and do not bother the living. Zora and her mother hunt firestarters, the demons actually responsible for the murders.

Many people believe that Zora is responsible for the latest fire that killed the school janitor. She was present at a big fire a few years ago (when she lost two of her fingers). Zora's mother swore her to secrecy about the firestarters, so she can't tell that she was fighting one at the time.

How does an 18 year old high schooler fight the possible return of a demon, keep her older sister for locking her in their trailer (for getting in trouble) while the whole town blames her for something she didn't do? Well, Zora has a tough time of it. Her family has always been outcasts. Her mom's behavior was strange and then her dad went to prison for conning a bunch of towns people out of their money.

In addition to the latest fire, the arrival of a television crew to film an episode of a well known paranormal show lights the fuse (if you will) for a showdown between Zora and the firestarter (and the town and her family's past). It is a tense ride sometimes with good characters and some humor thrown in. Good stuff.

For more info, check out the Indianapolis Public Library catalog and the author's site.