Jared Millhouse and his dad plan to spend an uneventful summer on his grandfather's farm in Lone Jack, Missouri. Then Jared runs into the ghost of a Civil War innkeeper and wonders if he's lost his mind. With the help of his grandfather--and some local characters--Jared and the Crossroads Gang uncover the truth about the Civil War battle that trapped so many bloodthirsty ghosts in Lone Jack. They even recruit a pair of eccentric ghost hunters to help. When it comes to facing down the local bully, dodging the power-crazy sheriff, or escaping convicts, Jared can count on his friends. Together, they face haunted baseball diamonds, embattled cornfields and abandoned mines. But when Confederate and Union ghouls line up on the battlefield, the entire town relives the gruesome Battle of Lone Jack, as it was fought in 1862. Then only Jared can save the town from its ghosts.

But as a parent I have a hard time recommending this book. I let my 13 year old read it prior to myself picking it up, and I likely would not have let her read it, had I read it first.

The fantasy often borders on the edge of gruesome, the group of 10 year old protaganists are rude and disrespectful and likewise many of the adults portrayed in the book.  Perhaps the talk that occurs really happens in a small town like that of Lone Jack, but I hope not, because that would be a poor reflection on that portion of American society.

As a home educator, I have equal hesitancy to recommend the book, as the editing is poorly done. The pages are riddled with spelling errors and when the characters are speaking in local dialect type speech, it doesn't seem to be consistent.

That being said, my daughter loved it. Since she is a reluctant reader that says a lot about the story line and the way it flowed to a certain audience. When asked, she even said she learned a bit about the events of the Civil War, and that she found those portions of the book interesting!

I personally won't be adding this to a "must read" book list for personal or teaching purposes, but it won't surprise me to find my daughter passing this title on to her friends.

The Ghosts of Lone Jack is available at Amazon.com for $11.16 at the time of this published post.

I received a complimentary copy of The Ghosts of Lone Jack to review for the purpose of this post.