After skimming the inside cover, San Diego caught my eye. Having lived there, I was excited about the potential of this book. If I’d read the entire blurb carefully, I would have realized this book was not for me. The story expects you to check your reality at the door. I found it too girly and contrived, trying hard to be a book that 10 – 13 year old girls would like — lots of boy crushing and obsession, some shopping, and mostly stereotypical girly behavior, including lengthy descriptions of outfits.
Sherry, a middle school girl from Phoenix goes to San Diego for Spring Break while her father and stepmother go on their honeymoon. Sherry’s mother, a ghost, asks for her help to solve a mystery in San Diego in order to further her career in the Academy of Spirits. Adventure, conflict and comedy ensue in Sherry’s pursuit to solve the mystery.
Responsible parents are absent in this story where the main character, Sherry, spends most of her time traipsing around the Wild Animal Park and the Hotel Del in Coronado with her 13-year old friend Junie and Junie’s 17-year old boy-crazy cousin, Amber. The reality that a 13-year old would be allowed to sneak off the tour train at the Wild Animal Park, get a job working for an evil chef, or be allowed to go places with complete strangers is not something most parents would allow. It’s also hard to believe Sherry’s dead mother would ask her to put herself in jeopardy by helping her solve a mystery so that her mother could further her ghostly career. Other characters such as the evil chef and the arthritic old people are very stereotypes and lack originality.
I did enjoy a few things from this book: Sherry’s dead grandfather has been reincarnated as a wren that warbles garbled advice, and some of the humor in the book is pretty funny. For example, I laughed when Sherry summoned her mother by the aroma of coffee, in particular, when she begged for a bucket of coffee at the Wild Animal Park on her first visit.
Recommended for: extremely girly tweens (10-13)
Objectionable material: some kissing between Sherry and Josh
Tags: boys, endangered species, friends, ghosts, girls, mystery, Phoenix, rhinoceros, San Diego, supernatural
