Product Description

Moving to the country to live in a stone mansion has all the makings of a nightmare for 14-year-old Cassie Wade. While visiting her future home for the first time, Cassie sees a face peering from an upstairs window, hears a terrifying scream, and shivers at the whispered warnings on a cold, clinging breeze -- elements that will keep readers eager for more.

Jerri Garretson’s latest book, "The Secret of Whispering Springs," is a multi-faceted ghost story set in the prairie hills of present-day Kansas. Cassie’s parents purchase a grand but deserted old house, unaware that it includes an unsolved mystery, a dangerous intruder, and an invisible house guest. Cassie is forced to participate in the menacing stranger’s search for hidden treasure after he threatens to harm her brother, Ben, if she doesn’t cooperate.

The second frightening entity vying for Cassie’s attention is Annie, the ghost of a 14-year-old girl who has haunted the house for over a hundred years. After her death, she learned of a family secret. She cannot rest until she finds some answers and a letter promised to her by her dying mother. Annie is delighted to discover that she can communicate with Cassie and pleads for her help.

Garretson’s book goes beyond the usual parameters of a ghost story as she intertwines Annie’s mysterious family history, the tale of her loneliness and heartache, and the danger posed by a desperate man. Tension and fear mount as Cassie treads cautiously between the stranger’s demands and Annie’s requests. Unable to convince her parents of the danger, Cassie turns to her best friend, Jordan. The girls piece together answers, trying to help Annie while courageously thwarting the ominous intruder.

Garretson brings some personal experience to the story. "I live in an old stone house that was built in the 1880s, like the one Cassie’s family bought, though not nearly so grand. We often hear odd sounds and the back bedroom door frequently opens all by itself. We’ve never thought we had a ghost in our house, but the strange occurrences made me wonder what it would be like to live in a haunted house and why it might be haunted."

As a former children’s librarian, Garretson has a good grasp of what keeps young readers turning pages. She creates memorable characters and a gripping plot. The girls in "The Secret of Whispering Springs" depend on a deep bond of friendship to help them handle the story’s climactic moments. Even Annie has a 14-year-old’s inner struggles, such as jealousy and a longing for friendship.

Garretson says, "Like kids, I enjoy ghost stories. They asked me for a scary book. I think this one will send shivers down their spines."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1208971 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Cassie and her family are about to move into their new country home, but on her first visit, the 14-year-old has an experience with the house ghost and learns that someone has been squatting there as well, perhaps someone who is up to no good. The ghost is able to communicate with Cassie, but things start to get frightening when the stranger begins to send threatening messages to her. They both want her help, but the squatter is willing to harm those Cassie loves to get her cooperation. Mystery fans will find their comfortable, formulaic mystery/ghost story here-girl meets ghost and villain, becomes terrified but vows to save her loved ones, and finds treasure and justice in the end. This is an appealing book for those who like their mystery and horror on the light side, complete with a heroine who receives threats via e-mail and advice from her chatty best friend.
Lynn Evarts, Sauk Prairie High School, Prairie du Sac, WI
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 7-12. Readers fond of stories featuring ghosts, mysterious old houses, family tragedies, letters from the dead, hidden treasure, and threatening strangers will nestle down happily with this uncomplicated drama. Cassie's ambivalence about the isolated nineteenth-century house her parents have bought sharpens considerably after she encounters the ghost of Annie, a child killed by lightning long ago, and discovers letters containing both a sad tale of premature deaths and hints of a possible fortune concealed nearby. Soon after, she begins receiving scary e-mail and photos from someone who is after the letters, and she glimpses a man lurking about. Unfortunately, she can't convince her parents to take the danger seriously until an old neighbor and her little brother, Ben, disappear. Garretson winds the plot up to a suitably melodramatic climax in which Cassie, with help from Annie, tracks down and subdues the kidnapper, frees his victims, then finds--yes--bags of gold hidden in the walls of the house. Try this eerie, plot-driven crowd pleaser on Bellairs and Strickland fans. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Garretson does a cunning job of mixing a suspenseful story with elements of the supernatural. -- VOYA, October 2002

Garretson does a cunning job of mixing a suspenseful story with elements of the supernatural. --VOYA, October 2002

Highly recommended for young readers attending school grades 5-8 . . . A spooky and involving read for young adults. -- Midwest Book Review -Children's Bookwatch, June 2002

Recommended for middle school/junior high media centers, young adult and children's public library collections, academic young adult . . . collections. -- Kansas Libraries, April 2002

Customer Reviews

A Great Read
I'm not going to say too much about Whispering Springs, because in truth, this book speaks for itself. Filled with adventure, mystery, and ghostly appearances, it is sure to keep the young and old alike glued to the pages until the very end.

I especially liked the Kansas prairie setting and the way modern and old were gracefully woven together to give you both a sense of history while keeping you firmly in the here and now.

The title, The Secret of Whispering Springs, hints that there is more than meets the eye within its covers, and as you race through the pages, you'll discover the story keeps it promise. A great read.

Review from Fiction Factor.com
Jerri Garretson creates a wonderful story of suspense and intrigue sure to fascinate any young reader. Her characters are well developed and her writing is strong and vibrant.

Having a daughter of my own in middle grades, I've been reading a lot of the books she's brought home from school and The Secret of Whispering Springs has been one of my favorites reads. It has surpassed many of the books published by major NY presses and is well worth ordering. I heartily recommend it for anyone looking for a gift for that special reader in their life. (I recently passed it along to my 11 yr. old niece who absolutely loves it.)

A ghostly novel
Highly recommended for young readers attending school grades 5-8, The Secret Of The Whispering Springs by Jerri Garretson is a ghostly novel about a fourteen-year-old girl whose family moves into a grand mansion. The presence of a spirit whispering warnings place the heroine in the center of a dangerous mystery that she must solve before time runs out. A spooky and involving read for young adults, The Secret Of The Whispering Springs is quite appropriate for both school and community library YA fiction collections.