This spine-tingling ghost story follows a
tween girl who’s being literally haunted by loneliness until a new
friendship upends her life.(goodreads summary)
Twelve-year old Sadie has been haunted her whole life by a very possessive ghost. After the death of her best friend Anna, she moves to a new town and school trying to start over. But the ghost keeps her from making friends. Whenever she tries, it reacts by making lights go out or doors suddenly slam, a constant reminder of its' vengeful force and what happened to Anna. But the ghost doesn't seem to be around when she is with Mal. A mysterious girl she meets who is also lonely and looking for a friend. Mal seems to push Sadie to take part in pranks on other students to seal their friendship. At first, it was fun to have a new best friend but takes a twist when the stress becomes too much for Sadie being mean to others and the constant worry about being caught.
I always like to find at least one middle grade ghost story during the spooky season. This one is moderately scary and touches on many themes throughout such as: grief, loneliness, parental leaving, social isolation, bullying, toxic friendships and choices. Because of the haunting, Sadie has become very isolated and lonely even though she wants to have friendships. She fears that bad things will happen to others if she does and it is best to avoid it. When her counselor and dad encourage her to open up and make friends, she reluctantly joins the after school graphic novel club. Shortly after, Mal's friendship becomes toxic and the pranks become cruel to the point of bullying. Sadie grows more and more unhappy about the relationship but also fears being alone. Going to her Guidance Counselor offers her good advice to sort out what she needs to do to change things with Mal and stand up for herseslf. Unfortunately, this is where things get spookier when Mal is revealed and her plans for Sadie become all to real. She must make choices when a classmate becomes the personal target of Mal's anger and ending the relationship once and for all. While the plot twist was easy to figure out early on, the story is fast-paced and definitely a page turner with good foreshadowing. It has a sad ending about Mal but a happy one for Sadie who is ready to move on and finally be able to live a normal life. For readers that like a spooky paranormal story for anytime of the year, I think this is a "just right book for ages 11-12.~
Title: It Happened to Anna
Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia
Pub. date: August 2024, Delacorte Press
Genre: middle grade paranormal
Hardcover, 212 pgs.
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