#MMGM: Grave Mistakes by Kitty Curran
REVIEW
Grave Mistakes presents readers with a most unusual family. Molly, her father, and brother, Timothy, all remain human after the accident that killed her mother and brother, Marty. But Molly's mother has returned as a ghost who can't be seen, but can be heard by anyone. Marty on the other hand has come back as a poltergeist, a ghost who can touch and move things. And the family has adopted a young girl who returned to life as a zombie. All of these changes creates awkwardness between Molly and her best friend, Grace. Molly's family encouraged her to tell Grace about the changes in their family, but Molly has yet to do so, creating a great deal of uncertainty and frustration in their relationship. At the same time, Molly gets paired with her rival on a town history project about the witch trials that occurred years earlier involving their ancestors. And Molly wants to play the violin solo at the upcoming Christmas concert but she isn't certain she can get herself to perform properly enough at her audition. As if all of this isn't challenging enough a new employee shows up at the cemetery (where Molly's family lives on the property with her father as the cemetery manager).
As things start to go catestrophically wrong (broken violin strings, flying pianos, tingling fingers and toes), Molly and Marty conclude the stories of a curse on their home must be true. Even worse, it seems the 'accident" that took Marty and their mother's lives may not have been an accident at all. With the help of Grace, Marty and Molly must discover who is cursing them before another such 'accident' occurs. Despite all the different things going on, the author manages to pull it all together into an entertaining story. Following the kids as they attempt to investigate proves to be both serious and amusing as the kids prove to be inexperienced investigators. Despite their sincerity they end up following multiple red herrings before an unexpected ally points them in a stunning and dangerous direction. I was delighted to discover that a prediction I made fairly early in the story proved to be true. Young readers will be pleased to have discovered some things before the characters in the book do. Despite this there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me turning the pages. The ending indicates that future volumes may be in the works as problems remain for Marty, Molly, and Grace to address. An entertaining read with interesting themes of friendship, honesty, and the dangers of making assumptions, especially about people.
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