Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

'You mean the editor of The Bee faked all the ghost sightings to lower property values in town so he could build a new development?' This is basically the same plot of every episode Scooby-Doo, ever: When the school shuts down the school paper, The Core, she and her friends start a rebel sheet called The Peel.

With the help of her experienced newsman mentor Baker Polton, she sleuths out the clues that lead to the real reason behind the hauntings. The local paper, The Bee, starts printing more and more outrageous stories, claiming there's a ghost haunting the old Ludlow place, creating fear and panic in the town. bold, inquisitive and skeptical, and fairly negative on the whole idea of dating. Ever since the recent death of her father, also a reporter, she's been living with her mother and cousin and grandparents. Hildy reminded me a lot of Veronica Mars. But, I stuck with it, and things picked up from there. That, plus the fast-paced, noir-inspired, witty banter that Hildy uses initially felt a bit forced - she was trying too hard to sound like Sam Spade. The book opens with a prolonged description of the Apple Valley Pageant Queen vomiting, which went on for far too long and with far too much detail. I must admit I very nearly put this book in my 'Did Not Finish' pile in the first few pages. She's the star writer for her high school newspaper in the small, sleepy farming town of Banesville, NY. Sixteen year-old Hildy Biddle dreams of being a stellar journalist. Bonnie Sue Bomgartner, Banesville's soon-to-be 67th Apple Blossom Queen, let loose a stream of projectile vomiting in the high school cafeteria.'

Famous Last Words by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski