The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

YA novel
It had been raining all day, duplicating the ambiance of the
suspense story I was unable to put down. On the pages the weather
escalated into a thunder storm. Suddenly in real life lightning
flashed across the sky while there was a crash like a bomb going off.
I will have to admit to being startled by that bit of life imitating
art.
Sunshine, 16, narrator of Paige McKenzie's The Haunting of
Sunshine Girl, has lived in Austin, Texas all her life. When her
mother, Kat, gets a job offer in Washington (the state) they move.
Sunshine finds the gloomy atmosphere decidedly creepy even before she
enters the house her mom rented off Craig's list, a house that smells
musty and moldy. Her first night she hears footsteps and the giggles
of an unseen child.
Sunshine becomes convinced that the house is haunted by the
ghost of a child. At home she is chilled to the bone. Things that
could not logically do so get wet. Her belongings are constantly
moved. In one eerie scene her taxidermied owl flies in circles
through the air.
Logical minded Kat goes through the most frightening episodes
oblivious to anything supernatural going on around her. She can't
even see photographic or video evidence. She's convinced Sunshine is
simply unhappy so far away from her lifetime home. Best friend Ashley
becomes impatient when Sunshine tries to tell her about her
predicament. Sunshine feels not only haunted but abandoned. Why
can't anyone else perceive her ghost...
...if that's all it is. Pages interspersed of unknown origin
point to a more malignant entity.
The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is a great read for suspense
loving young adults and adult adults...
...except maybe not in the middle of a lightning storm. :)
On a personal note, I am cleaning my younger daughter's room which, in
the year since she's lived there, has gained a hurricane aftermath
ambiance. I want it nice for her to stay in when she comes home to
visit. It will also be a reading/writing/crafts room for me. It's
haunted in a different way than the house in the book. So many of the
objects I touch are conduits to beautful memories. Sigh.
A great big shout goes out to Katie who is rocking her post college
dream job. You go, Girl.
Julia Emily Hathaway


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