Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey — but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

"In Alender's character-driven debut, outsider Alexis — who dyes her hair exotic colors, hates cheerleaders and sees the world through the lens of her camera — first suspects something's amiss when she and her younger sister, Kasey, notice light emanating from their antiquated house. Tension builds slowly as doll-obsessed Kasey starts acting more strangely than normal, the girls' father is hospitalized after a car accident and the house itself becomes increasingly temperamental (the air-conditioner seems determined to freeze them to death, and the girls are strangely drawn to the creepy basement). Meanwhile, Alexis's social life takes an unexpected turn via a budding romance with the class vice-president and a new confidante: a cheerleader with a clairvoyant bent. As Alexis's stubborn stereotypes disintegrate, so does her unwillingness to accept the possibility of unseen forces, and she addresses the change with wry humor ('What was this, Challenge Alexis's Long-Held Assumptions Day?'). While the true scares are relegated to a few ephemeral moments during the buildup of the haunting, and the ghost's vengeful motivations feel undernourished, fans of classic young adult ghost stories should welcome this solid offering. Ages 12 — up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

As strange things occur in her house and with her younger sister, Alexis wants to believe it's all in her head. But soon, what she used to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her and her family--in this gripping thriller.

In Alender's character-driven debut, outsider Alexis notices strange things occurring in her house and with her younger sister, Kasey. Alexis soon realizes that her life--and her family's--is creeping from dysfunction into danger, in this gripping new thriller.