The Seer of Shadows

By Avi

Horace Carpetine does not believe in ghosts.

Raised to believe in science and reason, Horace Carpetine passes off spirits as superstition. Then he becomes an apprentice photographer and discovers an eerie—and even dangerous—supernatural power in his very own photographs.

When a wealthy lady orders a portrait to place by her daughter's gravesite, Horace's employer, Enoch Middleditch, schemes to sell her more pictures—by convincing her that her daughter's ghost has appeared in the ones he's already taken.

It's Horace's job to create images of the girl. Yet Horace somehow captures the girl's spirit along with her likeness. And when the spirit escapes the photographs, Horace discovers he's released a ghost bent on a deadly revenge. . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062472335

Avi

Avi's many acclaimed books for young readers include the Newbery Medal-winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead and the Newbery Honor books Nothing But the Truth: A Documentary Novel and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle as well as The Fighting Ground, Poppy, and The Secret School. He lives in Colorado.           

Book preview

ONE

IT WAS AN OCTOBER MORNING in the year 1872, and New York City’s air was so befogged with white mist and dark smoke that I could barely see across the street. All the same I was attending to my daily chore of sweeping our small front court with its painted sign:

ENOCH MIDDLEDITCH

SOCIETY PHOTOGRAPHER

Chancing to look up, I was startled to see a black girl standing just beyond our low iron gate. It was as if she had just stepped out of the haze, dressed in her somber cotton servant’s garb. A tiny wisp of curly black hair poked out from beneath her white cap. Though clearly she was a servant, her posture was upright, quite proud, and not at all deferential. I judged her to be about the same age as I, fourteen; but her smooth face, round and dark, seemed devoid of emotion until I noticed her eyes: They were full of a deep and brooding intensity.

My first thought was that she was looking at me, but then I realized it was our sign that held her attention.

May I help you? I asked.

She turned her gaze upon me. Who are you?

The question, asked so bluntly, was unexpected. I’m Mr. Middleditch’s apprentice.

Does he make portraits?

"Portraits, cartes de visite, and studies."

My mistress, Mrs. Frederick Von Macht, requires a portrait.

Then you’ve come to the right place.

Good, said the girl. She will be at your door tomorrow, at two.

Though surprised by her presumption, I said, I’ll tell my employer, perfectly aware that Mr. Middleditch had no pressing matters to attend to. Business was anything but lively.

With a curt nod the girl turned and walked away, vanishing into the mist as eerily as she had appeared.

Not only did I wonder where she’d come from and gone to, I was uncertain whether to believe her or not. But knowing it would be a good thing if her mistress did come for a sitting, I put aside such questions and hurried into our rooms to inform Mr. Middleditch that he actually had a customer.

Still, there was something very unsettling about the girl, so much so that I could not get her out of my mind. Was it the way she’d suddenly appeared and disappeared into the mist? Was it the tone of her voice? Was it the brooding look in her eyes?

That said, I shall be the first to admit there was nothing about her appearance to foretell the extraordinary events that were to follow.

TWO

MY NAME IS HORACE CARPETINE. I was born in New York City and spent my youth there. Perfectly happy years they were, too, though my childhood occurred during the vast upheaval known as the Civil War. And I can assure you there was nothing civil about that conflict, certainly not in New York City.

My father, short, stocky, and bald, was a watch repairer about whom always wafted a faint smell of fine machine oil. An early and fervent supporter of Abolition and radical Republicans, he was devoted to the likes of Abraham Lincoln and New York’s Horace Greeley. In fact, it was from Mr. Greeley that my first name was derived.

Father, a great believer in science, considered all superstition bunkum. Every occurrence, he thought, had a rational explanation. All matters should be considered in the light of honest logic. Not surprisingly, I was brought up to think the same.

My mother was a seamstress of fancy frocks working at home for a milliner who dubbed herself Madame D’Arco.

I had an older brother and an even older sister. My sister, Harriet (named after the writer Harriet Beecher Stowe), settled her fortunes by marrying Mr. Toby McClain, a customs house clerk. By the time this story begins, I was already an uncle.

My brother, John (named after John Brown, the martyred Abolitionist), had been taken into my father’s watch shop and was destined to make that his life’s occupation.

I, much the youngest, was in many respects raised as an only child, living with my parents in a third-floor apartment on Mulberry Street in Manhattan. I was quick to learn, and by the time I approached my fourteenth birthday I was quite verbal, a good reader, and could do sums and geometry. My father enjoyed engaging me in what he called philosophical arguments, when we would debate such questions as What is truth? or What is more useful in the modern age, logic or faith?

In fact, Father liked to brag I was a model youth for the industrial age. Had I not won school prizes for mathematics and practical science? Was not one of my heroes John Ericsson, the great, self-taught engineer?

When my schooling was complete, it was necessary to find me a suitable trade. Given my skills and taste, Father decided it should be work of a scientific nature. As it happened, one of his customers learned that a photographer by the name of Enoch Middleditch needed a boy to serve as live-in helper: an apprentice.

In those days, while photographs were to be seen everywhere, it was the rare individual who could explain the process by which they were made. Photography required knowledge of mechanics, physics, and chemistry.

Photographic images were considered remarkably truthful, reality itself. Paintings may be beautiful, my father argued. But they are only artists’ notions. Photography reveals facts. He would point to the daguerreotype of my grandfather on the wall. You see, he would say, that is him!

Inquiries were made about Mr. Middleditch. He’s a very successful photographer, Father soon informed me. Quite wealthy.

How do you know?

He told me so himself, and he strikes me as an honest fellow.

Things were soon arranged. In return for being Mr. Middleditch’s apprentice, I would have room, board, and, most importantly, instruction in the science of photography.

Upon entering my new life, I took my mother’s love, my father’s ideals, and their parting gift of a copy of Dr. J. Towler’s book:

THE SILVER SUNBEAM

A PRACTICAL AND THEORETICAL TEXT-BOOK

ON

SUN DRAWING AND

PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING

And God said, let there be light: and there was light

When Father presented the volume to me, he assured me that despite the biblical quote on the title page, its three hundred and forty-nine pages contained only rational knowledge.

So it was that on March the first, 1872, I left home and moved in with Mr. Middleditch, resolved to be nothing less than the best photographer in this world.

Other worlds were not mentioned.

THREE

MIDDLEDITCH WAS HIS TRUE NAME. He claimed it was of English derivation. Its singularity, moreover, was something of which he was absurdly pleased. He liked to say that its oddness meant that people would remember it. In the world of photography, ever more crowded with amateurs as well as professionals, he insisted it was vital to be noticed.

He rented the lowest floor in a common brownstone house in the Manhattan district known as Greenwich Village, 40 Charlton Street. The rooms, set low in the house, were gloomy. But when you consider how photographic images were made—in semidarkness—it was actually an advantage.

The front parlor was a reception space for clients. The second room was where he took his photographs. A third room contained his equipment and was where the photographic plates were processed. Chemical smells tinged the air.

Beyond these rooms was a small, private living space, consisting of his bed-sitting room, plus a kitchen of sorts. I slept in the kitchen. Beneath my narrow bed I stored an old sailor’s chest in which I kept some personal items, my copy of The Silver Sunbeam, and the little bit of money I called my own.

The entry to our quarters was through the front court, where the sign, which proclaimed Mr. Middleditch a society photographer, made its appeal to New York snobbery. But once I had established myself in Charlton Street, I discovered that Mr. Middleditch’s business did not thrive. He’d greatly exaggerated his wealth and position to my father and struggled to eke out a living. He claimed he did not care, saying he was an artiste, even speaking the word with a French accent.

Truth be known, Mr. Middleditch was lazy. Still, he was a good teacher and more than willing to instruct me in the secrets of the photographic art. I’m sure he did so not because of any particular generosity, but because I could do more work while he did less.

In fact, though I did lots of sweeping, dusting, and brushing of jackets, I was taught a very great deal about aperture and shutter speed, the essence of photography. My fingertips soon grew black with photo chemicals, the mark of the true photographer.

In my first few months, things went well. Very soon I was setting up cameras, adjusting lenses, and preparing photographic plates, both negatives and positives. While I was thus engaged in my regular duties, Mr. Middleditch busily chatted with his occasional clients, fishing them, as people said.

If there was one thing my employer was good at, it was taking advantage of a situation. Thus, as I readied the photographic wet plates, he, with flourish and fuss, spent time arranging his subjects.

I wish the world to see how beautiful you are was his standard phrase for women.

For men it was Sir, we must capture your sense of dignity and power.

His subjects duly flattered, Mr. Middleditch would duck beneath the black cloth behind the camera box and press the air bulb that powered the shutter release. The image was thus captured. Then he reappeared and chatted some more while I attended to the critical work of developing the photographic glass plate.

I never actually took pictures. Mr. Middleditch insisted upon doing that. It was a point of honor with him and frustration for me. When I asked when I might, he’d say, In time, Horace, in time.

Such a response only increased my desire to actually take pictures. How could I ever become a photographer unless I tripped the shutter? How little did I guess the result when the opportunity at last arrived!

FOUR

MRS. FREDERICK VON MACHT came to our door promptly at two o’ clock. When the knock came, Mr. Middleditch bolted into his workspace to suggest that he was busy, while I went to the door and opened it.

Mrs. Von Macht was a tall, meticulously groomed woman dressed entirely in black. True, in those days black clothing was to be seen everywhere on both men and women. But her silk garments were especially elegant: a high-necked and narrow hourglass over-jacket in the fashionable style of the day, set over a skirt long enough so that her patent leather shoes were all but invisible. Fine black kid gloves concealed her hands. The hat she wore was decorated with dark bird plumes. In one hand she carried a little purse, a reticule of black jet beads.

Her face was quite attractive, with brown eyes that seemed to convey deep sorrow. Her cheeks were pale and smooth, her brow unlined, her mouth as delicately set as a rose, her chin beautifully formed. Her long black hair was pulled back and shaped into a chignon at the nape of her neck. Not a hair was out of place. I could also detect a faint smell of lilac perfume.

In short, my quick judgment proclaimed her the very image of a dignified and attractive woman, a woman in firm control of her world and herself. What’s more, she had come in a fine horse and carriage—with a coachman.

Obviously Mrs. Von Macht was wealthy. But the black band around her left arm made it clear that she was also in mourning, if highly fashionable mourning.

Her servant girl was with her. But other than to notice her as the same black girl I’d met previously, I paid her little mind. As far as I was concerned, she was of no consequence to our business with Mrs. Von Macht.

Yes, madam, I said to the woman. May I help you?

I am Mrs. Frederick Von Macht, the woman replied in a clear but soft voice. I have an appointment with Mr. Middleditch.

Yes, madam, I said, making a little bow. Mr. Middleditch is expecting you.

With a rustle of her heavy skirts, Mrs. Von Macht stepped into our parlor. The servant girl followed.

Our reception room was modest. Two gaslight fixtures on the walls provided soft, pleasant light. This light

Reviews for The Seer of Shadows

[kaytroncoso · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

awesome ghost story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pussreboots · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Seer of Shadows by Avi is set in New York just as the city is beginning to modernize. It's 1872. Horace Carpetine has been apprenticed to a photographer who specializes in ghost photography.Well before the modern day Photoshop, photographers with access to a darkroom could use superimpositions and collage and hand retouching to augment their photographs. Some used their skills to make apparitions "appear" in their work.Horace's first big job is to take the reference photographs that will help the photographer make his ghostly portraits for the wealthy family that's hired them. Except in doing so, Horace unearths an actual ghost and a dark family secret.For fans of Goosebumps and similar books looking to sink their teeth into something a little scarier, The Seer of Shadows is perfect. For older readers who also enjoy Stephen King's shorter works, like "Sun Dog" will also like this one.

[amy.wesen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Personal Response- I really enjoyed this book because I learned something about early photography. It was quite descriptive and I loved how Avi develops characters so well that you absolutely despise a certain character. Curricular Connections- Use in photography class and compare with todays camera technology

[kristysp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So I wrote my thesis on a 19th century photographer who was put on trial in NYC for making fraudulent photographs. He would take portraits and then superimpose images of the customer's dead relatives behind them. As a lover of historical fiction, especially children's and young adult historical fiction, I've often thought of trying to write a story about a photographer who sets out to dupe his customers with fake ghosts but encounters real ghosts instead. Well, Avi, noted and very prolific children's author, has beat me to it! His idea comes out a little bit different, but it's close enough that I probably wouldn't try to write my original idea. Did Avi read my thesis? Hee.
This was a good story--full of historical details about photography and the developing process. Also, just a good, scary story about a vengeful ghost who comes back to torment her evil aunt and uncle.

[lindap69 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Horace, apprenticed to a photographer who manipulates photos to include a dead spirit, finds himself able to see and bring forth these spirits. A good mix of mystery, superstition, adventure - good for all those who seek a scaring ghost story

[scote23 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

MSBA Nominee 2009-2010

Creepy book! One of the few Avi books that I like.

[diamonddog_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I hate to admit it, but this is the first book I have read by Avi, but WOW! What an introduction to his writing! If you love ghost stories, then do not pass this one up. Once you start it, you'll find it hard to put down. Lots of historical details, romance, mystery - it will all keep you turning the pages until you reach the satisfying end.

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first book I've read by this newbery award winning author.Part ghost story, part mystery blended with the historical back drop of New York City in 1872, I liked this book. This was the time of the Astors and the Van der bilts who built opulent mansions on Fifth Avenue.Told from the perspective of Horace Carpetine, an appretice to a sketchy photographer, the reader is transported to the NYC of long ago.When a wealthy woman commissions Horace's boss to photograph that can be placed on the gravestone of her daughter who passed away, Horace learns through the non-paid black maid that Mrs. Frederick Von Macht and her husband abused their "daughter " who actually was their neice and were the cause of her death in order to gain her fortune.What became a prank and ploy set in motion by the unethical photographer, soon gains momentum and becomes out of control.Horace learns that he is a seer and while his photography skills as not as advanced as his boss, when he develops the photo, he sees the ghost of the young girl abused by Mrs. Von Macht.Peg, The maid bonds with Horace and tells the truth regarding the terrible behaviour of the Von Machts.This is a time of distinct heirachtical strata when the rich are deemed untouchable and those beneath them are at the mercy of a society that deems them unworthy and unbelieable. Through Horace and Peg the sad tale is unraveled .

[haleywhitehall · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I am a big fan of Avi's books, but this one was disappointing. I never felt a strong connection to Horace. Most of this book was his thoughts and I wanted more of his experiences. I liked the idea of early photography summoning ghosts, but unfortunately I wasn't spooked until the very end of the book. Still, this is a quick read and a good introduction to the creation of tintypes.

[smheatherly2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting read, although Avi became very technical about the photography processes, it only made the novel come more alive due to all the research. Part historical fiction, part suspense, part mystery this was a novel that makes you think not only about the afterlife but also about social classes. Horace is a boy living in 1872 and finds that he has an unusual ability that will take him on a mystery that he must fight before the cops figure it out!

[crochetbunnii · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Seer of Shadows was an interesting read about Horace Carpetine, a photographer's apprentice in the 1870s. Horace was raised to believe in science and reason, but when his master decides he can make a quick buck off exploiting a rich woman into thinking her daughter's ghost is appearing in photographs, it's left to Horace to create the fake images. Unfortunately for Horace, he's a seer of shadows and unwittingly captures the daughter's spirit, releasing her to exact revenge on her murderers.This was an interesting read, full of description of early photography processes. The end did get a little intense, but overall, a great read.

[thioviolight · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found this a good, quick-paced ghost story for young adults. Worth checking out.

[readingthruthenight · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Horace Carpetine is a young lad in the 1800's and beginning an apprenticeship with Enoch Middleditch, a conspiring photographer. Shortly after Horace begins working with Enoch, a very wealthy woman asks for her portrait to be taken so she could place it on her dead daughters tombstone. Mrs. Von Macht tells Enoch that she believes her deceased daughter is restless and hopes that this photograph might calm her.Well, Enoch is of course an entrepreneur. And a scheming one at that. He puts Horace in charge of making sure Mrs. Von Macht's daughter in seen in the photograph.Wait. Did you get that?Enoch tells Horace that he must create the dead girl's spirit in the photo that is given to Mrs. Von Macht. Pretty messed up huh? Of course, Horace is a good kid, and he doesn't feel so good about this endeavor, but needs this apprenticeship so he doe what he is told. Unfortunately there really is a miserable ghost girl present who shows herself and she's even more upset that all of this conniving has been going on in her name. This is such a fun tween ghost story set in historical times. I love the amount of detail that Avi pays in the photography process. I have to admit there were a couple of paragraphs where I'm struggled even. My science is just not up to par and I have a terrible time picturing certain elements of the process. But, it definitely works here. Avi makes the story feel authentic.

[jawi0129 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The is probably my favorite book. The story had a scary feel to it without making you want to just stop reading the book and I felt that the ending was a bit of a suprise.

[ropppop · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story of the year of 1872 and in New York city is an interesting yet mystery type of book. It deals with a young man learning to photograph in the apprentice job for an older gentleman in the city. The plot of this book brings about a death in a family and the step mother wanting to "find" her daughter even though she is dead. The friendship of the family's servant girl, and the finding out that a "seer of shadows" is the young man himself, scares them all but tells the reader that the truth needs to be found out properly. The "seer" means "a person who sees visions." To physically see the daughter who has been dead for some years - staring at you and running across the cemetary makes the young man wonder why it is him who sees it. Each page on this book brings a wonder of what will happen next. It also allows the reader to wonder how I would feel if it is me who sees this ghost. The writer knows how to hide this mystic characters behind a curtain or driving a horse ridden cab. The mixed up feelings allow the reader to experience a new type or style of emotions that they never have felt before.

[finleyup1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A great ending can save a bad book. An average to good ending cannot. That is what you get in The Seer of Shadows. The ending was decent, not great, and simply wasn't enough to make up for the rest of the book. The writing was repetitive and tiresome. I would pass on this one. There are too many other good books out there to spend your time reading.

[kikione_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A young boy is working as a photographer's apprentice. He finds himself an unwilling accomplice in a ruse to trick clients into believing that they are getting photos of the client's dead loved ones. In their first case this young apprentice quickly realizes that their trickery isn't the only ghostly images they are capturing. He befriends a young girl at the client's house and they work together to uncover the truth.

[59square · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Horace is an apprentice photographer in 19th century New York. A servant brings her mistress to Horace's master for a photograph to supposedly comfort her dead daughter who is "restless". The true story is much more complicated than that, including that the daughter is her niece, who they have neglected and then taken her wealth to help themselves. Horace's master sees that he can take advantage of her supposed grief, and decides to make a spirit image with the daughter's photo embedded in it. This is truly a ghost story, as Horace's photographs begin to bring the dead daughter back to life. There is also a budding friendship between the only two people who really know what is going on - Horace, who is white, and Pegg, the servant, who is black. Their friendship eventually turns into something more, although that it is only at the end of the novel. This is historical fiction, as it describes 19th century New York. However, even with the explanation that Pegg was raised by free blacks, and Horace raised in a "rational" family, I still think it is unrealistic for Horace and Pegg to end up married just after the Civil War. There is also very little explanation of white/black relations at this time. This is a scary story, as Pegg and Horace fight against the ghost of Eleanora, and I think that's where the emphasis is - the historical part of it is mainly background. I never have been a huge Avi fan, or a huge historical fiction fan, so I just think it's sort of okay.

[mysteriesrme · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Horace Carpentine is a young apprentice to the crafty but slippery Mr. Middleditch in 1872. Business is slow and uninteresting until a serious servant girl stands beneath the Middleditch sign and enquires of Horace if the photographer can provide a portrait for her society lady employer. What ensues is Avi's mastery in building suspense with each chapter. The society lady, Mrs. Von Macht, wants a portrait of herself to give solace to her beloved, dead daughter, Eleanora. Mrs. Von Macht explains that portraits of her dearly departed daughter abound around the home and give her great comfort. Why not make a portrait of Mrs. Von Macht to place on Eleanora's grave so the departed girl will also find comfort.With that request, Middleditch sets out to make a name for himself. He tells Horace to use the spy camera to take pictures of the dead daughter and then the photograph of Eleanora will be superimposed on the portrait of Mrs. Von Macht. But not all is as it seems: there are hardly any photographs of Eleanora as Mrs. Von Macht describes. Horace forges an alliance with the servant girl with dark brooding eyes. She explains that there are not as many photographs of the dead daughter and that Eleanora's death is not how Mrs. Von Macht describes.Avi employs simple but elegant language to convey a gripping story. I could not put it down.

[anniecase_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another classic from Avi in the tradition of Charlotte Doyle. The creepiness pervades the atmosphere and continually drives towards its satisfying conclusion. A truly enjoyable read for children and a great history lesson to top it off!

[airdna_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a boy who discovers he has the ability to photograph ghosts. It's 1872, and 14-year-old Horace is apprenticed to a photographer. When a wealthy woman hires the photographer to take her portrait, and mentions that her daughter Eleanora has just died, the photographer decides to trick her into believing he can capture an image of Eleanora's ghost. But it turns out that not only can Horace really make Eleanora's ghostly image appear in a photo, but doing so brings her spirit back from the dead....and now she's looking for revenge.....

[foxt_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm listening to the audio book version. I'm up to chapter 18. So far, I like the writing but find the narration to be a bit slow. For a ghost story, it is moving way too slowly for my taste. I wish I could speed it up. The book had a great ending.

[knielsen83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A ghost story that is a little more scary than I would have expected. A boy apprentice finds that he can capture ghosts in his photographs and finds one particularly angry ghost girl who is out for revenge. With the help of the servant girl in the family she seeks revenge on, the boy tries to stop what could be murder.

[jen1redmini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Horace has been sent to work with Mr. Middleditch as an apprentice. What luck Mr. Middleditch is having. A grieving mother would like a picture taken and she is willing to pay any price. Mr. Middleditch figures if he adds in the ghostly image of her daughter his business will flourish. But...is this a cruel trick or is the ghost of Eleanora really there.

[elliottm_11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I tend to like many, not all of Avi's books, but this one was great. It was very spooky and suspenseful.

[shelf3employed · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The prolific Avi has a winner in Seer of Shadows, historical fiction with a decidedly eerie and menacing twist. Horace Carpetine, raised to believe in science and rationalism, has been apprenticed to a photographer in post-Civil War, New York City. When his unscrupulous employer decides to perpetrate a hoax on a grieving mother, a tangled tale of death, deception, abuse and the supernatural "develops," literally, on the glass plates of the photographer's camera.Horace befriends Pegg, a black servant girl from the deceased's household, and together they confront the inconceivable. The Seer of Shadows is a gripping tale with a strong historical base and the supernatural eeriness of Gaiman's Coraline.

[ohioyalibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a haunting tale about a boy who discovers that he can bring ghosts out in the open by photographing them. One particular ghost that he photographs has plans for deadly revenge. Can he undo what he's done before it's too late? This is an excellent book, but a word of caution pertains...the ghost is quite scary and reeks of evil.

[Alexis Drake · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Mi aspettavo un romanzo più da adulti, vista la copertina, ma questo è un middle grade piuttosto banale. Interessanti le parti relative alla comparsa dei fantasmi nelle foto, ma i personaggi non hanno molto spessore e il finale è deludente.

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an odd little ghost story, that feels like one of Avi's historical novels. It is set in 18th century New York City. Horace, our narrator, is an apprentice photographer in the early days of the art. His master is commissioned to do a portrait of a wealthy woman for the benefit of the woman's deceased daughter. But her maid, Pegg, a black girl Horace's age, tells him as they leave that the girl in question wasn't the woman's daughter, and the woman didn't love her. When the photographs begin to be taken, they seem to release the ghost of Eleanora, the dead girl, back into the world, where she is determined to seek vengeance on her erstwhile guardians. The story is interesting, and Horace and Pegg's unexpected friendship, which grows stronger as the book goes along, is a high point. It would be a good Halloween read for a child who scares easily. It's a little spooky and eerie, but there's nothing profoundly frightening in it.

[chazzifrazz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

New York, 1872 — Horace Carpentine is apprenticed to Mr. Enoch Middleditch, Society Photographer. Horace’s father felt photography would be a good field for Horace as Horace had been raised on science and rationality. Photography was of proven science and could be logically explained.Horace finds Mr. Middleditch to be lazy, leaving the bulk of the work to be done to Horace. Middleditch prefers the schmoozing of clients and pushing the camera button more to his preference, rather than set ups and developing negatives.When a servant girl named Pegg shows up at the front gate, looking for a photographer for her mistress’s portrait, things change.Mrs. Von Mach is into “hearing from the grave” and feels that her stepdaughter is trying to contact her. When Middleditch presents a photo that shows the deceased, it opens the door for spirits to re-inter the human/living world. The spirit that returns is not happy with their past life and has a score to settle. And not everyone can see or know that this spirit is there.Written by Avi, a prolific author, the book has a strong plot with action, mystery and good character development.