Giving Up the Ghost — Sheri Cooper Sinykin

"That's the first step, you know. Admitting you're afraid. But when there's love, there can be no fear."

Davia is afraid of many things, and everything about her elderly great-aunt Mari and her spooky-looking plantation home terrifies her. When she encounters Emilie, the tortured ghost of a well-to-do adolescent girl from the nineteenth century, she is even more frightened. Davia gradually begins to learn from Aunt Mari secrets about Emilie and about her own family's past -- stories of premature endings and regrets. As Aunt Mari's health deteriorates, she and Davia become closer. Together, they hope to release Emilie's spirit from the mansion and the world of the living.

Author Sheri Sinykin has written a provocative tale of a young girl who learns to accept uncertainty and to come to terms with her fears. Readers will be mesmerized by the intriguing supernatural mystery that lies at the heart of the story.