Iris often has trouble differentiating between reality and her nightmares. This is especially true when the nightmares become so real that she can literally feel the goosebumps raise on her skin. One night she realizes her dreams might be more than what they seem when she wakes to her window blown wide open and the distant shadow of a young girl calling out to her from the woods by her house. Inspired by her nightmare, Iris sets out to learn the origin of the shadowed girl and learns that the woods she plays in were once a segregated cemetery for Black citizens. In Brown's debut, she sets the stage for a promising writing career as she crafts strong middle-grade characters who will undoubtedly be enjoyed by children and adults alike. The pacing of the plot will surely send a chill through the readers' spines as they follow Iris and her journey with the paranormal. Brown takes on the daunting task of conveying fright and the growing realization of marginalization through child's voices with ease in this eerie read.

Both historically and culturally relevant, Brown-s thoughtful ghost story explores the legacy of racism through segregation. In North Carolina, Iris and her best friend Daniel, both African-American, sneak out one night to play in just-fallen snow, only to stumble upon the abandoned grave of Avery Moore, who died in 1956 at their current age: 11. After repeatedly finding her bedroom window open, Iris sees -the shimmering, gray shadow of a girl emerging from her window.- When Iris and Daniel decide to conduct their social studies project on abandoned graves, they find that Avery-s is part of an entire segregated black cemetery that has faded from history. Iris struggles with erasure at school and getting less attention than her sibling at home, ideas that intertwine as Avery-s ghost emerges and seeks recognition. Through Daniel-s close-knit family-his single mother and superstitious grandmother, both coping with his father-s death-the novel also explores the multifaceted nature of grief alongside close childhood friendships and the historical significance of racism. Although secondary characters can feel a bit one-dimensional, the story is robust enough to balance it out, making this a solid debut in which the horrors are both historical and spectral. Ages 8-12. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Nov.)

Gr 3-7 Iris is a young African American girl who loves the snow and adventure. She had been warned by her parents not to play in the woods behind her house. One night, Iris gets her best friend Daniel to sneak out into the woods to play in the snow. They stumble upon an abandoned graveyard and Iris uncovers the name Avery Moore on one of the tombstones and decides to find out who she was. Avery begins to visit Iris in her dreams, asking for help to be remembered. Iris convinces Daniel to make segregated graveyards the focus of their group project at school. Their initial research turns up little evidence of Avery's life or death. A conversation with Daniel's grandmother Suga begins to point them in the right direction. Iris and Daniel will have to work together to make sure their voices are heard at school and that Avery Moore is remembered. This is a story about the ways African American communities have been and continue to be marginalized. America's segregated past and the structures still in place to keep us separate are explored through Avery's experiences then and Iris's experiences now. The horror elements in the story are fantastically creepy and the author uses a mixture of urban legends and tall tales to create a sense of fear and foreboding. VERDICT A solid title for public and school libraries in search of horror with roots in black history. Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH