Sherry Holmes Baldwin, a Phoenix, Arizona, teen, has a stepmom, Paula; a dad who travels frequently; a little brother, Sam; a best friend, Junie; and a gorgeous boyfriend, Josh. She also has a mother who is a ghost and a big mystery to solve. The Academy of Spirits, located in a Dairy Queen, has determined that Paula may be in danger. If Sherry can find out who, or what, has targeted her stepmom, and if her birth mom can win the Ghostlympics, the Academy of Spirits will grant mother and daughter five minutes of Real Time together, just like before Mom died! It's a tough, spooky task to determine who would want to harm Paula, and, as the title states, Sherry so doesn't do spooky. Summy has written a funny, surprising, and charming ghost story that incorporates authentic, likable young teens; strangely believable ghosts (including Sherry's grandfather, who has taken the form of a perky wren); and well-integrated paranormal elements. Balancing slapstick and poignant twists, this should find a wide readership among young teens.

Girlie-girl detective Sherry Holmes Baldwin (I So Don't Do Mysteries)--think Nancy Drew meets Elle Woods, for the middle school set--has a mega-crazy life: her mom is a ghost, her stepmom has a stalker, and an eighth grader is after her "uberwonderful" boyfriend. Throw in psychics and robotics clubs and...yep, the plot's over-the-top, but fans of mystery-flavored chick-lit-lite will zip through.

Despite her attempts to lead a normal life filled with shopping trips and dates with her hunky boyfriend, middle schooler Sherry Holmes Baldwin finds herself thrust back into the role of supernatural sleuth. In this sequel to I So Don't Do Mysteries (2008), Sherry and her best friend, Junie, take on the serious task of unmasking an individual who is stalking Sherry's stepmother. Similar to the previous text, Sherry's deceased mom and grandfather lend support from beyond the grave, a device that, through humor and a thorough setup, manages to be more believable than creepy. In addition to wanting to protect her stepmother, Sherry is determined to crack this mystery for a chance to be awarded five minutes of "Real Time" with her deceased mother. Perfectly tame for middle schoolers—Sherry's dates never pass PG, and although the threat of the stalker is at times menacing, Sherry's silly, over-the-top inner dialogue helps defuse the situation and provide comic relief. (Mystery. 10-12)

Gr 6-8 Sherry Holmes Baldwin, the 13-year-old heroine of Summy's I So Don't Do Mysteries (Delacorte, 2008) is back for a second reluctant round of detection. When her mothera ghostly coed at the Academy of Spiritsasks Sherry to help her find out who is stalking Sherry's stepmother, a task set upon her by her Academy guidance counselor, the teen agrees, even though her relationship with "The Ruler," who teaches at her middle school, is often strained. Guided by her spectral mother as well as her ghostly grandfather, Sherry goes undercover at a neighboring junior high school's robotics club meeting, certain that one of their members is behind the torment. After several meetings with Mom and Grandpa and the intervention of a teen psychic and a ghost-hunter, Sherry finally solves the mystery, though by the last pages of the novel the identity of her stepmother's stalker almost seems like a moot point. Not tightly written or clever enough to be considered screwball, and with not as much attitude as Meg Cabot's "Mediator" series (HarperCollins), this story doesn't satisfy as a mystery or as a supernatural thriller. Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston