Greenglass House

I was enjoying this book and the good messages I saw developing. However there is a short snippet where the main character reads a story about a person who kills a cat to save the town. Not because the cat did anything wrong or dangerous. But in putting the cat's bones in the river (where all but one sinks) a spirit/entity is summoned to give a hint to save the town. I found this disturbing because it was portrayed in a kids book as a necessary evil, for the good of the town, an act of heroism. Furthermore it hints at dark magic or witchcraft, and satanic rituals. I doubt that last one was the author's intention, but it's good to be aware of. I would not recommend this book for sensitive, animal loving children. My guess, and hope, is most kids don't take much notice of it. In my opinion while this isn't a large part of the story, nor is there pervasive violence, I'd say it's too much.

I really loved this book! There was a little bit of a love story towards the end, with Blue and Red vying for the affections of the same guy, but very clean. Also, *SPOILER ALERT* it turns out that one of the main characters is a ghost, so parents (like me) who want their kids to avoid the supernatural might want to skip this one (but you could get it for your own reading pleasure... I just requested the sequel, Ghosts of Greenglass House, from the library)