Ghostly companions

From Publishers Weekly Alcock's fans will be well-spooked by the strange events in this anthology of wonderfully eerie stories. In "The Whisperer," a small girl who has been dead for years haunts her older brother with continuous whispers of "Let me in, please let me in," until an outsider shows the family what the restless spirit wants. A lad buys "The Sea Bride," a ship's figurehead, only to find out that an angry groom wants her back. A wicked aunt finds herself kicked out of her own body by a devoted, gentle nursemaid who drowned in "A Change of Aunts." Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal Grade 7 Up In these ten stories young people attempt to deal with or to overcome ``ghostly companions.'' ``The Strange Companions'' are a man and his reflection, from whom the man is trying to escape. In ``Siren Song,'' a boy tape records ghostly children playing outside his window. ``A Change of Aunts'' occurs when nasty Aunt Gertrude falls into the village pond and is possessed by a kindly nursemaid who drowned there years before. ``QWERTYUIOP'' describes a young secretary's struggle with her predecessor, communicating through the electric typewriter. Certainly there is good writing heresome vivid description, clever premises, and clear characterizations. What is lacking is the child's eye and the child's voice. Rather than stories for children, these are stories about children, and not even consistently that. Additional for junior high collections where contemporary ghost stories are in demand. Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., Canada Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.