It took a little while to get into this book, but then I enjoyed it. I got caught up in the mystery.... ( )

Yuck. Not for me. It reads like it's late in a series - we are presented with a ghost, and then in quick succession a boy (with accompanying angst), a best friend and a quarrel (more angst), a weird uncle with Plans (angst)...if this were a series and the author was reminding readers familiar with it of the standard tropes, it would work. As far as I can tell this is a standalone, though, so the rapid-fire sequence of stuff happening and her angsting over them (and petting her daisy pendant) just distracts, over and over. Also too much self-focus. At one point, she thinks of this disaster and that one and asks "who could hate me that much?" Not "us", no thought of the mess being aimed at anyone else... And the whole thing makes no sense - why the attacks in the first place? They're more likely (as in fact they did) to draw attention where it wasn't wanted than to...what? I don't see any reason for them. Even when we know who, the why remains opaque - jealousy? But how did any of what happened improve the villain's standing or reduce anyone else's? And then there's stupid stuff like the muffins - she won't eat yeast, her mom goes to the effort of baking muffins so she'll have something to eat, but she doesn't, just feeds them to the dog. Waste of everyone's time. Which is a good descriptor of this book, for me. The short at the end is equally nonsensical - warrior princess voice? Sheesh. I certainly won't be looking for any more by Carpenter. ( )

The Ghost in the Gardens was not what I was expecting it to be. It was very slow to get started, and I was becoming very bored of reading it. About half way through, it finally peaked my interest when there was a bomb, and possibly a murder, but then it fell flat. I knew who was responsible for the things happening before I even read it. Maybe it would be more appropriate as a kid's story..... without the excess plant stuff. ( )

Cute mystery that is a little darker than most MG mysteries, but still fun to read. ( )

Quick easy read. Very cute story. Not as much of a ghost story as it is a mystery. There is a ghost, but the majority of the plot revolves around a girl trying to save a rare flower. ( )