Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - by Ransom Riggs

This is an odd book.  Just like it is when I refer to Lemony Snicket's books, that is a real compliment.

Growing up, Jacob was always in awe of his grandfather's fantastic, unbelievable stories.  The tales grew harder to believe as Jacob grew older, but when his the older man passes away and leaves him a cryptic message, the 16-year-old ends up on a far-fetched adventure to uncover the truth of his grandfather's past.  In the wild of Wales, he discovers something quite unexpected, and the story goes from there.  I mean, it REALLY goes, well beyond the expected and into some funky stuff.

This story combines unusual historical photographs with a touch of the supernatural to produce one wild, amazing story.

Ghost Knight - by Cornelia Funke

Eleven-year-old Jon is annoyed that his mom has a new boyfriend, "The Beard," even though his dad has been gone for ages.  When his nasty pranks on his mom's mate get too wild, he is sent away to an English boarding school on the grounds of an extremely old and creepy Gothic cathedral.  His sour mood at being sent away does not improve when he discovers that a collection of ancient ghosts want him dead, and all because of something one of his ancestors did.  What would you do if you were alone in a new school, getting chased by bloodthirsy ghosts?  Well, Jon found a girlfriend.

While this is not a love story (it's more of a fast-paced action suspense knights and ghosts and sneaking around doing things you're not supposed to story), Will's relationship with the mysterious and brave Ella not only makes his classmates jealous, but helps him to find the solution to his problem.  Before long, there are ghost battles, searches for long-lost hearts (literally), demon dogs, a guy who shaves his beard and turns out to be someone other than who we thought he was, and some really boring teachers.  It's a magical, mystical gallop through an old English cathedral with a cast of characters you won't soon forget.

Note:  Like all of Ms. Funke's (pronounced FOON-ka) books, this was written in German and translated.  A book about an English boy, written in German, and published in America.  Hey, it works.

The Game of Sunken Places - by M. T. Anderson

This is a creepy book.  Two teens accept an invitation to a distant uncle's mansion deep in the Vermont woods, and when they get there realize that they're being pulled into a game like they have never played before.  Their first clue that something odd is afoot is when the uncle takes their clothes away (and burns them) and gives them starched shirts and knickerbockers to wear, as if it were hundreds of years earlier.  When the boys find a mysterious game board in their room and start to play, the wheels of something grand and terrible are set in motion.

This story follows friends Brian and Gregory as they battle forces of ancient darkness in a game neither of them really understand, but which has consequences as great as death itself.  Mystical creatures appear in the woods, mysterious messages need to be deciphered, and both boys must call upon every bit of their courage to make it to the thrilling end of the game, where they realize they were fighting something else entirely.

This is a great adventure, a thrilling collection of twists and turns that will chill you and delight you simultaneously. It has a slow start, but creeps along until you are totally sucked in and going mad with questions that don't seem to get answered quickly enough.  If you like creepy adventure stories and games, this is your book!

Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost - by Cornelia Funke

What's the difference between an ASG (averagely spooky ghost) and an IRG (incredibly revolting ghost)?  That's one of the first things young Tom learns when he becomes a ghosthunter.  He didn't PLAN on hunting ghosts, but when he finds an ASG living in his family's cellar, he doesn't have much choice.

This is a pretty funny book, the first in a series by the amazing German author of such books as Inkheart, The Thief Lord, and Dragon Rider.  Tom gets help from his annoying older sister and his grandma's friend, and joins a mission to rid a house of a pretty freaky ghost.  Read this if you like ghost stories, funny books, icky freaky scary things, and young characters who have to be brave and solve some big problems without getting attacked by Incredibly Revolting Ghosts.

The Graveyard Book - by Neil Gaiman

If you've read Coraline or any of Gaiman's other books, you know this author writes spooky, weird stories.  This book, which happened to with the NEWBERY Award (impressive, to a point), is... a spooky, weird story.  It is, however, a very interesting, well-written, and worth-reading weird spooky story! 

Imagine a toddler who somehow escapes his house while his parents are being murdered, and who toddles his way to a graveyard, where the ghosts agree to raise him as their own child.  That's how the story begins, and that toddler, who the ghosts name Nobody Owens, grows up not only learning everything the ghosts, ghouls, witches, and other supernatural beings can teach him, but wanting to seek revenge for the murder of his family members.  It's an exciting, interesting story, but it's not for the faint of heart. 

The story is based on the classic book The Jungle Book, written by British author Rudyard Kipling in the late 1800's.  While that story (turned into a Disney movie, which is nowhere near as interesting as the book) focuses on a boy who is raised by jungle animals, this book, as I said, involves ghosts raising an orphan in a cemetery.  That part isn't as spooky as you'd expect, and it's a lot more interesting than any other ghost story you're likely to read.  The Graveyard Book is set in modern-day England, which adds an interesting twist for American readers.

Read this if you want to see why it won the Newbery, if you're interested in spooky, well-told tales, or if you have simply always wanted to be adopted by ghosts yourself, and to live in a centuries-old crypt in a lonely graveyard.