Twelve year old Bernadette "Bernie" has a lot on her plate
these days with helping out around the house and with the
family business of creating grave monuments. In addition,
her mother is in a state of depression that renders her
non-functional. Then there's Michael Romano, son of the new
sheriff in town. He seems to like her; maybe too much for
her comfort.
One day, things get even more complicated for Bernie. That's
the day that Mr. Abbott Stein arrives looking for a job at
Alpine Monuments. He has a gift; it seems, of carving
perfect portraits in stone of the dead. While this may be
all well and good, there's just something spooky about Mr.
Stein. It gets spookier still when Bernie realizes that Mr.
Stein is carving portraits in stone of people before they
die!
She confides in Michael mostly because he's always around
her, and the two of them do some investigating into the
mysterious Mr. Stein's past to gain help in stopping his
evil gift in the present.
Bernie is one of the spunkiest twelve year olds that any one
is likely to meet. Mature beyond her years due to necessity,
she sees things that others might miss. But she's got an
excellent grasp on life whether she knows it or not. It was
a pure delight to get to know her in GRAVE IMAGES.
Author Jenny Goebel knows how to write in a way that will
get kids excited about reading and she's written a wonderful
book in GRAVE IMAGES that will interest even the most
stubborn non-reader. Written in a no nonsense fashion, the
mysterious plot is explored by the two young protagonists in
a realistic manner. I could see Bernie and Michael going
about their investigation as I went along with them. These
two are smart kids, but not so smart that they never make
any mistakes.
GRAVE IMAGES is an entertaining read even for adults but
kids everywhere will love the characters as well as the
plot. I, for one, was a bit sad to see the book end. Bernie
and Michael are characters that would be perfect for
children to get to know and grow up with.
A stylish debut mystery with the perfect balance of sweetness and scares! Thirteen-year-old Bernie's summer is looking pretty grim. It's hard to make friends when your family runs a monument company, and your backyard is littered with tombstones. It's even harder when your mother suddenly refuses to leave her room . . . To make matters worse, her father has just hired a new artist to engrave the headstones--the creepy Mr. Stein. Bernie has a bad feeling about him right from the start, and after snooping around his cottage, she discovers an engraved portrait of their neighbor . . . a woman who promptly dies the next day. And it's not just a weird coincidence. The pattern continues, and Bernie realizes that Mr. Stein has begun engraving headstones before people die, which forces Bernie to ask a horrifying question: Is Mr. Stein predicting the deaths . . . or causing them?
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