Connecting » (Reprint)

Wendy Corsi Staub is the author of ten novels of suspense, including the New York Times bestsellers Don't Scream, Most Likely To Die, The Final Victim, and She Loves Me Not. She is currently working on her next suspense novel.

Now that Calla has accepted her ability to communicate with the Other Side, she’s desperate to connect with the one spirit whose energy she can’t seem to feel anywhere: her late mother. As ominous supernatural signs imply that the devastating loss might not have been an accident, Calla sets out to uncover the truth, convinced that a shadowy stranger may hold the key. But she gets more than she bargained for when she stumbles across a shocking secret about her mom’s past—one that will change Calla’s own future forever.

School Library Journal

Gr 8-10

This installment in the series continues the story of high school senior Calla Delaney. Her mother's death was thought to be an accident, but Calla's visions tell her otherwise, and she is determined to discover her mother's killer. Living in Lily Dale (a real spiritualist community in upstate New York) with her grandmother, the teen is beginning to feel more comfortable with her own gift for seeing spirits, but she misses her father (on sabbatical in California) and her old, "normal" life in Florida. Romance, friendship, and psychic powers mix as Calla tries to choose between two boys in her new town-one who is the most popular and one who tries to keep her safe. Both, of course, are extraordinarily handsome. While those who have read Awakening (2007) and Believing (2008, both Walker) will have a better immediate understanding of Calla's situation and surroundings, Connecting stands fairly well on its own. The characters are interesting, the search for Calla's mother's murderer is gripping, and the dollop of romance adds just the right spark. The book never pretends to be great literature, but it certainly fits the bill for some tingly escape reading. For those who are hooked, the ending promises that there will be more.-Sharon Grover, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI