Andy is an ordinary teenager. One night at home, a mysterious girl named Elizabeth, who appears to be his own age, shows up, claiming to be a ghost. When robbers try to kill Andy, Elizabeth saves him by spiriting (no pun intended) him away to the land of ghosts, a magical place in danger of destruction by a group of evil ghosts that want to invade the real world. Andy is trapped in a deadly world on the brink of destruction, and his time is running out, as he is the only living creature in all of Ghostworld. A pretty good story, but a little weak at points. I definitley will finish the series.

Beyond Terror and the entire Ghostworld series is in a class of its own. I couldn't bring myself to put the book down for even just a few minutes! The series is well thought of, planned, very well balanced... it has everything you'd want from a book! There's adventure, mystery and horror, love, compassion and tenderness... just perfect! This book qualifies for all - whether teens or adults, they're bound to enjoy this book!

i think it was a greatbook but one thing is you have to by the nexted one to find out what happens

If you have an interest in the Spelljammer universe, this elusive sourcebook will become your Bible. There are chapters on converting Groundlings to Spacefarers (and all the colorful difficulties that epic transition entails), new spacefaring races (for characters that are Dracons, Giff, Grommams, Hadozee, Hurwaeti, Lizard Men, Rastipedes, Scro, and Xixchil), character kits, role-playing, new spacefaring proficiencis, the logistics of sailing the stars, spacefaring organizations (classic reading), Spelljammer campaign design, and the great strongholds of space. A must have for those who want to broaden their campaigns' horizons to infinity!

I have over 20 of the handbook supplements from the phbr1..phbr17+ class books to the castles/equipement and the campaign specific source books. This rarity is the best of all.

This book contains a great deal of new information for the AD&D (2nd edition) SpellJammer campaign. It has chapters on groundlings in space, new spacefaring races, spacefarer kits, logistics, and much more. Often, D&D books leave me feeling like the book contained very little, but this book is a real gem. Buy it!

The receipes were easy to follow and when I cooked for my Mexican friends, they love it! Used it for four years, until the movers lost it! Recommend that you buy this book.

I originally purchased this wonderful cookbook in the early 1980's. I found it very interesting to read from cover-to-cover as it offers many helps and describes all of the traditional ingredients in authentic Mexican dishes. The illustrations made it easy to follow the recipies and to end up with a wonderfully delicious and colorful dish. I wish to thank Barbara Hansen for a wonderful job and only wish she would find the time to put together another book as wonderful as this. I understand she can still be located at the Los Angeles Times' food section in California. Thanks for letting me express my thoughts.

Growing up in a Mexican kitchen myself, was able to re-create some of the dishes my mother made using this cookbook. All of the ingredients can easily be found at your local supermarket. Super easy to follow directions. Excellent, excellent book to own. She's got wonderful marinades for the carne asada and BBQ chicken. The enchilada recipes are superb.

This was the second Barbara Pym book I have ever read and it confirmed to me that she is greatly underrated as a writer. Though not perhaps as brilliantly comic as Excellent Women, Sweet Dove Died is gently satirical in the most delicious way. The type of woman she deals with is, this time, the affected 'lady of a certain age', rather than the humble and worthy types. One could almost imagine that this is how Madame Bovary may have turned out, had she had lived a city life. There is nothing prudish about Pym and readers today may be struck by how 'modern' she still appears, particularly in her depiction of the younger male characters in this novel. Greatly enjoyable.

I happened upon this slim volume by accident the other day - and what a happy accident it turned out to be. Barbara Pym's "The Sweet Dove Died" is a novel of unrequited love - an unnatural love of an older woman for a much younger gay man. There are shades of the Tennessee Williams classic "The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone," yet the writing style is more akin to Patrick Gale's early works "The Aerodynamics of Pork" and "Kansas in August."
Pym's novels are what used to be called "comedies of manners." Her work is immediately engaging, always amusing, and quite pointed in its depiction of a woman so consumed with the appearence of perfection that she misses every opportunity for happiness.

Leonora Eyre is a vain, self-focused, middle-aged spinster whose fading beauty and sense of refinement attracts antique dealer Humphrey Boyce and his nephew, James when they meet--by-chance--at an antique auction. Humphrey's attraction to Leonora is very understandable, and they certainly have enough in common--a love of antiques, fine wines, expensive restaurants,and leisurely drives in the country. Leonora, however, while perfectly content to permit Humphrey's attentions--as long as they don't stray to the baser instincts--is far more attracted to James, and he's young enough to be her son. She enjoys having the exclusive attentions (and there's an emphasis on the word 'exclusive' here) of a handsome young beau, and she expects him to read to her, to soothe her forehead, and to generally lavish her with attention--just as long as the relationship isn't consumated. Leonora senses that James is content to accept the limitations of their relationship, but she also realises that Humphrey chafes against such restrictions.

For some reason, James finds himself accepting the role Leonora assigns him. Humphrey is a little perturbed, and even jealous of his rival, but he's at heart a rather simple, blustering chap, and so he consoles himself with the thought that Leonora must feel rather like a mother to his nephew--the motherless-James. It even crosses Leonora's mind to wonder exactly what her relationship is with James--she usually has nothing but mild contempt for females who make idiots of themselves for younger men. Leonora refuses to examine her relationship with James--just as she refuses to contemplate or confront any unpleasantness in life.

But what of James? He's a red-blooded, testosterone-infused male--why does he accept the eunuch's role in Leonora's life? To James, Leonora is made of "some brittle unreal substance," and their relationship is simultaneously intimate and remote. Why does he feel compelled to hide his relationship with the intriguing Phoebe? James doesn't understand himself or the relationships that are most important to him. He seems unable to control his relationships, and soon all the people in his life are on a collision course, and James is ill-prepared for the consequences.

This well-crafted novel of manners is a small masterpiece. Written with elegant brilliance by the greatly underrated Barbara Pym, this novel centres on relationships--the needs relationships fill, and the voids that remain, and the need humans have to convert love, ultimately, into possession of the beloved. Leonora and James are fascinating characters--perfect foils for Humphrey and Phoebe, and it is the relationship between Leonora and James that warrants the most scrutiny.

This is not some sappy romance or a love story. This is a novel of sterling calibre, and Pym should never be underestimated. She is an extremely skillful writer, and her novels have a consistent quality that do not disappoint.

I must say, I really could not put this book down. It paints a beautiful picture of the conflicts that consume Clara Lorenzo, the 17 year old piano prodigy. She is competing in the Nicklaus competition, in which first prize is a 4 year scholarship to Juilliard. A fall in ballet practice brings her to realize that she does not truly love piano, despite daily three hour practices.
Even non-musical people can understand and even relate to this book, because it conveys inner conflict and finding one's true self so flawlessly. Teens will love this book for its accurate description of parental pressure and adults will better understand the trials and tribulations of growing up after reading it.

Have you ever wanted to be the best at something so badly that you would do almost anything to make it happen? This type of obsession happens in the novel, Broken Chords, by Barbara Snow Gilbert. Clara Lorenzo had an amazing gift for playing the piano. Her talent being discovered at a very young age, Clara's parents had done everything they could to see that Clara advanced as far as she could. Though Clara loved piano and was practicing endlessly for the upcoming Nicklaus competition, she also had a strong love for ballet and was in "The Nutcracker." Her parents did not approve of this; they wanted her to spend all of her time practicing piano. Clara sneaks off to ballet, and was getting away with it until she had an accident and hurt her wrist. She knew her parents would be extremely mad if they found out what she did, so she lied to the doctor, said her wrist was fine. She began practicing day and night for her piano competition. Only Clara seems to know the truth about her injury, and it is causing her a lot of pain to try to be the best. Clara discovers that she loves ballet more than piano and could not spend her life doing something just to please others, no matter how talented she was. This was a great story that is sure to be a fan of music lovers, or anyone who would just like to read a really good book.

Clara's future has been determined most of her short life: as a talented pianist, she is certain to have a sterling career as an accomplished musician. But does she love playing the best, and does she want to continue to give up pleasures for work? This provides no easy answers as Clara makes her decisions about the future.

After anyone starts reading the book Adam Zigzag you will never want to put it down. It's a book with a lot of emotional attachments. You just want to jump in the story and help the boy and his family finds out how to deal with their problems. It is a fiction book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
This boy named Adam was born with dyslexia. When he was little he would try and read to his family and he couldn't. Despite not being able to read as he got older he became popular and very good looking. He is older but he still has problems with reading that he can't fix. It just kept getting worse. So he had to move to a different school to get help. Ever since he was little he has always had tutors to help him responding to the book he would be reading.
The other main character is Caroline. She is Adams older sister. She is normal and doesn't have any disabilities. She doesn't like how her brother has problems but she tries to deal with them anyways. She tries her best to help him in any way he might need. In the middle of the story she gets in a fight wit her friend and her mom helps her out. They are a very close family and always there for each other. Since they have to move she looses all her friends anyways. Out of the whole family it seems like she is having the most trouble with everything because she is so embarrassed.
Adam Zigzag is the perfect title for the story because every time Adam would read he would relate and compare how all he sees is zigzags and scribbles. Even in the book when he was little his friends would call him zigzag as a nickname to try to encourage the fact he can't read.
Every character in this book demonstrates the thinking behavior persistence. For example, when Adam had to try his best to get out of that New York school he never gave up. He worked until he got the grades to get out. No matter what happened he had to prove to everyone that he could do it. Caroline had to keep working on maintaining her friendship because if it was over she wouldn't have any other friends. The parents are persistent on trying to convince Adam to keep going to school and trying to peruse reading.
When they were little they all lived together but Adam would just go to different schools. In high school he was the most popular guy and was still having trouble reading. He also had trouble doing his homework and turning it in. His grades were falling and they were getting so bad that he had to transfer schools all the way back down in New York. He had to go by himself and live without his family in a home.
The end of this book is just as interesting as the beginning. Adam Zigzag never gets boring for one second. But then again it all depends on what the reader enjoys. Most people would think this book was exciting and worth while to read. It was sad to think that a guy couldn't read even though he tries his hardest. Knowing that the harder you try and the more you think about it, you will never accomplish reading because you have a disease.

From the moment I read that the plot of this novel concerns dyslexia on the back cover of this book, I knew that this was an ideal story for me. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I really enjoyed it. I like the way she describes things and uses topics that are easy to relate to. I feel there are many good points of this book, even though the vocabulary is too basic for the audience she intends to have read her story. It's told in first person by two of the characters, Adam and Caroline. It deals with issues that young people of today might be familiar with, and offers comfort to those who are having the same kinds of problems mentioned in the book. It is reassuring for them to know that they are not alone.This story takes place in present day New York City. It is about the childhood and teen years of a dyslexic boy, Adam. He calls himself "Adam Zigzag" in secret. His sister, Caroline, is dyslexic as well, but she has a far milder case than Adam. The story is told from the viewpoints of both Adam and Caroline. Adam goes through much testing to find his strengths and weaknesses, and to find which schools can meet his needs. Caroline, in the midst of all this, is jealous of all the attention that Adam is getting from everyone. When he gets in to the same school as Caroline, she resents him more. "And then Adam enrolled. Suddenly here comes this blond, angelic boy. 'Oh he's so cute!' everyone said. No one had to tell me I was definitely not 'cute'. No cheekbones. Too skinny. A gigantic nose." Many other things happen throughout the course of this story. Adam has to have his bar mitzvah and he's worried that he won't be able to read from the Torah. He goes from school to school and interview to interview. He becomes more and more frustrated, and Caroline becomes embarrassed by his behavior. He begins to hang out with the wrong crowd. Caroline feels she should tell someone, but as she said, "Adam had enough bad stuff going on." And she "just couldn't add to it." Adam eventually realizes he needs to change his ways to be successful. "Sometimes when I think about all the money and time my parents have spent on me while I was [goofing] off in classes at school, I could just shoot myself. I wonder: did any of the time I spent with previous tutors pay off?" Adam Zigzag is a wonderfully written book to which young people of today can relate. Right from the beginning, the characters are introduced and the scenario becomes familiar. If you are a person who is dyslexic or close to someone who is, or someone who has been having problems hanging out with the wrong crowd, this book could be exceptionally good for you. I highly recommend it. Kara ... is a freshman... who enjoys books that reflect on life.

This is a great book and well written with the right type of font and size to keep interest of reader. Informatin and in terms that children of today can relate to.

I just ordered this to use in my seventh grade science class. It's perfect for middle school students. It explains the HIV virus and the AIDS disease in kid-language.

A wonderful story that will stay with you for a long time. I found myself searching the web to see if Jenny Sanders Pryor was a real person - she certainly seemed so to me after reading the book. Very enjoyable!

Desperate Crossing, just like Riefe's Against All Odds, was an exciting story of a young pioneer woman on the journey west. Jenny Pryor is just nineteen and recently married when she and her young adopted daughter are captured by the Sioux in a raid on their wagon train. Now Jenny must plan a daring escape.

This is an excellent resource for anyone working with youth and young adults, especially those in the non-profit field. The book provides ideas, helpful hints, and most importantly empowers youth to help their community.

All of the ideas are well thought out. Many of the activities can be altered, simplifed, or enhanced depending on your goals.

There are very helpful hints on how to create press releases, flyers, public service announcements, etc. This is a helpful guide for youth and a great resource for adults.

I recommend this book to anyone who works with youth and young adults that are committed to helping others.

This book was very helpful to me as I explained to my daughter about being a good person of service. The project ideas seem to relate well to the interest of kids and many can be done by the kids themselves. Other projects will require adult help.

I think this book is very good. As we read through the book, my daughter had many questions, as well as suggestions and modifications for certain projects. It was very thought provoking and inspiring.

Opal Whitely's story is an utterly amazing thing in every respect. Her life as a child, her exquisite sensitivity, and her way of expressing herself -- it's all just amazing.

That said, I don't understand this version! Compared to Jane Boulton's original adaptation (if that's what you'd call it), "Opal, Journal of an Understanding Heart," this seems gutted and meaningless. Maybe it's meant to be less sad for young children, I don't know. Read the original version.

This story is about the life of a little girl named Opal who loves nature. Her mother and father died and went to Heaven. Just by looking at the pictures you can tell that she has a sad life. Her new mama is not very nice. Opal has a favorite tree that she loves. The tree is called Michael Raphael. He has an understanding soul. She also has a sweet dog named Brave Horatius. My favorite part is when Opal writes about her feelings. Kids who like to relax will like this book because it has soothing words. It has really great illustrations, too! This is a terrific story!

The "point" of the picture book edition of Opal's diary is to make it accessible to younger readers. I would not hand a young child Boulton's longer edition or _The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow_, whereas any Barbara Cooney book can be recommended to young children without reservations.

That said, this edition is satisfying in itself. The book is touching and beautifully illustrated and unique. I recommend it highly, along with the other editions of the diary and everything else illustrated by Barbara Cooney.