The Replacement

by Lindsey Duga

A girl is possessed by a ghost yearning to be free in this brand-new spooky mystery by Lindsey Duga! Do the dead deserve another chance? Erin loves her new home in the country. She has a big bedroom that overlooks a beautiful garden, and there's even a treehouse in the backyard. Everything is perfect . . . except for the ghost. At first, the ghost is nothing more than a nuisance, pulling Erin’s hair, coloring on the walls, and getting Erin into heaps of trouble with her parents. But things become even stranger when Erin starts losing her memory. Sometimes it’s only for a few minutes, and other times it’s for a few days. It’s almost as if she’s fallen asleep! Erin is convinced the ghost has been taking over her body, but why? It’s up to Erin to figure out how to quell the ghost before it can get her into even more trouble―or worse!

Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Young Adult

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2022

About the author

Lindsey Duga is a middle grade and young adult writer with a passion for fantasy, science fiction, and basically any genre that takes you away from the real world. She wrote her first novel in college while she was getting her bachelor’s in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University.

Other than writing and cuddling with her morkie puppy, Delphi, Lindsey loves catching up on the latest superhero TV show and practicing yoga.

Reviews

[Joe Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good, very spooky book for young adults. The author does an excellent job of weaving creepy into this book. If a young adult is looking for a scary book, this is a good choice. Though they may never climb into a tree fort again.

[Michelle Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 10 year old niece gave me this book because she knows I like to read. Even though it's a young adult book, it was pretty good considering. Kinda creepy, too, for this age group!

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

When Erin's father gets a job that allows him to work remotely, the family move from Chicago to the more rural town of Pemblebrook. While she misses her friends, she's thrilled with the opportunity to be outside more, with her larger room, and especially with the treehouse on the property. It's an older house, so she and her parents do a lot of work on it, and Erin is glad to help by watching her younger sister, Becca, who is five. The treehouse seems a little creepy and cold, and Becca won't go near it. Erin hears some odd sounds at night, and has disturbing dreams in her new room. After she dreams that she and another girl painted the hallway of the house, she comes downstairs to discover her mother very angry about similar defacement that Erin has apparently done with markers! Her mother, a child psychologist, figures that Erin is acting out because of the move, and has her help repaint. There are several other incidents where Erin does things she doesn't remember-- her mother's favorite mug is broken, she lets the kitchen sink overflow, and a window is broken. Increasingly, Erin's dreams take her into an earlier version of the house, and she plays with the two girls who lived there in the 1950s, Patty and Paula. When she is in that world, time passes in the real world, and Erin doesn't remember any of it. Her new neighbor, Tara, is offended that Erin pretends they never met and doesn't return her texts, and Erin confides the scary things that are happening to her. Tara had heard rumors that the treehouse was haunted, but no one has shared what really went on. The girls investigate, and find out that a friend's grandmother is Paula, and that she is in the same senior facility that Tara's great grandmother is in. The girls manage to visit her, and find out that Patty was very ill, and Paula has always felt guilty for leaving her. Armed with this information, the girls try to appease the ghost, but things get especially terrifying when Patty seems intent on taking over Becca's body! Will Erin be able to save her sister and put Patty's ghost to rest?
Strengths: Yes, this is a terrifying ghost mystery along the lines of Brown's The Girl in the Lake or Oh's The Spirit Hunters, with a spirit intent on possessing a child's body. But what did I like best? The fact that Erin was exhibiting destructive behaviors (because of the possession), and she didn't feel like she could tell her parents about what was really going on! That, somehow, was more terrifying than the ghost! I loved the peeks back at Patty and Paula's life in the 1950s, with their dresses and curls and old fashioned television, and when portions of Erin's days went missing, that really sent chills up my spine! Having a new house be haunted is an old middle grade trope, but is given a fresh twist when it is the treehouse that is particularly dangerous. The fact that Erin really likes her new town, makes friends with Tara right away, and is also rather fond of her younger (if somewhat annoying) sister makes this seems much more modern and realistic than the typical unpleasant tween who is angry at having to move. The girls locate Paula in a completely convincing way, and her emotions regarding her long dead sister are touching.
Weaknesses: At one point, Becca is "munching on" oatmeal. I don't know why this annoyed me so much. I think I would have liked to see the children spend more time in the treehouse, but that is a quibble as well. It was clearly haunted, so staying out of it was a much better plan. I just still want a treehouse for myself!
What I really think: This author's The Haunting and Ghost in the Headlights are never on the shelf, and these covers will look fantastic together. Now, if Scholastic would just start to publish some of their scary stories in hardback. I should probably buy two copies of this one.

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Erin's heart pounded inside her chest. She wanted to scream, or maybe get up and run from the sudden figure who had emerged from the shadows like it was part of them - but she couldn't move, almost as if her body was locked up tight. She could only see and hear - hear the soft, raspy breathing of the shadowy figure and the creak of the wood as it knelt down and reached out an opaque hand toward Erin.

As the hand drew closer, Erin couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, even as panicked as she was. The moment she closed them, sleep took hold."

This one was creepy! The Replacement is a well-written, middle-grade ghost story with all the sister vibes.

A couple of questions (as an adult reader of this book) - Why do parents in these books always suck? They notice something is wrong with the MC, but they just wait for her to get over it. The girl blames herself for not telling them, but I get why she wouldn’t want to.
Also, the MC’s cell phone is mentioned multiple times, so why didn’t she ever try to record or take a picture of the ghost for proof?

Anyway, definitely recommended for a creepy and classic haunted house story.

[Angela Sandoval · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was intense! Poor Erin is being haunted and possessed by a ghost and her parents' reactions are frustrating in that they know something is seriously "off" with their child but do nothing to get to the bottom of it, leaving terrified Erin to deal with all this alone. But with the help of her sister and a new friend, they do bring things to a close. And what a wonderful ending! I would definitely recommend this one.

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like a 3.5

Enjoyable and slightly creepy. I did not enjoy the communication issues between the parents and the child, though I understood why the story played out that way. Looking forward to exploring more of this author's work.

[shai larsen ⸆⸉ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was litterly soooooooo good. 4.5 stars! good job. Will definitly be reading another lindsey duga book shortley!

[Ella · Rating 4 out of 5]

good if you like ghost stories and want to be scared.

[Shane Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was creepy and left me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Another great ghost story from Duga.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gave me perfect Halloween vibes to start the season!

[Viola]

The thrill was amazing and a twist ending I liked it!

[Danna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO much better than the cover art would lead you to believe.

[Santasha Hadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book as mom recommended it for readers no matter what age you are just read.

[Melissa Burchby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it because it had some mysteries in it and I liked the mysteries in each part of the book. 😊

[Ella J · Rating 5 out of 5]

COULDN’T STOP READING!

[Tammy Conatser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always appreciated a good ghost story and this one was fun. It was nothing too spectacular but a nice warm cozy paranormal mystery and it wrapped nicely and sweetly.

[Isabella A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was one of my favorites I’ve ever read. I loved how suspenseful it was and how I didn’t know what was coming next! I am so excited to read more of her books!!

[Richard J. Barbalace · Rating 3 out of 5]

My ten-yr-old enjoyed this, although she found it "stressful" and "a little predictable". Not as good as the previous book, the Haunting, but still a good read for kids interested in ghost stories.

[Shaykala Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. It's a book where you need to know what happens next. It's also a book you can stop reading

[Oliver Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun little story for spooky middle grade readers, kind of sad but very heartwarming

[Nicole Aka Grave doll · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed it.

[Charlynne Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book

[Courtney Speed · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good chapter book. If you like ghost stories then this is a good one. Trying living in a new house with a spirit of a little girl who is trying to take over your life

[Alayna Carver · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good for a kid horror book it was interesting and had the mystery factor.