Now You See Me ...

Poison Apple #4

by Jane B. Mason, Sarah Hines Stephens

This book has bite . . . When Lena and her best friend Abby find an old Polaroid camera, they never suspect that a creepy ghost story is about to develop!

Best friends Lena and Abby love searching through thrift stores for lost treasures. When they find an old Polaroid camera, they can't wait to try it out. But the photos that develop are troubling -- things that weren't really there appear in the pictures.

Creepiest of all is the image of a boy, dark and angry looking. He shows up, over and over, clearer each time. Can the girls discover what the ghost boy wants -- before it's too late?

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Paranormal

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Jane B. Mason grew up in a large family in northern Minnesota. She has written books for kids of all ages under many names and on many subjects, among them ghosts, Jedi, detective duos, princesses, twins, mean girls, and slam books.

Jane has lived in the midwest and on both coasts, but appears to have settled in Oakland, California, and writes almost every day at either a friend's dining room table or a little studio in her back yard, where she has a purple loveseat, a whole lotta books, and an odd selection of trinkets she has unwittingly been collecting since she was a child.

Reviews

[chebet]

i shitted myself reading this in grade 6

[Sabine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Now You See Me" by Jane B. Mason is full of mystery that will entertain you throughout the story. Lena and her best friend love buying at thrift shops. One day Lena find what she has searched for ages...a Polaroid camera. As the friends take pictures they discover that there is someone else in the pictures. Who could it be? Lena tries everything to find the boy who appears in her pictures. Will she be able to find out the answer to this mystery? Or will it remain an unsolved mystery? Read this book to find out. I loved this book because it had cliffhangers that pulled you to continue reading the book until you find out what happens next. I think that anyone who likes suspense and mystery will enjoy reading this book because it has lots of mystery and lots of suspense. It will certainly entertain them all.

[Bella Paglia]

It was ok

[Holland 2010 · Rating 4 out of 5]

when two best friends Abby and Lena find an old polaroid camera from the thrift store and when 11 year old Lena takes her frist shot a strange boy appeers in the photos thats when it's creeping out Lena and Abby.Lena thinks that the strange boy is a GHOST CRYING FOR HELP!Lena is desprest to find out the truth about the boy but she has one day to figer it out befor school starts.
Wil Lena every figer out the truth befor something eles happends? Will Lena be hunted for ever?
The main idea of this story is a boy needs the girls help can't speak and isn't alive he sends messeges to her buy showing up in strange pictures,will the boy get the attention of Lena.
-Brenda Heredia

[Kisa, the person who likes doughnuts · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was probably one of my favorite Poison Apple books!

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read an excerpt of this book way back in Elementary school and always wanted to get around to reading the full thing. Now You See Me ... is about two friends, Lena and Abby, that spend their summer vacations thrifting. One day, they stop in a rural town called Phelps and Lena finds the thing she's been hunting for forever, an Impulse Polaroid camera. The shop keeper doesn't want to sell the camera but eventually caves. However, after Lena gets the camera weird things start happening. Lena feels compelled to take pictures of random things she normally wouldn't be interested in. After the picture develops, Lena finds that objects and people that weren't there are suddenly showing up in the photographs. Particularly, a scowling boy keeps haunting every photo. Lena and Abby set out to find what happened to the boy and why he won't leave Lena alone.

Unfortunately, while the premise of this book was really interesting I found the story to be pretty dull. I remember the other book in this series absolutely terrifying me as a kid but this one was more about finding out who the ghost boy was. With that in mind, I was really disappointed in the ending because it is never revealed why the ghost boy did what he did. Furthermore, there seemed to be a fair bit of mystery surrounding his death with the nightmares Lena had, but his death went pretty unexplained. Certain aspects just never seemed to add up or click. Overall, it was just a bland story with a let-down ending.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great!!!!!!I love this book because it has mysteries and it is scary.
So far 2 girls named Lena and Abby find this camera in a thrift store and in all the pictures there is a boy with a tower called Phelps water tower and every time they take pictures get clearer. They just found out that the boys name was Robbie and he loved taking pictures. During the evening of March 18,1998 he fell down that water tower and died then that water tower was torn down mysteriously. I think that the boy needs help from them because the tower is called Phelps tower and there is the word help in it after all. Is the boy trying to hurt them? Does he want to try and ruin their lives forever? Or does he want to haunt the girls?

[Vitalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both Lena and Abby just adore searching through thrift stores. When one day Lena comes across a polaroid camera. But, Lena keeps on finding a image of a boy that shows up in every picture that she takes with the camera. It can’t be true that Lena and Abby are being haunted, right? Mysterious and suspenseful, basically all I ever want in any book. In my opinion, this is a very exciting, and thrilling book, I loved reading it. The whole book has “edge of your seat suspense” so I just couldn’t wait to find out what will happen next as I turned each page. I absolutely recommend this book to everyone that loves suspense.

[Nadia Lotfy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is ok. It is about two girls that find what they have always wanted, a camera that spits out the pictures. They think that they are so lucky just to find out that maybe the camera could be haunting them. Every picture they take has a boy in it giving them evidence, clues, and maybe answers. I think this book is not the best-written book ever but it has a good story with many twists. I recommend this book to people who like to read books that have good stories with a little twist.

[J.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really cute, well-written book about two young girls in a small town. They love to go thrift shopping, and one finds a great old camera and buys it. She starts taking pictures, and sees a boy in the photographs. He keeps becoming clearer and closer in each photo. Can they solve the mystery before it's too late for them?

[Jocelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought that this book was okay.I didn't really like this book because I don't like books that revolve around dark or goth things.I do like reading scary stories but I just don't like these types of books.Well anyways,that doesen't mean that other people would like this book.I would recommand this book to anybody that likes mystery or suspense books.

[Cheyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it, but I dont realy like ghost books.

[Monzerrat]

I liked the book because it is about two girls who go to a town called Helps. They found a water tower with a boy who died in the 1990's.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fourth book in the new series, Poison Apple Books from Scholastic, is not as dark as the previous book, but it was a great read. These books are geared for readers who enjoyed the softer and gentler Candy Apple Books but are looking to read something with a little more edge. This book is, in part, the story of best friends, Abby and Lena, and they are thrift store junkies. Lena has been searching for a Polaroid Impulse, a treasure she had been looking for because her cousin gave her a whole case of film for it. But shortly after getting it, strange things start happening. Things start showing up in the pictures that are not really there. First a water tower and then a boy, and with each succeeding picture the boy is clearer. But Lena is being haunted and haunted through her new prized camera. She needs to find out what the boy wants or needs because her life is starting to fall apart. Can she figure out the hints in the pictures and solve the mystery?

This story was really fun to read. The story told from a photographer's perspective, with how to frame photos and compositions was an interesting twist. It is another good book in a great series.


Poison Apple Books:
The Dead End - Mimi McCoy
This Totally Bites! - Ruth Ames
Miss Fortune - Brandi Dougherty
Now You See Me - Jane B. Mason & Sarah Hines Stephens
Midnight Howl - Clare Hutton
Her Evil Twin - Mimi McCoy
Curiosity Killed the Cat - Sierra Harimann
At First Bite - Ruth Ames

Rotten Apple Books:
Mean Ghouls - Staci Deutsch
Zombie Dog - Clare Hutton

[Estefany A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It was amazing how one picture could completely change the way you saw things." -Abby (pg.59). Now you see me... takes place in the old town of Phelps. The main character is Abby and her friend Lena that love to go to thrift stores. One day they finally found an old Polaroid camera that they have been looking for forever. They decide to test it out but something strange appears in the background of their photos. It's a dark face of a boy that they have never seen before. They boy keeps appearing in every single photo they take, appearing more clear each time. There was a metaphor that describes Abby felt when she first saw the boy in her camera: "Maybe it would be icy enough to permanently freeze the one idea she couldn't bring herself to consider." This describes that she couldn't and didn't want to believe what she was seeing. I would recommend this book to someone that likes thriller and horror for a younger demographic.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun series and this one really it home - being a thrifter myself, I love that the girls enjoy the thrift hobby. In this story finding that longed for thrift item, turns into much more than they were looking for.
A camera turns out to have a story to tell and the girls have to figure out what is happening to make their lives 'normal' again.
There are fun touches of life such as dad canning and library personal to get past, and of course there is school .
Just a good read for all ages.

[Brie & Gabbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, this was a great book. This books intended audience is probably ages 8-10, but I'm in my teens and had a great time with it. It had a fun plot, good characterization and twists, and a happy ending. I recommend this book to literally every age group for no other reason than the fact that its a fun read.

[Ciera Legue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it, it was awesome but the ending was seriously confusing and i felt that the ending wasnt explained well enough to wrap up the story with the ghostie robbie. I would still recommend it but be forewarned that the ending will leave you confused

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Working to read through my back log of children's books so I can donate. Three stars is my default rating for children and YA books and indicates they are good for their audience.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

super fun books in this series

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book and would recommend it to anyone 10 and up.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get this is meant for smaller people and it was number four in the series. (Book fair find again).
However, not much to the story and interest was not held for long.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diabolical; couldn't put it down. Can't really write a review because it's so hard to put into words all that happens. Definite suspense!

[Sarah Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty lit book.

[lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a good mystery book and i love the friendship between lena and abby
a book that has you hooked from page one, you won’t be able to put it down

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good character development, interesting narrative, just the right amount of creepy for my nine-year-old. We are really enjoying this series!

[So Leil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing for me...

[Ruby McDemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this little mystery ghost story. I really liked how it all came together like a puzzle. This was a cute little story and fun to read.

[Victorisshook4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the age range for this book but I had it on my shelf so I decided why not, definitely could’ve been enjoyed if I was younger.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is such a cute story and gave me so many emotions
Best of the poison Apple Books so far