Draugr

Summer vacation with a ghost-story telling Grandpa is always filled with thrills and chills. But this year in Gimli, Manitoba, twins Michael and Angela and their cousin, Sarah, find the summer nights and sights prove more frightening than ever. Not long after Grandpa tells a spooky myth about an Icelandic ghost called a Draugr, the trio encounters something ghastly in the woods. Can ghosts really come back from the dead to cure their unrest? Sarah, Michael and Angela don't want to wait around to find out. And, just as the pieces to the mystery start to fit, Grandpa tries to send them back home to the United States. Before they leave Gimli, however, a dog turns dead and Grandpa suddenly disappears. Determined to get to the bottom of the strange happenings, Angie leads the others on a wild goose chase--that may just turn into a ghost chase. "You do have the Grettir's blood." I didn't know exactly what she was talk about, but I nodded as if I understood. Althea looked at me up and down..."Perhaps I've underestimated you. All of you. Maybe it would have been better if I told you the truth from the beginning." She paused for another second. "Alright," she said. "I'll tell you everything I know, and you can deal with the nightmares and the possibilities--it's a deal. But first each of you must give me your version of what happened. And don't leave out the smallest detail." Again we spoke about seeing the little boy in the forest and about how he had disappeared... Draugr is a wonderful book for young teens of either sex---a quick, but engaging read, with compelling chapter openings and cliffhanging endings. Arthur Slade has woven just enough fright into the story to keep the reader sitting on the edge of their chair, yet anxiously turning the pages. With Slade's newest book, The Loki Wolf, soon to be released by Orca, readers won't have long to wait for their next "shivers." Lynne Remick, Reviewer

As an elementary teacher I found this book to be a great motivator for my Grade Six students. I found the content to be very enticing for this age level without the "gore" that is present in other books of this genre. Slade does an excellent job of filling all chapters with suspense and encouraging the reader to forge on into the story. An excellent classroom resource to excite readers and a wonderful read.