Zoe Rising (The Sequel to Stonewords)

People who were serious readers as children may remember going through a series of stages. They may have been obsessed with mystery books. Then fantasy novels involving dragons. Then perhaps historical fiction. When I was a kid, I sought out every book I could find involving ghosts. I loved and adored ghost fiction, be it good or bad. In this way I discovered Willo Davis Roberts and such books as "The Dollhouse Murders". I loved "Wait Till Helen Comes" and even the not-so ghostly but still good, "House of Dies Drear". The problem is that ghost fiction for kids usually is poorly written. It doesn't take a genius to put pen to paper and talk about mysterious figures and see-through children. The books I've just mentioned were the exceptions to this rule. I read plenty of rather forgettable ghost tales in my time as well but I must say that I'm disappointed that Pam Conrad wasn't around when I was a young `un. Now I must admit, I never read the book that precedes "Zoe Rising". "Zoe", as it happens, is the sequel to Ms. Conrad's, "Stonewords". Without having read the first book, though, I can attest that this is one mysterious novel that without being any too extraordinary, makes for a darn good read. Zoe's never been to summer camp. She's fourteen years old and has just never been. Her best friend Jedidiah on the other hand has gone every single year. This year they're going together and it's great. While there though, Zoe makes a startling discovery. She always knew she had the ability to leave her body and travel outside of herself. Now, however, she's been pulled irresistibly to the past to when her now distant mother was a little girl. This would be perfectly fine if it were not for a creepy guy named Gorman who seems intent on Zoe's little mother. Now Zoe needs to defeat the Gorman of the past and keep her hold on the present without losing herself in the process. To keep the plot running the author has to make big dramatic sequences out of small insignificant happenings. When Zoe and Jedidiah are caught alone in the girl's cabin the response is swift and bizarre. The campers have literally one night left and Zoe is to be accompanied at all times, until she leaves, by another female camper. Huh? What exactly are the people in charge afraid of? Serious fourteen-year-old necking? There's also the confusion that comes when someone from the present changes the past. In this case nothing in the present occurs when Zoe rights an old wrong except that her mother's a little more talkative. So much for the Ray Bradbury theory of harming a single butterfly. Unlike, "Stonewords" there aren't any ghosts in this story. Unless you count Zoe's own travels, of course. Instead there's a fair amount of lovely writing in this book that you might not expect otherwise. It begins with sentences like, "The most memorable mornings are crafted of the same stuff - trees carved like Victorian silhouettes against pale glowing skies".