The Hanging Hill is Grabenstein’s sequel to The Crossroads, and in some respects it is an even better read. The protagonist Zack is funnier and more well-rounded, and there were flights of imagination that had me laughing out loud. There is an exciting mystery, and of course, more ghosts for Zack to meet, and evil demons to vanquish, including one from his past, although this time he is not alone. Apparently there are other people who can see ghosts, and Zack teams up with a few of them to rid the Hanging Hill Playhouse of its ancient curse. My only quibble with the book lies with the portrayal of a few of the minor characters. I wonder if Mr. Grabenstein couldn’t have found some other way to curse the ground under the playhouse than to fall back on the old racial stereotype of an Indian chief with the ability to hand curses down through the ages. As the partner of a native American, I grow increasingly tired of seeing almost all Indians in children’s and juvenile literature portrayed as chiefs and princesses, endowed with supernatural powers. But aside from that minor complaint, and a perhaps slightly over-complicated plot line, I found The Hangin Hill a great read, and highly recommend it. This book was a amazingly good sequel to The Crossroads. It involves acting, ghosts and a old ancient civilization with weird thoughts. I liked the first book the best and I think I got more in to it then this one. It was a good idea and had a lot of description but for me there was just something missing to make it amazing. I did love how he explained the ghosts and major scene's in the book. If you are a mystery or history person I would recommend this book for you. I am so going to read the next book and hopefully giving it 5 stars.
What do You think about The Hanging Hill (2009)?
Great book. Reminds me of Jonathan Bellairs' books that I read in my younger years.
—AEF
A true ghost story. I give these to kids who don't mind being scared!
—Richardson
Second book in Chris's YA series. Creepy good fun!
—Wilfred
This looks like it will be a great book to read.
—armanelt
