Just released from Peachtree Publishers:

Jacket photograph "Search for Self" copyright 1991 by Karekin Goekjian

Giving Up the Ghost, a suspense novel for readers ages 10-14,  is also of special interest to grief counselors, teachers, librarians, and parents concerned for how middle schoolers handle their fears about terminal illness and the eventual death of loved ones.

PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS

Thirteen-year-old Davia is afraid of many things: death, unfamiliar places, and the chance of her mom’s cancer returning.  This summer, two years after Hurricane Katrina, her fears loom even larger, as she and her parents assist with the in-home hospice care of her elderly great-aunt Mari.

 Everything about the sharp-tongued old woman and her romantic but spooky Louisiana plantation, Belle Forêt, frightens Davia.  And when she encounters Emilie, the tortured ghost of a spoiled young Creole girl from the nineteenth century, she is even more terrified.  To Davia’s surprise, Emilie seems eager to have Davia for a confidante, but the ghost is unpredictable and difficult. Gradually, Davia learns secrets about Emilie and her own family’s past from Aunt Mari—stories of premature endings and regrets. As the old woman’s health deteriorates, she and Davia are drawn closer. Together, they hope to release Emilie’s spirit from Belle Forêt.  

 Author Sheri Sinykin has written a sensitive, provocative tale of an adolescent who learns to accept uncertainty and comes to terms with her fears. Readers will be mesmerized by the gripping supernatural mystery that lies at the heart of the story.

Read CHAPTER 1 online now.

Check out my TEACHER'S GUIDE.

REVIEWS for GIVING UP THE GHOST.

Discounted Pre-orders from

Under Contract with Peachtree Publishers:

ZAYDE COMES TO LIVE--My first picture book!  When Rachel's Jewish grandfather comes to live with her family because he is dying and her friends tell her he won't go to Heaven or Paradise, she wants to find out where Zayde "will go."

  Illustrator and publication date not yet determined.