Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise (illustrator)

When Ignatius B. Grumply rents the Victorian mansion at 43 Old Cemetery Road hoping to find some peace and quiet so he can finally rid himself of his dreaded writer’s block - little did he know what a task it would become.

For starters, 43 Old Cemetery Road is already occupied - Seymour Hope is an 11 year old boy whose parents (the owners of the house) have left behind while touring Europe. Seymour and his cat Shadow are residing in the house and have no intentions of letting anyone else move into the place - much less the grouchy, I.B. Grumply. Also living in the house is an irritable ghost named Olive C. Spence - who’s rather put out by Mr. Grumply’s moving in. It's hard to say who is more outraged... but a grumpy old ghost just might inspire this grumpy old man- and the abandoned kid?

The story is told in a series of letters, e-mails, newspaper clippings and a few drawings (done by one of the main characters). I fell in love with this short little story and devoured in about an hour tops. The characters are quick and witty. The illustrations were just amazing - I loved all the little details (especially when Olive was in the picture and you’d see her glasses floating around). The word play and the characters names [i.e. Anita Sale (realtor); M. Balm (librarian); E. Gadds (attorney)] were quirky and just impressively clever.

I fell in love with the Klises’ style and their sense of humor. I found this to be a very unique and engaging read with a bit of a mystery (but nothing too scary). It is great for all ages - but is definitely geared towards a young crowd. Best part of it all, more books coming soon.