<DIV><p>Our heroine Penny must spend her Christmas vacation alone in an ancient hotel, the Black Butterfly, at the coldest, bleakest edge of America?the coast of Maine. This "vacation" was the brainchild of Penny's mother who had to be elsewhere, hunting ghosts. Weird, huh? Lucky for Penny she doesn't believe in ghosts. Or love. Or "family." Well, not so fast. Two ghosts appear?her friend Alipak, and her enemy, the Girl Ghost. Then there's George, a real boy, the handsome son of Bubbles, who owns the Black Butterfly. Maybe he will become a boyfriend. Maybe he won't. To her surprise, Penny has her sly wishes. And she has her troubles too. Especially when the Girl Ghost wants her dead. And Alipak disappears for good. Will George save her? Is this how Penny comes of age?</p><p><B>Shirley Reva Vernick</B> is rapidly becoming the new hot item in young adult fiction. Her first novel, <I>The Blood Lie</I>, won the Simon Wiesenthal Children's Book Award, was silver medalist for the Sydney Taylor Book Award, and was an ALA 2012 Best Book for Young Adults. Her second novel, <I>Remember Dippy</I>?a feel good adventure about a fourteen-year-old boy shepherding his older autistic cousin through his summer vacation?was released in spring 2013 to great reviews. This time around, Shirley wanted to let loose with a page-turning coming-of-age romance mixed with ghosts and adventure. Shirley is the creator of the much visited storytelling website storybee.org. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.</p> </div>