43 Old Cemetery Road: Over My Dead Road

43 Old Cemetery Road: Over My Dead Road Book Two (2009) by Kate Klise and illustrated by M. Sarah Klise. 116 pages.

ISBN 978-0-15-205734-3

Les and Diane Hope, professors of the paranormal, have moved in to the mansion haunted by Olive C. Spence. They want to document Olive's ghost and make lots of money. Except, Olive only appears to their son, Seymour. His parents then leave him when they go to Paris on a lecture tour. Seymour Hope ends up in the care of Olive and Ignatius B. Grumply, an author who has rented the mansion. They start a publishing company; they write and sell popular ghost books. All are living quite happily, making enough money to buy the house from the Hopes.

But, their happiness gets threatened when they are investiaged by the International Movement for the Safety & Our Kids & Youth (IMSPOOKY) run by Dick Tater. Mr. Tater determines Seymour is not safe and he sends Seymour to a (ghastly) orphanage and Mr. Grumply to a home for the deranged. Tater also plans to ban Halloween and warns that ghost stories are bad for children. He even ordered librarians to build bonfires to burn dangerous books.

Text is a varietal mix among the pages. Font styles vary among the characters. Characters communicate with each other through letters. The Ghastly Times newspaper reports local stories. Black and white illustrations creatively enhance the story. The names of the characters are especially funny; Ike N. Openitt, the locksmith, Fay Tality and Shirly U. Jest are few more.

Although some text may be sensitive to some people, such as "nut house" and "loony bin" for the asylum and having "mental illness" from defending a ghost, the book is amusing and witty. Good read for 9 to 11 year olds.

This book is part of a series: 1) Dying to Meet You, 2) Over My Dead Body, 3) Till Death Do Us Bark. Listen and watch to the Klise sisters talk about writing these books.