BREATHE: A Ghost Story, by Cliff McNish

Breathe: A Ghost Story, by Cliff McNish (Carolrhoda, 2006)(8-12): Twelve year old Jack and his mother Sarah have moved into an old farmhouse in the country. There, Jack discovers that he, and he alone, can see the ghosts that have been haunting the place for more than a century. Some are children and one - called the Ghost Mother - is more than she seems. Suddenly, Jack is in a race to unearth the truth about them all before he and Sarah are lost.

Breathe is an altogether suspenseful and truly scary novel that intriguingly probes the boundaries between love and self-indulgence. I picked it up intending to read a few pages before bed and ended up having to read the whole thing...

Ike

Well, it looks like we here in Austin are going to avoid the worst from Hurricane Ike. Some rain bands, maybe, and some gusts up to 50 mph are being predicted. (Just last night, they were thinking it could have hit with 50 mph sustained winds and heavy rains). Check out the National Hurricane Center for full information.

A bunch of events here have been canceled or postponed, including the "Day with an Editor" event planned for Saturday for the Austin SCBWI, and the UT football game.

Other than that, things are fairly calm, though supposedly we've had an influx of evacuees...Stay safe and dry, everyone!

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who wrote Cyn or me about our status. In the end, other than partly cloudy skies today, the hurricane completely missed Austin. And fortunately, it seems the storm surge in Galveston was much less than predicted, although Houston seems to have gotten more wind damage than anticipated. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Ike's path.

Oh, and if you're interested in the Galveston hurricane of 1900, check out Julie Lake's Galveston: Summer of the Storm. Cyn interviews her here.