I So Don't Do Makeup

Gr 4-8 In this third book about Sherry Baldwin and her mother, a deceased cop who is now a ghost detective, Sherry finds herself at the center of another mystery when her sleepover guests have a bad reaction to face cream she bought at the mall's new makeup kiosk. Was it just a bad batch or is someone sabotaging the products? It's refreshing to follow a girl who is so self-assured: Sherry "rocks" at investigating, hosts "the makeup slumber party of the century," and is followed around by an agreeable and handsome boyfriend who supports her in her investigations. In fact, the only thing that produces strife is that her mother's afterlife has been complicated by a bureaucratic ghost organization called the Academy of Spirits. They hang out in a secret part of the local Dairy Queen and are not in favor of the mother-daughter pair working closely together. The teen tries to play by their rules because the Academy can occasionally grant what is called "Real Time"a short moment when the living can interact with their departed loved ones; Sherry can talk to her mom but she can't see her. Sherry's supernatural relationships are central to the series but also hold the story back. (Her grandpa has come back as a cactus wren, the state bird of New Mexico.) Anyone who has ever been desperate for just five minutes more with a loved one might find Sherry's beyond-the-grave relationships frustrating."Kathleen Meulen Ellison, Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island, WA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.