Grandfather – When Eric's parents are killed he is sent to live with his only remaining relative, his maternal grandfather MacAlistair. Shortly after his arrival it becomes very obvious that MacAlistair has no real familial feeling towards his grandson. He locks Eric up for hours on end; meals are at best very basic and even the slightest infringement of the rules results in punishment.

Eric soon begins to wonder why his grandfather has taken him in. It is obvious that it is not through any emotional imperative so there must be another reason. Deciding he must find out the truth, Eric enlists the help of his schoolmates and an old friend in Canada to find out the truth.

The Ghost – When Rick's father takes a job in Saudi Arabia Rick is sent to boarding school in England. Four weeks late in joining the rest of his class Rick immediately becomes the target of the school bullies, older pupils who force the younger boys to carry out humiliating tasks and subject them to physical and mental abuse. One night, after a particularly vicious attack Rick returns to his dormitory where he finds everyone asleep. Everyone, that is, except for a strange young boy called Jamie. Soon Rick finds out that Jamie is no ordinary student, he is a ghost.

Very quickly Jamie helps Rick to defend himself against the bullies however it is clear that this situation cannot continue. Can Rick and Jamie find a way to defeat the bullies once-and-for-all and will Rick discover the story behind his ethereal friend?

Grandfather and The Ghost are two novellas bound within the same book. Both revolve around central characters who are young schoolboys, around thirteen years of age, who experience the usual trials and tribulations of school life; bullying, loneliness and being an outsider in a new school.

The stories are extremely easy to read and proceed at a reasonably rapid pace. At no point during either story did I feel that the writing faltered. In fact, quite the opposite. I think that Hugh McCracken has an excellent sense of proportion with his writing making the storyline spread evenly across the length of each novella.

The writing style, subject matter and language used makes Grandfather and The Ghost ideal "post-Hogwarts" reading material. Not having children I wouldn't like to hazard a guess as to the age-range that would enjoy these stories but having read the Harry Potter books I believe that McCracken's stories would appeal to a similar group of young readers. Parents can also be confident that there is nothing in these stories that could offend anyone. Indeed, the subject matter (bullying) could encourage the reader to express his/her own experiences.

Good stories that are perfect for young adult readers without treating them like children!!!

Synopsis

Is the nightmare grandfather even more evil than anyone ever imagined? It's up to a secret investigation squad of schoolboy detectives to unearth the chilling truth.

A group of newcomers to a boy's boarding school discover an unearthly new friend in their haunted dormitory. The boys need help – but so does the friendly phantom searching for the answer to a dark secret from the grave.

Hugh McCracken once again displays a matchless skill for captivating his young-adult readers in two gripping novellas which explode the myth that learning is merely a classroom experience.

The vitally real heroes in these stories share one special quality in common – a burning desire to uncover the truth … at all costs.