Hughie Wolfe is disappointed when budget restrictions result in his high school's fall theater production being cut. A part-time job at a local haunted house attraction seems like just the thing to fill the theatrical hole in his heart, but things get complicated quickly. Hughie, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, is increasingly uncomfortable that the theme of the haunted house is tied to a local ghost story that involves the disappearance of an Indigenous girl and includes cartoonish portrayals of Native people. As he is figuring out how to speak up, a friend of his reports a creepy, possibly paranormal experience that sets off a whisper network among young women who have experienced the same thing. Hughie and his friends must sort through fact, local knowledge, and urban legend to find the truth about this "creeper" and its tie to the disappearance years ago. Smith's companion novel to Hearts Unbroken (2018) is well-paced and suspenseful, raising thoughtful questions about the intersections of urban legend, cultural trauma, and genre tropes.

The crossroads of a Kansas town is the site of a story with many hidden layers. High school sophomore and theater kid Hughie Wolfe, younger brother of Hearts Unbroken (2018) protagonist Louise, is a member of the Muscogee Nation. He's looking forward to a great year, but his hopes are dashed when the school cancels the fall play. Hughie turns instead to helping with a Halloween haunted house that's fundraising for a good cause. But the rural crossroads where it's set up is the setting for a local legend about an "Indian maiden" scorned in love who seeks revenge on young women. Worse, the organizer wants to cast Hughie in the role of Indian ghost and plans to create a haunted Indian burial ground for her attraction. Meanwhile, in a twisted echo of the legend, a creepy man is targeting brown girls in the area. The book superbly highlights and discusses key topics facing contemporary Indigenous youths, including redface and the plights of missing and murdered Indigenous women and two-spirit people. Hughie's encounters with different types of racism are recognizably authentic, handled with delicacy and distinct realism. The diverse cast showcases a range of Indigenous lives. The book begins slowly by establishing the characters' backgrounds and motivations, including mysterious Celeste, whose intermittent first-person chapters reference The Bad Man and whose identity is gradually revealed. The pace picks up in the middle and rides out to the end. An atmospheric novel compellingly interweaving chills and contemporary themes. (Fiction. 12-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

High school sophomore Hughie Wolfe, a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, feels adrift after his school's fall theater production, in which he expected to get the lead role, is canceled due to budget cuts. In lieu of pursuing the stage, he volunteers as an actor at a haunted house fundraiser located at a rural crossroads that is rumored to be beset by the ghost of an "Indian maiden." What Hughie thought would be a lighthearted Halloween attraction instead feels like a cruel joke when he's cast as an "Indian ghost" and learns that the organizer intends to use insensitive characterizations of Indigenous persons to populate a "haunted Indian burial ground" setting ("They're dancing around, making goofy war whoops, chasing people," Hughie reports). Alternating chapters, meanwhile, feature eerie first-person narration by Celeste, the Native woman haunting the crossroads. When a video purportedly depicting Celeste's attempts to protect brown girls from a mysterious "bad man" goes viral, Hughie's Kansas town plunges into chaos. Using short, propulsive chapters, Smith (Hearts Unbroken), a member of the Muscogee Nation, intertwines thoughtful conversation surrounding the racism faced by Indigenous teenagers with a convincing ghost story to craft a spine-tingling, edge-of-the-seat chiller. An author's note and glossary conclude. Ages 12--up. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Apr.)

Theater kid Hughie Wolfe, one of the few Indigenous students at his high school, is disappointed when the fall play is cancelled. He sets his sights on a new project: a haunted house fundraiser at the rural crossroads, a location plagued by rumors of an Indigenous ghost. Hughie is excited to volunteer until he learns that the organizer wants to feature Indigenous stereotypes, including an "Indian Maiden" and an "Indian burial ground" as the main attractions. To make matters worse, there are reports of a creepy figure terrorizing brown girls at the crossroads, scaring them as they walk to their vehicles at night. As Hughie considers how to speak up about bigotry against Indigenous people, he and his friends investigate the stalker and discover that some rumors are based in truth. The story (set in the same universe as the realistic Rain Is Not My Indian Name and Hearts Unbroken, rev. 11/18) adeptly centers important conversations about the racism Indigenous youth face; the plight of missing Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people; and the lack of police, media, and governmental support in searching for them. This eerie cross-genre novel will entice readers in search of spooky and truthful storytelling. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.