The Secret Dead Club

by Karen Strong

Overview

The Baby-Sitters Club meets Stranger Things in this “spooky, heart-filled” (Lora Senf, author of The Clackity) middle grade novel about friendship, fitting in, and the afterlife, following a girl who discovers she’s not the only one at her new school who can see ghosts.

Wednesday Thomas sees ghosts. But that doesn’t mean she has to talk to them.

After a terrifying experience in an Arizona state park with a wicked ghost, Wednesday and her mother Olivia sell their RV and move back south to the family home in Alton, Georgia. Wednesday’s determined not to use her gift anymore—until she meets a group of girls who also know about the spirit realm.

There’s free-spirited Miki Okada and Southern belle Danni-Lynn Porter who seem to know about the ghosts who roam the school’s hallways, popular girl Alexa Scott who tells Wednesday to stay away from Miki and Danni-Lynn and not draw attention to herself, and mysterious neighbor Violet Delgado who died last year but still haunts the house across the street. Wednesday feels these girls have some kind of shared history, but it isn’t until Miki gives her an official invitation to the Dead Club that she starts to understand there’s a lot more going on with the ghosts in Alton and the girls who can see them.

And when another malevolent ghost threatens to harm Wednesday, it will take the help of new friends both living and dead to save her and banish the evil being to the spirit realm where it belongs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665904520
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	08/20/2024
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Born and raised in the rural South, Karen Strong spent most of her childhood wandering the woods, meadows, and gardens on her grandmother’s land. She developed a deep adoration of books from her weekly visits to the public library. A graduate of the University of Georgia, she is an advocate of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). An avid lover of strong coffee, yellow flowers, and night skies, Karen currently lives in Atlanta. You can find her online at Karen-Strong.com.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One Nana’s house doesn’t look haunted.

The pale yellow Victorian has a gable roof and lots of windows. Skinny white columns support a wraparound porch with decorative trim. There’s even a circular tower topped with a weather vane that Olivia says we must call a turret out of respect.

I’ve seen plenty of photos of my great-grandmother’s house online, and I’m familiar with its history. Olivia made sure to tell me what happened to the Callahan family when I was old enough to understand.

“Wednesday!” Olivia yells from the back of our car as she unloads the trunk. “I can’t find the house key. Go let them know we’re here.”

I cross the sidewalk to the black wrought-iron fence surrounding the yard and open the gate. The yard has bare spots even though a brand-new water hose snakes through tall, dry weeds. The porch has a thick layer of dust on its wood-planked floors, and cobwebs fill the corners. I cover my nose to keep from sneezing. Before I can ring the doorbell, Jasmine opens the door and pulls me in for a hug.

“You made it!” Her excited voice vibrates against my chest.

When she lets me go, Lincoln has joined us on the porch, and he quickly squashes me into another hug. Jasmine runs down the steps to the curb, and Olivia shrieks in happiness.

“How was the drive?” Lincoln’s dark brown skin radiates in the afternoon light. He and his partner, Jasmine, are Olivia’s friends and my godparents. They don’t live in Nana’s house, but they’ve been taking care of it while we’ve been away.

“Smooth sailing,” I tell him.

Lincoln is a familiar face from Olivia’s video chats. In person, he smells like sugar like I knew he would. He inherited a bakery and still uses his family’s recipes.

“Y’all have to forgive the yard.” He ducks his head. “Jasmine has been teaching all summer, and I’m always at work. We don’t come by here as often as we should.”

“It doesn’t look that bad,” I say. “I’m sure Olivia won’t mind.”

Lincoln widens his eyes and lets out a booming laugh. “Don’t think I’ll get over you calling your mama by her first name.”

Jasmine and Olivia join us on the porch with arms full of boxes. Both of them have huge grins on their faces. Best friends reunited.

“Liv, I see you haven’t found your home training yet.” Lincoln takes the boxes out of her hands. “Wednesday is still using your government name.”

“For the record, she can call me Mama or whatever, but only if she wants.”

My mother’s right. She did give me a choice when I was a small kid, but calling her anything but Olivia feels wrong in my mouth. Maybe one day that will change.

“Nothing about this surprises me,” Jasmine says. “But seriously, Liv. Your grandma wouldn’t have liked it.”

Olivia laughs. “I don’t think she would have cared.”

“Oh, she would have cared. I don’t recall you ever calling your grandma Josephine.” Lincoln winks at me before he walks into the house with Olivia’s boxes.

I follow them inside to a small entry room. A green-tiled fireplace is on one side, and a painted wall with a coat rack is on the other. After admiring the leaded glass of the front door, I move deeper into the house. It has an interesting smell: old paper mixed with warm cooking spices. The crystal chandelier hanging above me looks like the original fixture. Unlike the yard and the porch, the interior of the house is spotless. Olivia looks around with satisfied approval.

“Not gonna lie, Liv. I’ve been so busy, and I knew the place would be a dusty wreck,” Jasmine says. “So I called a cleaning service. They pulled the sheets off everything and performed a miracle.”

We follow Jasmine and Lincoln and gather around the small kitchen island where a large fruit basket is wrapped in plastic and tied with a red ribbon.

“Y’all haven’t had any problems, right?” Olivia asks. “Tell me the truth.”

Jasmine gives Lincoln a quick look. “You mean with the Callahan ghost? You think we would be coming to check on this place if he gave us any trouble?”

“We know Black folks don’t do haunted houses, but it hasn’t been a problem for us,” Lincoln adds.

“Good.” Olivia’s face relaxes. “Nana promised nothing bad would happen here again.”

Before my great-grandmother bought this house, it had remained mostly empty—no one would ever stay within its walls for long because the Callahan ghost would drive them away. But when Nana moved in, she gave respect to Caleb Callahan. Maybe this is why some of the rooms have their original fixtures and the house is still painted a pale yellow—an unspoken agreement between the living and the dead.

“Liv, you mentioned you had something important to share with us,” Lincoln says. “What is it?”

Olivia fiddles with the ribbon on the fruit basket before she looks at me, and my stomach gurgles. I slowly nod to give her permission.

“It’s partly true we decided to come back to Alton because it’ll be good for Wednesday to enroll in school and be around people her age. We’ve been on the road for a while now, but I can do my art anywhere....” Olivia’s voice trails off.

“What happened, Liv?” Jasmine carefully asks.

Olivia reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “Wednesday was using her gift to help a lost spirit like she usually does, but it turned out to be wicked.”

Jasmine’s eyes widen, and Lincoln stares at me with concern. Olivia and I call ghosts by many common names, but only a wicked one can harm the living. They can change their appearance and mimic other ghosts. Most dangerous of all—they like to possess the living who have special talents, including those who can see the dead.

“Y’all know Nana was blessed with her gift all her life,” Olivia continues. “My mama lost hers. Same with me. That’s probably going to happen to Wednesday too, but I don’t want to take any more chances on the road.”

Jasmine and Lincoln know about our family’s ability to communicate with ghosts. Olivia has told them about the different types, so they already know how dangerous the wicked ones can be. Olivia has warned me about wicked ghosts too, but I never thought I would ever encounter one.

“Where did this happen?” Lincoln’s voice is low and quiet.

“Arizona. On a campground in the state park not far from Route 191,” Olivia answers in a tight voice.

A lump in my throat rises as I try to push the memory away, but I’m swooshed back into the dark forest. A ghost of a lost child turning into something else. The hot wave of nausea. Olivia’s frantic face. It was the only time I’d ever been truly terrified of the dead.

“Are you okay?” Lincoln asks me.

His voice pulls me back to the safety of the kitchen. My mouth feels stuffed with cotton, and I swallow. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I got us as far away as possible,” Olivia quickly adds. “We drove back to Vegas, and that’s when I started making plans to come here. Since then, we haven’t had any problems.”

“Does Desmond know about this?” Jasmine whispers.

“I’ve spoken with him, and he isn’t too happy about it. As usual, he has plenty of opinions.”

Hearing my father’s name sends a rush of worry through me. He’s never liked the idea of me and Olivia traveling alone and argued it was unsafe. We have video chats because he’s in London completing his medical residency. My father is always happy to see me, despite the dark circles under his eyes from his long shifts. His British accent is much stronger now too. We don’t talk about my gift at all. It’s the topic I dodge with him because I know it makes him uncomfortable. My father has always been a man of pure science, and ghosts are something he’s not willing to accept as real. Olivia could never convince him that our family gift was authentic.

Jasmine hugs me. “Wednesday, what an awful experience. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Since that terrible night in the Arizona state park, I haven’t seen any ghosts, but I know that will change living in Nana’s house and in Alton, one of the oldest cities in Georgia.

Olivia has assured me that wicked ghosts are rare. She believes I should honor our family tradition, but I don’t know which ghosts I can trust. I’m not sure if I can tell the difference between the ones who are harmless and the ones who want to hurt me, so I’ve decided not to help any ghosts at all.

I’m going to ignore the dead.

Editorial Reviews

"A tale of when old curses meet new friendships, The Secret Dead Club speaks on helping others process grief, accepting your power, and adapting to new environments while holding on to yourself."

Eden Royce

"A strongly characterized paranormal coming-of-age story that grapples with relatable issues."

7/15/2024 - Kirkus Reviews

THE SECRET DEAD CLUB is a fast-paced tale about friendship, family, and fighting for those you love even when the odds are stacked against you...Karen Strong is one of the most talented, versatile authors on the middle grade fiction landscape today and I’m certain even more young readers will become fans by way of this wonderful book. I loved THE SECRET DEAD CLUB —it belongs on the bookshelves of anyone who enjoys a spooky, heart-filled tale.

Lora Senf

"An enchanting story about friendship and loss that’s equal parts touching and terrifying, and a must-have for horror enthusiasts. Get ready for a scary good time!

Terry J. Benton-Walker

* "Strong uses tight plotting, fully fleshed out characters, and eerie and empathetic prose to examine themes of legacy and friendship, and deliver a smartly conceived mystery."

5/20/2024 - Publishers Weekly

As heartwarming as it is heart-stopping, THE SECRET DEAD CLUB is a smart, sensitive look at grief, friendship and the power of lineage. This is the scary-good novel I’ve been waiting for since middle school!

Leah Johnson

"An enchanting story about friendship and loss that’s equal parts touching and terrifying, and a must-have for horror enthusiasts. Get ready for a scary good time!

 Terry J. Benton-Walker

2024-06-15
After moving into her late grandmother’s haunted home, a girl attempts to make friends while hiding her inherited powers as a paranormal medium.

Despite her newfound anxiety over her gift following a near-fatal spectral encounter, Black seventh grader Wednesday Thomas sees and interacts with ghosts every day, everywhere she goes. These spirits include harmless wisp and guide ghosts; she tries to avoid the wicked ones—malevolent, violent shape-shifters who terrorize both the living and the dead. But Wednesday must face her fears when she’s invited to join the top-secret Dead Club at school. She agrees to help new buddies Miki Okada and Danni-Lynn Porter communicate with Violet Delgado, their recently deceased friend, who appeared to them on Halloween, desperate for help. Although she’s warned away from the group by estranged member Alexa Scott and unnerved by her own growing sense of dread about a sinister force watching her, Wednesday attempts to fulfill Violet’s final wish with the help of her new crew. While the story, which features a racially diverse cast, includes dark and scary moments, the heavy themes are buoyed by representations of strong familial support and protective, loving friendships that endure even through conflict. Wednesday displays bravery, compassion, and creativity in overcoming both life challenges and nefarious spirits.

A strongly characterized paranormal coming-of-age story that grapples with relatable issues.(Paranormal. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews