4. The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
In the first book of Grabenstein's Haunted Mysteries series, he starts it with a murder, a new house, and a toilet that won't stop spewing out mud-- all the usual things. I would recommend this book to any kid who wants to escape the world of reality and spend time with ghosts, fires, and a trip into a story that you could only imagine in your dizziest daydreams. A perfect topper to the middle of Winter Break, The Crossroads is a thriller that will keep you staying up to read it beneath the covers.
