I had owned the whole series at one point (3 books) and I remember giving them to the swap shop knowing I would never read them again (I do hate clutter) but here I am reading the first one again and I had to buy it. aargh!

Susan who has "house sense", Julio, Deidre & Edmund all of which are in 7th grade need a place, away from others. They go to the local haunted house knowing that people avoid it. It is inhabited by a ghost Nathan who does make sure people stay away but the group wins him over, mostly Susan with her special abilities. The home becomes a refuge for Susan whose home-life is not ideal. Julio practices his music there. Edmund claims the attic and practices witchcraft. Trudie who is a school "bully" joins the group after spying on them and discovering they are regularly visiting the house.


Susan has had enough of her father and plans to join Nathan permanently in the house but her friends work up a spell which Susan sends to her mother to heal her. Father is punishing the mother whenever Susan doesn't comply to his very restrictive ways. (no molestation)

No real closure except knowing that Susan is no longer alone in her suffering and that perhaps things can get better with some heavy thinking and support of her friends.

It took me forever to get through this tiny book so I'm going to trust my younger self and not bother re-reading the other two in the series. I really love Edmund in Sourheart and Matt in Home for Christmas. Those stories gave me a mad need to know more about them. I recently read and liked Trees Perpetual of Sleep and Airborn which are also in this world. There are a couple more short stories to read in this world so I will get to them instead of re-reading the rest of the series.

I liked the ending with regards to how it showed the strong power of friendship.

Susan, Julio, Deidre, Edmund 7th grade ( )

The forward mentions that she wrote the first draft of this story many years ago. It does feel more like a first novel. I can't remember which other book of hers has the same house with a spirit, but it felt very familiar. A young jr high age girl has a life tightly controlled by an abusive father - finding new friends, supernatural and non-supernatural starts her on a journey of finding her way out. ( )

I love how she doesn't give a pat ending to all of her books. The main character is left with an awful dilemma, in an unpleasant and unhappy situation, and yet there's enough hope and the reader can imagine things may have turned out well. Or, the reader can imagine that everything went downhill. Either way, the path traveled to get to the end of the book is intriguing and fantastical. ( )

Nina Kiriki Hoffman's A Stir Bones is a fabulous tale of family abuse and the supernatural. The story is told basically from Susan's POV and tells the story about every decision that she makes will come with consequences. She's got to dress, talk, and act a certain way, in order not to upset Father. When she goes to the library, she overhears a conversation about a haunted house and then summons the will to ask them if she can join them.

But she finds more than just a few friends in this house, she finds that she can change things if she really wanted to. I don't want to tell you much more about the book as I'm afraid I'll give it all away. But there are lessons to be learned from this story and if you like something that is going to touch your soul - then read this book. It's a very, very good story about a sad little girl, who just needs some guidance and some courage! ( )

Susan's life is empty and without feeling until she overhears a conversation that leads her to a haunted house. She quickly develops a relationship with the house and resident ghost, but struggles to do the same with her new friends. Interesting plot that slowly develops throughout the book. An abusive home life is quickly revealed, but the depth of her relationship with her parents is not explored until later in the book. A fantastic stand-alone prequel to Hoffman's other books. ( )