Gr 4–7—In September of 1918, Annie Browne moves to Mount Pleasant, MD, and begins attending an all-girls school. Well liked at her old school, Annie isn't prepared for the immediate derision her classmates, especially popular Rosie, direct at her after she's befriended by outcast Elsie Schneider. Elsie is considered a thief, a liar, and a tattletale, and Annie quickly agrees. So when Elsie is out sick for a week, Annie takes advantage of her freedom to make new friends. Soon Annie joins the other girls in bullying Elsie, both emotionally and physically. But when Elsie becomes a victim of the deadly Spanish influenza pandemic, her desire for revenge—and for Annie's friendship—doesn't die with her. While the historical aspects of the novel appear to be accurate, Hahn doesn't provide any reference materials, and her integration of period-appropriate cultural elements such as games, books, and rhymes becomes over-the-top toward the end of the narrative. In addition, with the exception of Annie's mother, every character remains convinced that Elsie deserves to be mistreated; readers may come away with the impression that the author condones bullying. On the upside, the scenes with the ghostly Elsie are fairly terrifying. VERDICT Readers seeking a scary story would be better served by Neil Gaiman's Coraline, while Gloria Whelan's Listening for Lions offers a much more compelling look at the Spanish influenza epidemic. An additional purchase.—Kaitlin Frick, New York Public Library