The Seer of Shadows

<p> Newbery Medalist Avi weaves one of his most suspenseful and scary tales—about a ghost who has to be seen to be believed and must be kept from carrying out a horrifying revenge. </p> <p> The time is 1872. The place is New York City. Horace Carpetine has been raised to believe in science and rationality. So as apprentice to Enoch Middleditch, a society photographer, he thinks of his trade as a scientific art. But when wealthy society matron Mrs. Frederick Von Macht orders a photographic portrait, strange things begin to happen. </p> <p> Horace's first real photographs reveal a frightful likeness: it's the image of the Von Machts' dead daughter, Eleanora. </p> <p> Pegg, the Von Machts' black servant girl, then leads him to the truth about who Eleanora <i>really</i> was and how she actually died. Joined in friendship, Pegg and Horace soon realize that his photographs are evoking both Eleanora's image and her ghost. Eleanora returns, a vengeful wraith intent on punishing those who abused her. </p> <p> Rich in detail, full of the magic of early photography, here is a story about the shadows, visible and invisible, that are always lurking near. </p>