When Judy Moody, who is way into Nancy Drew stories, bumps into a girl outside the library and finds out that she, too, is reading Nancy Drew, Judy learns that while the two don’t live in the same town, they do share a passion for solving mysteries. That girl, Mighty Fantaskey, invites Judy over to her house. When Judy arrives, she finds that Mighty lives in a spooky, old house straight out of a creepy mystery story, and she has to rub her mood ring, which always makes her feel better. When the two girls decide to explore the very creaky attic, and things that shouldn’t move, move, things go from possibly spooky to run-away-now scary! Back at home, Judy is sorry for running away and then feels worse when she realizes that she has lost her mood ring and must return to Mighty’s possibly-haunted house. Turns out, the “haunting” was a perfectly unscary little brother and, to the girls’ delight, there really is a mystery hidden in the floorboards of the attic: a secret message from a former resident who hid an original edition of book 1 of the Nancy Drew series. Judy and Mighty solve a mystery and have a cool, old book as a souvenir.

This series is perfect for emerging readers who are ready for chapter books but don’t want to feel overwhelmed. All of the books in the series present a problem that Judy must rely on friends and her own logical thinking to solve. They often offer small challenges or bits of humor and this book follows that formula. This title does stand alone though if your young readers enjoy it, all of the titles are worthwhile additions to a collection.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth