Scritch Scratch
- Downloads：1593
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-02 08:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lindsay Currie
- ISBN：1728232422
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A ghost story about a malevolent spirit， an unlucky girl， and a haunting mystery that will tie the two together。
Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal。 She’s a scientist， which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours。 She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus。 There’s something off about his presence， especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone。
Claire tries to brush it off， she must be imagining things， letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her。 But then the scratching starts。 Voices whisper to her in the dark。 The number 396 appears everywhere she turns。 And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her。
Claire is being haunted。 The boy from the bus wants something。。。and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late。
Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal。 She’s a scientist， which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours。 She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus。 There’s something off about his presence， especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone。
Claire tries to brush it off， she must be imagining things， letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her。 But then the scratching starts。 Voices whisper to her in the dark。 The number 396 appears everywhere she turns。 And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her。
Claire is being haunted。 The boy from the bus wants something。。。and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late。
Reviews
Christine
，
ghost story Great for fall spooky season。 I really enjoyed the family and friend groups included。 More than just a ghost mystery。 There is friendship drama and history enriching the plot
Deanna Siegel
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Loved all of the Chicago references！ A fun read， especially for people who know the area。
Tina Silveira
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"Look for the story history doesn't tell， because that might be the one that matters。"The audio narrator is fantastic， perfect to listen on Halloween night。I never heard of the event in this book， I did some research to learn more and see photos。I love when a book is entertaining and educational。 "Look for the story history doesn't tell， because that might be the one that matters。"The audio narrator is fantastic， perfect to listen on Halloween night。I never heard of the event in this book， I did some research to learn more and see photos。I love when a book is entertaining and educational。 。。。more
Sierra
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This one， for me at least， was an okay read。 I want to get the things I'm not quite fond of out of the way。 First-- I really didn't like how the conflict with Claire's friend was handled。 I wish that it would've been a but more nuanced。 Instead of， 'okay， here's why I'm acting weird！' That's what it felt like to me。 I wish the two would've discussed what Claire was feeling， that she was feeling left out， etc， and her friend would've comforted her about that。 It just to me felt like the whole， 'o This one， for me at least， was an okay read。 I want to get the things I'm not quite fond of out of the way。 First-- I really didn't like how the conflict with Claire's friend was handled。 I wish that it would've been a but more nuanced。 Instead of， 'okay， here's why I'm acting weird！' That's what it felt like to me。 I wish the two would've discussed what Claire was feeling， that she was feeling left out， etc， and her friend would've comforted her about that。 It just to me felt like the whole， 'oh we have a conflict， let's talk and hug it out， but not really TALK-TALK， but just say sorry！' trope to me。Second-- Claire says that she thought Emily was shallow， but before that。。 I didn't see that within the writing， the implication that Emily was shallow， until Claire said it。 I think if Claire had had more judgmental thoughts about Emily， then I would've understood it。 Maybe I'm dumb， but for the most part I thought Claire was just feeling left out because her friend was getting new interests， ones that she wasn't interested in， and she was scared that she was going to lose her friend due to not only the new friend， but also the fact that she wasn't interested in the girly activities they were getting into。 I also got the vibe that Claire thought Emily was popular and prone to gossip， but again， I didn't get the vibe that Claire thought Emily was shallow。 I wish that the author would've implied that Emily was more judgmental towards Claire。 But again， that's just me though。Third-- Sometimes。。 I don't know why， but I do feel like the writing comes in。。 as a bit bland。 I really like the horror bits， because those are REALLY good， but then they die down， and become really boring。 That's just my opinion though。 Fourth-- I think the first part of the book was really good， but then。。 the other half， after the whole makeup thing， was。。 meh。 It was a bit boring。 Okay， enough of the things I don't like。 Onto the things I do。 I felt like the way the dad part was handled， where Claire was afraid of telling her dad about her problems， was well done。 It was cliché， but relatable。 I also liked how， when Claire finally told her dad， his reaction was realistic， but that was because he was an ADULT。 Whereas with Claire telling her BFF what was wrong， didn't feel realistic， because they're both children。 Anyway， I also like how the brother and sister relationship was done， even though I wish that there had been a bit more banter and play fighting between the two siblings。 I also did like the horror， in the beginning， but then it got a little bit anticlimactic， at least to me。 I'm also not the biggest fan of the ending， it felt。。 too cheesy and unearned？ Maybe I'm judging this book too hard， but the ending didn't feel earned， and I feel like that was mostly because the friendship between Emily and Claire didn't feel earned。 It felt rushed， at least to me。 I mean， Emily gave Claire a bracelet that she had for YEARS， and that was really important to her， to a girl she just started talking to？？Yeah， really rushed。 And the whole thing with Claire's crush。。 it was okay。 I just， again， this book was an okay read for me。 I would've liked it better if more nuance had been put into it， along with more thought given to the friendships and relationships， but that's just me though。 All in all， I liked it， but I also feel like it was missing that OOMPH factor。 。。。more
Michelle Mclane
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This book has all of the spooky vibes！ I thoroughly enjoyed this。 Not only was it a perfect spooky book， but there were so many wonderful lessons taught。 Lessons about friendship，family，trust，and understanding。 I even learned some things about Chicago history that I had no idea about！ 5stars， 100% recommend！！
Faiza
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I really liked the story！ I loved the friendships formed and the lesson on assumptions that the author brings up。 Great spooky season read。
Milli
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A fun spooky book with some Chicago history。 I find myself gravitating towards young adult horror these days， since they offer some creepy images without the over the top violence and gore so common in adult horror。 This book did not disappoint in that regard。 And as someone who grew up in the Chicago area and has been on many local ghost tours， I found this super fun！ The "life lesson" part of the book between Claire and her friends took me out of the story a bit， but I appreciate the inclusion A fun spooky book with some Chicago history。 I find myself gravitating towards young adult horror these days， since they offer some creepy images without the over the top violence and gore so common in adult horror。 This book did not disappoint in that regard。 And as someone who grew up in the Chicago area and has been on many local ghost tours， I found this super fun！ The "life lesson" part of the book between Claire and her friends took me out of the story a bit， but I appreciate the inclusion for young readers， and I recognize I'm just an old curmudgeon。 Overall really liked this one！ 。。。more
Rachel Nicole
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4。5 stars* I really enjoyed this！ There were spooky moments， but it also had a lot of depth to it which I was pleasantly surprised by。
Luíza
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2，5 ⭐
Emily Carlyn
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A middle grade spoooooky read based on Chicago， IL history from the early 1900s。
Marcella Wilson
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lots of fun！ Great to read about Chicago neighborhoods and ghostly information about some of the city's tragedies。 Strong middle school girl protagonist and her helpful brother。 Family， friendship， and ghosts-what more could you ask for？！ lots of fun！ Great to read about Chicago neighborhoods and ghostly information about some of the city's tragedies。 Strong middle school girl protagonist and her helpful brother。 Family， friendship， and ghosts-what more could you ask for？！ 。。。more
arin
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This book was wild。 I never thought it would scare me or anything， but as you can see， it did。 A lot。 Scritch Scratch tells the story of a girl named Claire whose dad is a writer who owns a ghost bus tour。 One day， Claire is forced to help her dad on one of his tours。 She thinks she's made it through when she sees a boy with a pale face and dark eyes。 The boy mouths something to her， but she can't quite catch it。 When she tries to find out who the boy really is， he's… gone。 But that's not all， b This book was wild。 I never thought it would scare me or anything， but as you can see， it did。 A lot。 Scritch Scratch tells the story of a girl named Claire whose dad is a writer who owns a ghost bus tour。 One day， Claire is forced to help her dad on one of his tours。 She thinks she's made it through when she sees a boy with a pale face and dark eyes。 The boy mouths something to her， but she can't quite catch it。 When she tries to find out who the boy really is， he's… gone。 But that's not all， because Claire ends up actually being haunted by him。Now， I'm quite a chicken when it comes to ghosts and other paranormal things， but usually I can quite handle things。 The problem is that my imagination is wild when it comes to scary things。 So， when the haunting part came， I imagined them vividly in my mind that I scared myself。 Weird， huh？ But anyway， let's talk about this book。 First thing first， I loved the characters。 I especially loved Claire so much。 I can definitely relate to her a lot。 I also loved her friends and her brother。 I loved their dynamics and their bonds。 Man， she even made me jealous because I don't have a brother :/ How about the story itself？ Now， I definitely enjoyed the story more than I thought I would。 I found myself getting scared in a few parts。 The beginning was amazingly done。 It kept me guessing too， even though I knew I wouldn't be able to solve the mystery。 I think the build up was great， the haunting part was actually haunting， and the mystery solving kept me intriguing。 I just think that the climax was happening too fast。 It didn't even look like a climax if I remember correctly。 More like an almost climax moment。 But don't get me wrong， I still enjoyed that part too。 I just expected it to be a little more intense than that。 The ending was great。 I really loved the message the author was trying to tell， and it's a great thing that this book is aimed at younger audiences。 Nowadays， history is barely even talked about。 In my opinion， even though those events aren't portraying the most important events in history， they're still important because every historical event changed a country to what it is now。 It's just sad that it's rarely talked about when it's actually part of our lives。 That's all。 In addition， this book is perfect for Halloween。 So， if you want to read something spooky， try this one。 It's not that long and will definitely be a fast read。 。。。more
Maureen
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3。5
Michele Gerace
，
4 1/2
Katy
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3。5 starsThis started out slow and me thinking， "Okay。。。when is anything going to happen？" Then when things finally happened it was really fast moving。 I enjoyed the backstory of an often forgot Chicago disaster being the premise of this book。 I'm not keen on turning a real life person into a ghost for a fictional book， but at least I felt it was done better in this book than in a previous book where I encountered that。 3。5 starsThis started out slow and me thinking， "Okay。。。when is anything going to happen？" Then when things finally happened it was really fast moving。 I enjoyed the backstory of an often forgot Chicago disaster being the premise of this book。 I'm not keen on turning a real life person into a ghost for a fictional book， but at least I felt it was done better in this book than in a previous book where I encountered that。 。。。more
Shannon
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Three terms to describe this book: friendship-focused， familiar， and gently spooky。
Mari Smith
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Skip it if you’re older than 12
Lynn Stuart
，
Eerie。。。captivating for young and old readers。 I loved the historical background。
Kim
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Audiobook - 3。5
Jessica
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4。5 stars。 This was a good ghost story that wasn’t too scary for my tween kids。 They also learned som Chicago history。 I’d also recommend The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street for another good middle grade Chicago-based ghost story。
Elizabeth
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My nostalgia spooky reading days came back to me while reading this one！ I always remembering looking for the “scary” books at my middle school library， and sneaking them home， hoping the covers wouldn’t make my parents investigate them too much。 This is actually quite scary for a middle grade story。 The writing just completely takes over a chill in you， where you will find yourself wanting to wrap up in a blanket and make sure all of your shower curtains stay wide open。 The way the story played My nostalgia spooky reading days came back to me while reading this one！ I always remembering looking for the “scary” books at my middle school library， and sneaking them home， hoping the covers wouldn’t make my parents investigate them too much。 This is actually quite scary for a middle grade story。 The writing just completely takes over a chill in you， where you will find yourself wanting to wrap up in a blanket and make sure all of your shower curtains stay wide open。 The way the story played out made perfect sense and wrapped up in such a nice way。 Because this takes place in Chicago， I knew nothing about the hauntings so I felt like I was actually experiencing a tour bus ride just like the one in this story。 I think this is a perfect book to read in October， and if you teach middle schoolers you should absolutely read this one out loud to them！！ 。。。more
Steph
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Really enjoyed this one。 As most books I felt the 2nd half was much stronger than the 1st half。 It’s just got so many heartwarming moments and just the perfect amount of creep to just give you just the hint of creepy vibes as an adult reader but will hook your child reader
Jenee
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This was great！ It was a perfect combination of creepy and historical。 And bravo to the author for keeping me guessing till the end！ Overall， the story -including positive relationships， both with family & friends- was appreciated and nicely done。 I highly recommend this to young teens。
Maureen
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I just adored this book！ It has such a fun premise with the main character’s dad running a ghost tour bus， and Claire herself not being a fan or a believer。 But then after one night of having to help her dad during the tours， something comes home with her！！ Eep！！ I loved the ghostly， creepy aspects of this story， but even more so， I loved the lessons in friendship， forgiveness and acceptance。
Denise
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This was so good！ At first I was a little skeptical because the main character seemed a little whiny about her dad loving ghosts， her best friend having a new friend and also being into new things like make up and what not。 However， as I kept going I really started to love this！ I reminded myself that the main character was a 7th grader and sometimes being in middle school is tough， especially when it comes to friends changing and being embarrassed by any little thing your parents do。 The ghost This was so good！ At first I was a little skeptical because the main character seemed a little whiny about her dad loving ghosts， her best friend having a new friend and also being into new things like make up and what not。 However， as I kept going I really started to love this！ I reminded myself that the main character was a 7th grader and sometimes being in middle school is tough， especially when it comes to friends changing and being embarrassed by any little thing your parents do。 The ghost aspect of the story was amazing！ There were so many moments that were creepy， lots of Chicago lore that has me interested in doing my own ghostly research now， and many touching moments！ 。。。more
Rebecca
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Wow this book was so great， and extra special to read during October。 I am on a ghost story binge and this just might be the best one I've read so far。 The characters， the stories， the lessons about friends and family and growing up were so wonderful。 The emotions that Claire felt about not being understood by her family and her worries about best friend moving on were so palpable that I felt her heartache with her。 I loved all the characters， but especially her friends and how they supported he Wow this book was so great， and extra special to read during October。 I am on a ghost story binge and this just might be the best one I've read so far。 The characters， the stories， the lessons about friends and family and growing up were so wonderful。 The emotions that Claire felt about not being understood by her family and her worries about best friend moving on were so palpable that I felt her heartache with her。 I loved all the characters， but especially her friends and how they supported her even when she thought no one would believe what she was seeing。 The idea of a ghost tour bus was so fun （even if Claire disagrees） and I learned so much interesting and sad history in such a short time and in an intriguing way。 Don't be fooled - there are a lot of creepy moments and some very sad stories that will pull at all your emotions。 The ending was fantastic and overall I had such an enjoyable time reading this book！ 。。。more
Katt
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This was a fun read， that gives all the pre-halloween vibes。 If you're looking for a lightly spooky read， this is the one for you。Claire is not interested in ghost， graveyards， or haunted places， however， her Dad runs his own ghost tour business and is the author of a well know mystery novel "Spirits of Chicago。" One day Claire finds herself on the ghost tour bus she tries to avoid at all cost。 While on the bus， she sees this little boy that nobody else seems to notice。 Shortly after her time on This was a fun read， that gives all the pre-halloween vibes。 If you're looking for a lightly spooky read， this is the one for you。Claire is not interested in ghost， graveyards， or haunted places， however， her Dad runs his own ghost tour business and is the author of a well know mystery novel "Spirits of Chicago。" One day Claire finds herself on the ghost tour bus she tries to avoid at all cost。 While on the bus， she sees this little boy that nobody else seems to notice。 Shortly after her time on the tour， some eerie things begin to happen to Claire。 Normally， Claire would go straight to her best friend Casley， but she is pre-occupied making friends with Emily， the new girl。 Since her best friend seems to be moving on， Claire has no choice but to turn to her brother for help finding the identity of the little boy on the bus， and determining if he is the one haunting her， or if it's all just a coincidence。 This novel takes you on its own ghost tour of sorts， exploring a little bit of Chicago's history along the way。 In this novel you can find themes including friendship， family， bravery， conflict-resolution， ghost， and exploration。 If you are a fan of Goosebumps， you are sure to love this novel by Lindsay Currie。 。。。more
Rachel Lang
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This was so fun and a lot spookier than I had expected。 The main character Claire ends up being haunted by the ghost of a little boy and you get all the traditional ghostly things: appearing and disappearing， creepy messages， writing on the walls， whispering， things broken， it's all great。 A perfect book to read for Halloween no matter what age you are。 This was so fun and a lot spookier than I had expected。 The main character Claire ends up being haunted by the ghost of a little boy and you get all the traditional ghostly things: appearing and disappearing， creepy messages， writing on the walls， whispering， things broken， it's all great。 A perfect book to read for Halloween no matter what age you are。 。。。more
Kaylyn
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I think this book was one of the best scary ghost stories I have ever read。 I don't think I could ever get bored of this book。 I would recommend this book to kids （both girls and boys） from ages 10 to 15。 This book is incredibly well written with amazing imagery and perfect for teens to understand。 I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could read this book over and over。 I think this book was one of the best scary ghost stories I have ever read。 I don't think I could ever get bored of this book。 I would recommend this book to kids （both girls and boys） from ages 10 to 15。 This book is incredibly well written with amazing imagery and perfect for teens to understand。 I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could read this book over and over。 。。。more
Karen Broughton
，
An absolute corker of a ghost story， loved it， a very atmospheric， haunting read。 I enjoyed the true historical aspect to the story too。 As soon as I'd finished it I was googling about the 'boy no one claimed'。 Really cool to read about him in real life。 Will shortly be reading it again to my children， and eagerly awaiting the author's second book to arrive。 An absolute corker of a ghost story， loved it， a very atmospheric， haunting read。 I enjoyed the true historical aspect to the story too。 As soon as I'd finished it I was googling about the 'boy no one claimed'。 Really cool to read about him in real life。 Will shortly be reading it again to my children， and eagerly awaiting the author's second book to arrive。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Scritch Scratch
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Scritch Scratch&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Scritch Scratch&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0