Greta lives with her family in a mansion. Her mom and dad are dragons. The three siblings include one who is part zombie, a second part vampire, and the third a ghost. How’s that for a unique set of relatives?

When a new girl and her dad move into a house across the street, Greta wonders what it would be like to have her first human friend. The problem is she has no clue how to make friends or even if this would be a good idea to meet this new girl. They do meet and begin to learn about each other. Amazingly, Agnes is not scared to be around this somewhat scary family.

The friendship begins to take root until Greta makes an innocent mistake that could be disastrous for the entire world. This friendship plan may have been a huge mistake.

The 18 chapters are a fun, easy read and include an occasional black and white illustration. Geared toward the lower end of middle grade the story would also make a great read aloud. The spookiness is kept a a low level and there are many memorable scenes. Greta Grimsdark and The Normal New Nieghbor just might be your favorite story during this upcoming Halloween season.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Haley Neil is an author and children’s librarian. She has taken a “got to catch them all” attitude towards graduate degrees and is currently pursuing her third (in Information and Library Science). She previously studied Writing for Children and Young Adults at The New School, where she earned an MFA. Before that, she obtained an MS. Ed. while working full time as a preschool teacher. (Author Website)

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