Peeled

Something's rotten in the heart of apple country!

Hildy Biddle dreams of being a journalist. A reporter for her high school newspaper, The Core, she's just waiting for a chance to prove herself. Not content to just cover school issues, Hildy's drawn to the town's big story—the haunted old Ludlow house. On the surface, Banesville, USA, seems like such a happy place, but lately, eerie happenings and ghostly sightings are making Hildy take a deeper look.

Her efforts to find out who is really haunting Banesville isn't making her popular, and she starts wondering if she's cut out to be a journalist after all. But she refuses to give up, because, hopefully, the truth will set a few ghosts free.
from bn.com

Beth says 4 Stars...

I honestly don't know why I grabbed this book (although it might have to do with the clearance shelf at Books-A-Million) but I'm glad I did. It was just a great deal of fun and rather unexpected. When I read the summary I thought that it would be a cute little book about a small town girl with some quirky characters. I can always appreciate small town quirk since where I live is home to about 4000 residents; I can relate. The plot ended up being something completely different and unexpected. The main focus was on the journalism being done by Hildy, which was how both she and the readers got information. There was a lovely element of mystery, which enhanced the story without detracting from the characters. The setting was cute and quaint, but anyone afraid of apples needs to beware. Produce and farming permeated the novel and it completely made sense, although some of the names just got a bit silly.

The main fun to be had was with the characters. Hildy was filled with spunk and journalistic drive that oozed out of the page. As someone who's never been particularly interested in the inner workings of a newspaper, it could have been beyond boring, but it wasn't. That was due to the hilarious supporting cast that made up the rest of the staff at The Core (again a reference to apples). The town was filled with wild personalities, from a motherly Polish woman, a over-dramatic psychic, to a suspicious editor of the local newspaper. Hildy's family also played a role in the book, and they helped to balance out some of the stranger personalities.

Overall this is just a really cute read. It does try to make you think about the truth and freedom of the press, but not very successfully. If you want some light intrigue and more than a dash of quirk pick Peeled from a store near you (I couldn't resist a little fruit-themed humor).
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