Is death the only way off McGraw Island? Bret Carver has been through a lot lately. First, his big sister died. Then his parents began fighting non-stop. His life couldn't get any worse. At least, that's what he thought before his mother won a vacation to a private island resort. McGraw Island isn't Bret's idea of a dream destination. The hotel owners are freaks. Their niece is a snob. And the island's rightful heir, a boy who drowned in 1968, haunts the place, searching for the mother who abandoned him. When a hidden portrait reveals that Bret's mother is a dead ringer for the ghost's mother, Bret realizes all the "accidents" haven't been accidental. The ghost has mistaken Bret's mom for his own-and he'll kill to be reunited. Reading Level -- Middle Grades: Grade 4+ (Students, parents and siblings)