Cover art by Joshua Buchanan; colors by Digikore Studios; lettered by Rob M. Worley; proof read by Monica Echeverri Casarez; logo design by Patrick Cole; additional artwork as credited.

"This is a teeth-chattering, eyes bulging, shuddering-and-shaking, chills-at-the-back-of-your-neck ghost story. I loved it!"—R.L. Stine, author of the Goosebumps series For fans of Small Spaces and the Goosebumps series by R.L Stine comes a chilling ghost story based on real Chicago history 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. Pick up Scritch Scratch if you are looking for: A book for middle school students, 5th grade to 9th grade A story with a strong female protagonist that explores bravery, friendship, and family Mystery books for kids 9-12 Chilling ghost stories and ghost books for kids (perfect for Halloween!) Historical mysteries and Chicago history books for kids

“Fascinating. Ellison has the art of page-turning down flat, and readers will be swept up by both the terror—and the romance.” —Booklist, Starred Review “This book casts a spell over its readers.”—SLJ, Starred Review “An engaging mystery starring a teen girl with obsessive-compulsive disorder. A pleasing mix of realism, tension, intrigue and romance.” —Kirkus Reviews “ . . . a strong, twisty thriller of a debut . . . [with] a complex and memorable heroine.”—Publishers Weekly “Lo’s relationship with the mysterious street boy who calls himself Flynt, layered on top of her almost supernatural loneliness and helpless compulsions, gives the novel an otherworldly quality.”—VOYA “A debut worth picking up. Stark and realistic.”—RTBooks Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home. But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind. As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

In 1998, Pastor Tim Davis created the CleanLaugh e-mail list as a way of quickly sharing clean humor with his family and friends. Soon after, people from around the world began to find the list and sign up for their daily joke. Over time Pastor Tim's CleanLaugh list has become a trusted source of humor that will lift one's spirit without causing one's face to blush. As such, it has often been printed and taken or snail mailed to nursing homes, prisons, and service men and women stationed around the world. Pastor Tim's CleanLaugh Collection is another convenient way to send clean humor to friends and family who are not online. Of course you don't have to give away every copy. Take one with you on your travels so you can easily find that "pick me up laugh" we all need from time to time.