Ghost haunts teen in ‘Haint Misbehavin’ ’

Being a teenager is pretty tough — all kinds of changes going on, dates to dream about, zits to get rid of. If being 14 and getting ready to go into high school wasn’t hard enough for Heather Tildy, the sudden reappearance of her childhood “imaginary friend” Amy turns Heather’s world upside down for the summer.

See, Amy is the ghost of a little girl who died in 1920.

In her new book, “Haint Misbehavin’,” author Maureen Hardegree begins a hilarious, charming young adult series featuring a sassy teenage ghost handler who finds herself in all sorts of wacky situations due to her ghostly friends.

This summer, Heather has her hands full as she tries to become friends with her older sister Audrey, flirts with the handsome neighborhood pool lifeguard Drew, and wins the Japanese beetle-picking contest with her younger sister Claire. She just doesn’t have the time or the patience to deal with a ghost, especially a persistent, annoying one like Amy.

But the ghostly Amy is determined to get Heather’s attention in any way she can, even if it means sliding into Heather’s body unannounced and making her do crazy things — well, crazier than usual.

So, at the risk of becoming a total outcast with her family and friends, Heather sets out to discover why her “haint” (that’s Southern for ghost) is bugging her, and what she can do to send Amy to her family on the “other side.” With a little help from SuperGeek and neighborhood friend Xavier, Heather’s investigating turns up a surprising story about Amy’s family, and with some luck and a whole lot of persuasion, Heather just might be able to help her “haint” go home.

Hardegree taps into the exciting, exasperating and exhilarating life of a teenage girl with “Haint Misbehavin’.” Her character Heather is funny, smart and charming, and the situations she finds herself in are true to the life of an average American teen.

Intended for a middle school/young adult market, this series can be enjoyed by parents, too. Hardegree plans several more stories in her “Ghost Handler” series, and her readers are sure to anxiously look forward to them.