Man this one did not work for me. It is cute but is for a very young audience. The art is good but the story felt so contrived and the dialogue was painful at times. I am probably in the wrong headspace so please don't pass on this because of this review, but keep your expectations set for more of an elementary fare.

This book has a fun concept - two bullied buddies break into their school to hunt rumored treasure and are face with a group of protective ghosts. Overall though, I want each fan. What works - great art, fun ghostly back stories, a good moral. What I didn't really dig - over the top crass humor (I'm no delicate flower but the fart jokes were excessive), weird times jumps that didn't add to the story, and unlikable main characters. I think boys age ten or so might find good funny but it was a miss for me.

I appreciated that this book does a good job of being spooky but not graphic. I like that the ghost designs are a bit creepy sometimes- even if they are helpful characters. I do think the writing is a bit rough in the first 10ish pages- the characters didn't come off like real middle school students. However, once the treasure hunt started, the story really picked up. I do like how the book had discussions of financial issues without it feeling really morose. The art is bright and engaging.

Wonderful collaboration from Matthew Erman and Shelby Criswell. This was fun visual story — colorful and enjoyable for a wide range of readers, and a welcome addition to classroom shelves.

Despite liking the overall message (greed bad, friendship etc. good), I found this book a little disappointing. The plot was somewhat messy and the characters seemed more like charicatures than actual people.
Overall not something I'd read again.