Field of Screams, by Wendy Parris

If you are looking for a middle grade ghost story that's spooky and scary but not so horrifying as to be disturbing, Field of Screams, by Wendy Parris (August 2023 by Delacorte Press), is a great pick!

Rebecca is a would-be ghost hunter who hasn't yet managed to actually see a ghost.  When her mother decides the two of them are going to spend the summer with her deceased dad's family on a farm in Iowa, the only comfort her best friend (who she was hoping to go to camp with) can offer is that an old house in the middle of nowhere sounds like a great place for ghosts.

And indeed, this proves to be the case.  The mundane world of family time, including reminiscences about her dad that make her feel closer to him (he too believed in ghosts, for instance), is disturbed by creepy happenings.  They are small at first, and possible to for Rebecca dismiss with intense logical thought, and certainly nothing anyone else takes seriously.  Not even Nick, the cute boy who is willing to at least consider the possibility that ghosts are real, is convinced at first.  But the creepiness turns into a genuine haunting that can't be dismissed.  

Rebecca, now certain there is a real ghost, struggles to keep investigating like a good paranormal researcher while becoming increasingly frightened.  The ghost is getting stronger and more terrifying every day.  It becomes a race to find the clues to who the ghost is and what they want, before a tragedy from long ago strikes again.

The mystery is a satisfying one, leading down an interesting path of Rebecca's family history to a really great abandoned (and haunted) house (I liked the abandoned house exploring bits lots!).  The haunting is also satisfying, and the ghost makes sense--there's a reason they are still around.  The writing is very vivid; it is easy to feel Rebecca's fright and admire her determination to keep going.  Real world tensions (is Rebecca's mom falling in love with Kelsie's dad?  And why is Kelsie so awful to Rebecca?) play on Rebecca's nerves alongside the strain of being haunted, adding to general discomfort that's looming like an approaching storm.

And then when then the storm breaks, all the pieces come together very nicely indeed in a tense and moving climax.

Don't expect, though, all the jump scares and bloody horror the title might conjure up; there's actually no running-while-screaming through a corn field, and the field is only a minor part of the haunting.

But you can expect to be gripped and entertained by the supernatural mystery, that touches on themes of loss and change that are very relatable to the target audience!