HEY DAD, GET A LIFE!

Kelly and her little sister Sasha share a secret: Their father has come back from the dead—and, like an invisible genie, he's eager to grant their every wish. In no time, they have him cleaning their rooms, helping them dress, doing their homework, and sabotaging their distracted mother's dates; Kelly discovers that even her guilty conscience doesn't prevent her from soliciting her father's help during math and soccer games. The girls can't keep their secret forever, of course, and although the story is lesson-heavy, Kelly's inner conflict is well drawn, and her mother, once made to believe, rises to the occasion wisely. She persuades the ghost to stop spoiling the children, and whips the household—neglected since the death of her husband—into shape without resorting to supernatural means. An easygoing morality tale for the middle grades from Strasser (Girl Gives Birth to Own Prom Date, p. 1158, etc.). (Fiction. 10-12)