Let's Get This Party Haunted is the sixth (out of eight) in R.L. Stein's Mostly Ghostly series and we join Max (about to turn 12) practicing for the magic show he has planed for his upcoming birthday project...working with Quinten a new friend who shares his love of magic and hoping that he can get Traci (the most popular girl at school) to come to his party. He's got a bit of a problem though...he's got two other friends, Nicky and Tara and they just happen to be ghosts who always seem to get Max into more trouble then he could ever get in on his own.

Max's goal is to invite Traci (and her cool friends by proxy), pull off a spectacular party that will wow them and prove that he's not the weirdo everyone thinks he is. Unfortunately, Max seems to have the worst luck of any boy ever written about...he's got a horrible older brother, his father thinks he's worthless because he's smart instead of a jock (like his brother), a mom who is indifferent at best, a best friend who is NEVER then when he needs a buddy (he gets grounded on Max's birthday, typical), and two ghost friends who are always lousing up his plans.

Will Max pull off a great party? Will he impress Traci and her friends? Who is that boy in black who is still lurking about? Where did those specters come from? You'll have to read to find out...and this one has more twists and scares than usual, but still this series is leaving me unsatisfied due to the nature of Max's life...I just don't like the abuse that is heaped upon him by his brother and father, it just plays into a poor me, my life is so hard mentality that a lot of kids have. Additionally, each book seems to start out with Max loathing Nicky and Tara for all the problems they cause him and because they are kind of selfish and pushy and ending with Max declaring that they really are the best friends he could have...yet, the next volume puts him back at the loathing point. I guess I would just chalk it up to the kid drama...they do seem to do drama well, but it just irks me a bit.

Overall, it's so-so...there is a big revenge twist at the end that left me stunned as it was something I just don't see an adult doing...but probably something a kid would think up that an adult might do as revenge. I give it a C, it's got a few genuine creepy moments...but overall, it's just a boy whose life never goes quite right and it's kind of depressing to continue reading about it...luckily there are only two more books in this series. ( )