The Phantom of the Post Office by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise

The authors of the "43 Old Cemetery Road" series are used to getting fan mail, but lately they've been receiving some other kinds of letters through the mail. They're not sure what to make of the vaguely threatening letters. Meanwhile, the post office is scheduled to close and all future letters and deliveries will be made through the brand-new VEXT-mail system. Then Seymour comes down with a mysterious flu and is hospitalized along with another child, a hopelessly cellphone-obsessed child. With nothing but time on their hands, they begin to sort out the connection between the letters and the post office...but will they be able to do anything before it's too late?

I've really enjoyed the books in this series, but this book and I sort of got off on the wrong foot. I think I've spent too much time lately, personally and professionally, reading about the technology wars, particularly eBook vs. print. If I had to declare myself, I am not an "either/or" person but a "both/and." I read paper books; I read eBooks. I think I read more now that I can read print books, eBooks, on my computer, and on my cell phone. From my vantage point in the middle, I think that either extreme seems a bit ridiculous. It's not too far from this 'debate' to the questions of technology that permeate The Phantom of the Post Office. There was far too much of the "no technology is the smarter choice" in the early parts for my liking, but once I got partway through the book it coalesced a bit better for me. The book built to a conclusion that I saw coming but I very much enjoyed the ride. Seymour remains a great fictional character: a thoughtful, sensitive, creative boy who loves reading and writing and uses his wits to solve problems. The letters, newspapers, and other notes that make up the book are still fun to look through, and I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to read book number five in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series.

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Til Death Do Us Bark by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Over My Dead Body by Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise