Sixth-grader Billy Broccoli's whole life is changing. He has a new step dad, a new house, and a new school. He was expecting all that. What he wasn't expecting was to find a ghost in his new bedroom. Turns out his new house comes with his own personal ghost, Hoover Porterhouse, a cool teenaged ghost who is stuck in Billy's house until he can pass a "ghost test" by being responsible and helping someone else. And Billy could really use some help--being accepted in his new school, learning a little something about personal style, and more than anything, getting the school bully off his back.

Zero to Hero is the first book in the fun new Ghost Buddy series by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver, the author team who wrote the Hank Zipzer series. Billy Broccoli is an insecure, slightly socially-awkward sixth grader, who could really use the guidance of the "cool" ghost Hoover Porterhouse (aka "Hoove"). In this first book, Billy is being bullied at school by his neighbor. Hoove and Billy cook up a revenge plan to get back at the bully, but Billy's conscience wins out and he learns that two wrongs do not make a right. Young readers who have heard all kinds of advice about bullies will enjoy Billy's solution to the problem. Hoove isn't a perfect role model himself, but his positive influence on Billy's confidence helps Billy make the right decisions. One of this Snoop's favorite rules that Hoove imparts is "The energy you put out is the energy you get back." This is a quick read that will appeal to elementary-aged boys, maybe even especially to baseball fans. Billy and Hoove are both big fans of the game, and the scene is set for baseball to be a theme in future books.

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