The Phantom Isles

The book is calledThe Compleat Necromancer, and when Ming, Orion, and Courtney read an incantation from its pages, they have no way of knowing they are about to conjure up the ghosts of an entire nation. Because the ghosts that the three friends summon aren't just any ghosts. They were captured from an island in the middle of the Indian Oceanthe Ilhas dos Fantasmasa place where the living and the dead once coexisted peacefully. Now confined to the pages of a few dozen library books in a New England town that's thousands of miles from their home, the ghosts must rely on the children and a determined librarian to free them before they are lost forever.

Stephen Alter is the son of American missionaries to the Himalayas, and was raised in India. The author of seven books for adults, he is the former Writer-in-Residence at MIT, and a recipient of a Fulbright grant. He currently lives in India with his wife, where he is researching his newest book for adults—a behind the scenes look at the world of Bollywood. 

From Kirkus Reviews[T]his has the air of an old-fashioned adventure. …an entertaining read. —Kirkus Reviews
From Publisher's Weekly 
[A] memorable ghost story…lovers of atmospheric chills will embrace this tasteful bit of haunting. —Publishers Weekly From KidsReads.com and TeenReads.comThe Phantom Isles is creative and visually appealing, with stories within stories and images of arora watermarked on its pages. Told from several points of view, including the spirits trapped within the pages of obscure texts, The Phantom Isles succeeds as an entertaining, informative and engaging novel. —KidsReads.com and TeenReads.com
From TeensReadToo.com 
It's the fun kind of scary book that is a great story for anyone.  It also seems like just the kind of book that parents could read to their kids. —TeensReadToo.com 
From CurledUp.com 
The Phantom Isles by Stephen Alter has what it takes to become a children's classic, imbued with the type of found in other great children's literature like the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, or the books of Roald Dahl, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and The Fantastic Mister Fox â€”CurledUp.com
From Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review
This unique story is sure to catch the attention of even the most skeptical and dismissive of readers. …[C]ompletely engrossing and thoroughly satisfying right to the very last page. —Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review