The Dead Boys by Royce Buckingham

Teddy's mother moves to Washington where she's starting her new job at the nuclear power plant. Teddy immediately notices some strange things. The tree across the street creeps him out and seems to move like a living thing. He meets some boys around town, but they've all disappeared when he tries to find them later. Teddy visits the town cemetery and discovers the boys he's met are all dead. And they were all twelve years old. And they died at the end of a decade. Teddy realizes he's also twelve, and it's now the end of a decade. The mutated giant sycamore tree now wants to feed off Teddy!

This book was nominated for a Cybils award and read like a ghost story. Teddy's strange experiences couldn't be explained, and things were more dangerous in the dark. He was frightened, but he didn't know who might be able to help him. I was kind of happy when the policeman didn't dismiss Teddy when Teddy told him about the missing boys. The author was able to create suspense effectively, especially once Teddy entered the old house.  His descriptive words appealed to all the senses, so readers will able to experience Teddy's fear.