Wednesday, August 11, 2010


FINISHED:
Hahn, Mary Downing. (2010). The ghost of Crutchfield Hall. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin.

[My official ACL review:

Orphan Florence is pulled from the orphanage where she’s been living for the past seven years and whisked away to Crutchfield Hall, a rural gothic mansion where a well-to-do aunt and uncle reside. Florence quickly realizes that all is not well, however, when she discovers that her recently deceased cousin, Sophia, seems to be lingering and has it out for Florence’s ailing cousin James. What’s worse, Sophia’s “death day” is approaching (it’s been a full year since she died) and her influence on Florence is strengthening while Florence finds it harder and harder to resist Sophia’s pull. This is a vivid, if typical, Victorian ghost story steeped in rich language and descriptive passages which give a strong sense of place and mood and, at a brisk 150 pages, would be perfect for those ready to graduate from collections of shorter scary stories. [Reviewed from ARC.]]

STARTED:
Berlin, Eric. (2007). The puzzling world of Winston Breen. New York: Puffin/Penguin.

[Heard it's fun.]

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