The Girl In The Locked Room

TheGirl In The Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn, 193 pages

The girl can’t remember her name or how long she has been in the room.  She just knows that she is locked in and that she is lonely.  Jules is lonely too.  Her family moves all of the time so she is always the new girl and never has enough time to really make friends.  She hopes that this move will let them stay a while, although the house that her father is renovating is spooky.  She really believes that it might be haunted, especially since she starts seeing people that couldn’t possibly be there.  When a new friend, Maisie, tells her that everyone thinks the house is haunted by a family that was murdered there, Jules knows she was right.  The question is, what do the ghosts want? And can Jules do anything about it?  This is not as scary as some ghost stories.  The ghost isn’t very scary at all, but the story itself has a pretty good creepy factor.  I enjoyed it and most kids who like ghost or scary stories will enjoy it.

THE GIRL IN THE LOCKED ROOM

The Girl In The Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn
193 pages
Reviewed by Rae C.

https://slpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1425265116


Jules is tired of moving, and she hates the creepy old houses that they live in while her father renovates. The dad is a total narcissist.  The mom's a writer and really self absorbed. Both parents lack any supernatural gifts. Jules is a psychic and medium, although she doesn't know it.  She's felt things and seen spirits in other houses, but thinks it is her imagination.  But this time, Jules finds more and more evidence that Lily, the girl in the locked room, was real, and that she needs Jules help to cross over.

Really well done supernatural thriller!  It's not super scary, or horror.  Just an old-fashioned ghost story. It's well written and paced, well plotted, and the ending is satisfying in terms of issues with Jules' family, but the ghost story had a somewhat sloppy resolution. (See below if you don't mind spoilers.)  But the complaints I have weren't enough to spoil my enjoyment of this book!






(****SPOILERS**** and complaints: the inclusion of Frozen Charlotte dolls for no reason; relying on Dianna Wynne Jones alternate reality theory but not explaining clearly why Lily's bones weren't in the wardrobe, and thus, how two Lily's would now be inhabiting the alternate world.)

The Resident Witch

The Resident Witch by Marian T. Place 119 pages

Witcheena is almost ready to fly up from witchling to junior witch.  She can’t wait for this important move and when her aunt assigns her to haunt a carnival, she thinks that this could be her big chance to prove that she’s ready to fly up.  Although Witcheena eventually succeeds in shutting down the carnival early, during the night she meets an earthling, Nancy, and finds out that she likes her and wants to see her again.  Witches are not usually allowed to be friends with earthlings but Witcheena is determined to honor her witch ways while she looks to changes that could be made in the future, and, hopefully, be friends with Nancy.  I loved this book as a kid and was thrilled to get a copy of it recently.  The library doesn’t own a copy, but it’s a fun, although old-fashioned, read for kids who like adventurous or witch stories.

Cast No Shadow

Cast No Shadow by Nick Tapalansky & Anissa Espinosa, 213 pages

Greg was born with no shadow.  Kids used to tease him about it until his best friend, Layla, started discouraging them.  Greg’s life isn’t bad, except for his mom dying and his dad’s new girlfriend moving in.  Oh, and Layla becoming more than friends with Jake, who used to be one of Greg’s biggest tormentors but, after an encounter with Layla, decided he wanted to be Greg’s new best friend.  But Greg’s life becomes crazy when he and Layla visit the haunted house in town and Greg actually meets the ghost, who is a beautiful teen named Eleanor.  Greg is the only one who sees her, and the two hit it off immediately.  Unfortunately, their encounter sets off a bizarre chain of events that they must figure out a way to stop before the entire town is destroyed.  This was a great graphic novel, very well done.  It was funny and a little scary.  I would highly recommend it to teens looking for non-manga graphic novels.

Ghost Attack

Ghost Attackby David Lubar, 111 pages

Alex and his cousin Sarah are visiting their grandparents.  Alex, who is allergy prone, gets a terrible rash.  He and Sarah realize that he is allergic to a ghost that is in their grandparents’ house.  They must figure out how to help the ghost so he can move on and Alex can stop itching.  This is the first book in the series Monster Itch and it is great for early chapter book readers.

Charlotte’s Story

Charlotte’s Story by Laura Benedict, 320 pages

“The fall of 1957 in southern Virginia was a seemingly idyllic, even prosperous time. A young housewife, Charlotte Bliss, lives with her husband, Hasbrouck Preston "Press" Bliss, and their two young children, Eva Grace and Michael, in the gorgeous Bliss family home. On the surface, theirs seems a calm, picturesque life, but soon tragedy befalls them: four tragic deaths, with apparently simple explanations. But nothing is simple if Bliss House is involved. How far will Charlotte go to discover the truth? And how far will she get without knowing who her real enemy is? Though Bliss House may promise to give its inhabitants what they want, it never gives them exactly what they expect.” These books are creepy.  I would give them to people who like suspense that isn’t too intense.  These aren’t my favorite type of suspense but I like them well enough to want to keep reading them, because the author is a pretty good writer.

Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island

Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillip Cash   174 pages

I’m a big fan of Michael Phillip Cash’s. He’s one of those wonderful writers no one knows in the paranormal/fantasy genre. I first read Stillwell back in 2013, but never got around to writing my review. I recently picked it up again so I could write the promised review.

I am glad I re-read this little gem. I like a good ghost story, and Cash never fails to deliver.  I especially like his paranormal stories.

Paul Russo is trying to get his life---and his kids’ lives---back to normal following the death of his wife, Allison. It was a quick. Relatively. Six months ago Allison was diagnosed with cancer, and now she’s gone. Thank God he has sister, his parents, and his in-laws to help.

His career as a real estate agent is in shambles. Leads that came in while Allison was sick eventually went to someone else. There is one bright spot. His old friend Craig Andrews needs to sell his parents’ Long Island mansion, Stillwell Manor. The commission on a $20 million dollar sale could put his finance back in order.

Stillwell won’t be an easy sell, though. It’s the site of a murder-suicide. The cleaners did a remarkable job, but the stigma attached is hard to overcome. There’s also something else happening.

There are rumors that the house is haunted. Local police believe it’s kids, but soon Paul discovers that no humans are involved in what is happening at Stillwell.

Can’t giveaway anymore ‘cause that would give away a great read. Very realistic. I couldn’t read fast enough. Be prepared to sleep with the lights on. Thankfully it’s a short read that can be completed in a couple of evenings.

I give Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island 5 out of 5 stars.

The Haunting Of Willow Tree Court

The Haunting Of Willow Tree Court by Jennifer Adele, 378 pages

Sally has been struggling with both the physical effects of the car accident that left her body partially broken but also the emotional devastation of losing her three year old daughter in the same accident.  Her husband, Brian, also grieving, but hoping to start fresh, bought a new house and made plans to move.  Although Sally is upset at first, she loves the new house and recognizes that Brian’s intentions are good and that the move might be a good thing.  However, once they move, strange things start to happen.  Both of them have seen their daughter and items that they know they no longer own show up in their house, such as Sally’s wheelchair and a card that Brian gave a mistress.  Clearly, the house, and possibly the entire neighborhood, is haunted.  Sally is very concerned about a neighbor, Annabelle, who appears to be dealing with a ghost of her own.  Unfortunately, her ghost is much more dangerous and vengeful than Sally’s and Brian’s ghosts and can Sally begin to help Annabelle without endangering the new life she has begun to build?  This is a pretty decent ghost story.  I felt like the writing had some issues and could have used a little bit more editing and tightening up of some of the plot but overall the story was good enough to mostly overlook the minor issues.  I think that people who enjoy ghost stories will like this.

Rooms

Rooms by Lauren Oliver, 305 pages

Richard Walker, father to Minna and Trenton, ex-husband to Caroline, has died.  They have come back to deal with the aftermath of his death, along with Minna’s young daughter, Amy.  They are all dealing with various issues.  Trenton doesn’t feel like he fits in anywhere and is contemplating suicide.  Minna has sex indiscriminately with men and can’t hold down a job.  Caroline is a drunk.  What they don’t know is that there are ghosts in the house who also still have issues.  Alice and Sandra both live don the house at different times and both are now ghosts in the same house.  They are joined by another ghost who refuses to explain who she is.  This was a really excellent story.  I loved how each character was brought to life, including the ghosts.  Although there are ghosts who are a major part of the story, this book doesn’t have a supernatural feel to it.  People looking for a ghost story may not be satisfied with this but people looking for a good read who don’t mind some supernatural bent to their stories will love it.

Rooms

Rooms by Lauren Oliver
303 Pages

When Richard Walker dies, his estranged family returns to the house he lived in, a house currently haunted by two ghosts.  His ex-wife Caroline, teenage son Trenton, and daughter Minna begin the process of packing up Richard's belongings  and the ghosts Alice and Sandra act as peeping toms on their lives and secrets.  But the ghosts have secrets of their own, secrets that tie them to the house.    When a new ghost arrives the status quo is upset and secrets begin to come out.

Strongly recommended, this book was one of the picks in LibraryReads. 

The Screaming Staircase

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud, 390 pages

This is the first book in the new series, Lockwood & Co.  In a world plagued by ghosts whose touch can kill people and where only children can see and hear the apparitions, kids have started working as psychic investigators, finding and eradicating ghosts.  Although most agencies have adults as supervisors, at Lockwood & Co., where Lucy is recently employed, only children work, specifically George, and the head of the agency, Anthony Lockwood.  Lockwood and Lucy both have very strong psychic abilities, and George, with less psychic abilities, is a great researcher.  The three actually make a really good team but after burning down a house during a job, Lockwood finds himself with debts he can’t afford.  When someone offers the agency a job that will cover more than all of the debt they accept, but if they aren’t careful, it could be their last job ever.  Stroud is a fantastic author.  I have loved all of his books and this was no exception.  I’m looking forward to the sequel and hope that this series will be more than just a trilogy.  Fans of paranormal action adventure stories will definitely like this.