When eleven-year-old twins Hannah and Anna move into the house on Hemlock Road, they are as close as two sisters can be. But there is another presence in the house -- one that speaks to Hannah, haunting her mind and tearing the girls apart. Told from the viewpoint of this ghostly presence, the story weaves together both the twins' family's present and the ghost's past, bringing them closer and closer to the big climax.
The mysterious point-of-view is what makes this book unique, as it keeps the reader guessing who is telling the story and why she is so bitter -- and why she is dead. Although I enjoyed that mystery, as the story continued I did begin to find the ghost's extreme bitterness and frequent comments on every detail of the family's life a bit tedious. As a middle grade reader, however, I would have loved the mystery, and characters who are twins are often a big sell. In addition, it was nice to see a fairly clean horror novel, and the house's mysterious past kept me reading. Because the voice is fairly asexual, it would interest both boys and girls, although the use of the word "Girl" in the title could be a turn-off for boys.
EL, MS -- ADVISABLE. Reviewed by: Caryn
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2 comments:
Sounds spooky! I don't think I've read many stories that are actually from the ghost's point of view...but I don't read a lot of horror as a rule. Still, a clean scary story sounds like more my style...
It was a little spooky, but the bitterness of the ghost's voice took away from that a bit. Still, the unusual viewpoint was interesting, and there were a few revelations that gave me chills, which I liked.
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