Language: PG (3 swears); Mature Content: PG (reference to adult affairs) Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
12yo Alice's summer goes awry when her family vacation is cancelled when her father's work schedule interferes with family time again. Her mother decides she's leaving him, and takes Alice with her to a creepy 19th century mansion where her mother will be serving as a nurse to an eccentric old woman. Forbidden from touching any of the antiques in the house, Alice becomes intrigued with a fancy dollhouse - an exact replica of the house they are in. Of course she plays with it, which seems to summon some ghosts, a pair of sisters a bit older than Alice, but who were, at one time, residents of the mansion.
Intriguing plot, it reminded me of Doll Bones - and would be a good read alike. Alice meets an older girl named Lily who is about 16 and they become friends, playing with the dollhouse together. The creepy was good - Alice wakes up in the night and Fiona (a ghost) is in bed with her! I liked the way the girls could manipulate the ghost world by playing in the doll house. I was troubled by the fact that both Lily and Bubbles (one of the ghost girls) were developmentally delayed, 2 characters with similar neuro-diversity, but to what end? It didn't really progress the plot. Sometimes the storyline was unclear as to which world the girls were in, and parts dragged, particularly when adults were involved in the story. I think my patrons who like creepy ghost stories would read this, but I'd probably suggest others first.
Lisa Librarian
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1 comment:
The cover wouldn't do well in my library. Ghosts and dolls are very tricky to pull off. Thanks for the review; it was very helpful.
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