SPOOK HOUSE - Hardcover

Helldorfer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0027435148 ISBN 13: 9780027435146

Publisher: Atheneum, 1989

Synopsis

Feeling lonely in his small Eastern Shore Maryland town, twelve-year-old Will thinks he is going to dislike the boy and his sister who move in next door, until the three of them band together to turn an abandoned old mansion into a haunted house.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up-- Twelve-year-old Will's best friend has moved away from their small Maryland town, and he's sure he won't like the brother and sister who have moved into his friend's old house. But when his dog is killed by a car, his loneliness intensifies and he finds himself drawn into a tentative friendship with them because of a mutual interest in fixing up an abandoned mansion as a haunted house to give tours. When they realize someone is tampering with the : house, trust is tested and, eventually, lives threatened. This book is about change in various guises, and some compelling tensions crisscross, mainly between those who want to see change and those who don't. The main characters are clearly drawn, and there are some fascinating minor ones--Will's friendship with the cook in his family's diner is touching--but the number of minor characters sometimes makes the story confusing. The writing is also unclear at times in terms of who said or did what. A lot of information is conveyed efficiently in the space given, some of it so clever that readers won't realize its importance until the end. The sights, smells, and thrills of an abandoned house are crisply evoked, but there aren't enough details about how they set up the haunted house. As it is, readers don't have much of a feeling of involvement or an interest in its survival, and the motivations for "haunting" the house are not so compelling as to create real tension when the project is threatened. There is much to recommend this book, and its ending, while somewhat abrupt, brings more things together than readers will suspect, but there is a sense that the plot hasn't been fully fleshed out. --Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Department of Public Libraries, MD
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Will, 12, and two newcomers to the seaside community of Paradise get together to make something extraordinary out of the deserted old May estate. Will, whose parents own the local diner, is a long-time resident. Toes and Sam have just moved to Paradise, where their parents run a grocery store. Together the three children create a haunted house and conduct tours. Meanwhile, an unscrupulous developer is planning to torch the house. An opaque, minimalist writing style may make this difficult for some readers to enjoy or even become involved in. At times, characters and their actions are difficult to tell apart. Dangling plot lines, including Will's sadness over the death of his dog and the fact that his best friend has moved away, only serve to further tangle the slight story. Ages 9-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0027435148
• ISBN 13: 9780027435146
• Binding: Hardcover