The Red-Eared Ghosts - Hardcover

Alcock, Vivien

3.73

77 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395816602 ISBN 13: 9780395816608

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1997

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Mary Frewin, a young girl with the ability to see red-eared ghosts, finds her life complicated by the arrival of two of the ghosts, a thin man and his large, wolflike dog, who seem particularly interested in Mary.

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About the Author:

Vivien Alcock (1924 - 2003) is the well-known author of many compelling mysteries and supernatural fantasies for children. Childhood is, she once wrote, "an exciting and dangerous time, and it fascinates me." Her books reflect that excitement, danger, and fascination.

From Publishers Weekly:

Alcock's (Singer to the Sea God) flight of fancy about a preadolescent with "special" vision has plenty of memorable moments?beginning with Mary Frewin's shocking proclamation that, since her days in a pram, she has been visited by red-eared ghosts: "Some of 'em look like they've worn away in patches, just leaving bits of 'em floating in space." Through a circuitous (and highly entertaining) chain of events involving an antique book, a misplaced wig, a rakish art teacher and a gang of ruffians, Mary learns she has inherited her supernatural powers from her great-great-grandmother Mary Crumb, who mysteriously disappeared over a century ago. Retracing her ancestor's steps through London, Mary falls through a time warp and lands in a parallel universe where she finally learns the identities of her ghosts. At this point, the novel's plot becomes somewhat convoluted with vague explanations of paranormal phenomena. Readers may well share the heroine's befuddlement as she struggles to understand her relationship to a clan of displaced aliens while trying to find a way home. The author's earthbound characters, including Mary's overly anxious teacher, her beautician mother and her proud-to-be-a-doorman father, prove to be more alluring than the ghosts, who even Mary admits "don't do nothing exciting." On the other hand, Mary's death-defying reentry home is spectacular enough to beguile most fantasy buffs. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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