Title: The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost StoryAuthor: Mary Downing Hahn
Copy Obtained: From publisher
About the Book from Goodreads
A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules's parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor—in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier?
Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.
A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jules's parents love the house, but Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she sees a pale face in an upstairs window, though, she can't stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor—in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier?
Her fear replaced by fascination, Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.
Two sentence review: Great new addition to Downing Hahn's collection of scary stories for the tween set. It has a bit of a twist on the traditional ghost story, so that was cool.
Best for readers who: Like a bit of a scare and have read all her other books.
Best Stick-with-You Image: The ghosts pounding on the door while Jules and her friend are in the room!
Library Thoughts: Of course. It's really hard to find scary books aren't Goosebumps and are a good fit for middle school students.
Whenever I come across a scary book written for middle schoolers I have to look at it. I have plenty of kids that ask for scary books, but I know that they need age-appropriate scary books. Mary Downing Hahn always fits that bill. So when I received a copy of this book for review, I was super excited. As usual, the story didn't disappoint. I like how it starts with some events of the past, so it sets a better understanding for when Jules moves into the house. And can we talk about the house??? The classic creepy story has to have a creepy house, and this one does. And I love that Jules is living connected to it! Can you imagine being 12 and living attached to an old abandoned creepy looking house?? Yikes! And right away the odd things begin to happen. Jules thinks she's seeing people that no one else sees including something in the window of the house. But what I really like is that as Jules is having these experiences we also get the perspective of Lily the ghost. The story switches back and forth between the two characters. No worries about this being confusing to the reader. It's pretty easy to keep them clear. I love how Jules makes a friend, Maisie, and together they try to help Lily instead of just fearing her. That's awesome.
The ending of the story was different from what I expected, but that was ok. I felt a little confused, but so did Jules so it was a way to relate to her. Beyond the ghost story ending, I like the ending of Jules' story. She got a happy ending, and that was nice to see as well.
I will admit I didn't find the story scary, but I'm not 11, so I'm not really the target audience. I know that my students we be just enough spooked to enjoy it. The story takes a twist on the traditional ghost story but questioning the idea of alternate realities and switching between them. This keeps the scary down and the interest high. That's what matters!
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