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hauntedvictoria24's review against another edition
5.0
cute book great for young lovers of ghost stories
feliciar33ds's review against another edition
5.0
This is the book that made me the mystery lover I am today! I loved this book when I first read it in elementary school back in the '70's. Must track down a copy so that I can reread.
hauntedvictoria's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
jenbsbooks's review
3.0
I read this when I was in elementary or middle school, that's 40 years ago. A peek at the cover (version with the shadowy girl holding the owl) brought back memories and made me want to look into it again. I saw it was available (text only) in KindleUnlimited, and I had a gift subscription to use, so ... I READ this (no audio was available). It was short. My brother's 6th grade reading list is was brought it back to my attention.
This did feel dated. Written in 1971 (I was just a baby) - the actions of the kids (running around freely all day, and all night, especially after one child had drowned/died), the dialog (the kids were quoting Shakespeare, and kept bringing up being born with a "caul" which I had to look up). Even the parents, and the whole Supernatural society and seance ... just not the type of thing I see as normal.
Still, I enjoyed re-reading this. I did have a vague memory of the story, not bad for 40+ years! It had made an impression on me as a little girl. It does leave you (the reader) not quite sure about things (was Miranda there as a ghost?)
On minor thing ... "Sherry came prancing up on a make-believe horse" ... that was something my friends and I did during our childhood. We'd ride imaginary horses home from school, and the only limit on how many horses we could have, was the number of names we could come up with for them. I'm not sure if that was something we came up with on our own, or by chance it was inspired by this book.
There was an afterward included in the Kindle copy, written by a grand-daughter of the author. I'm sure that was not included in my original copy, but it was really interesting to read and made me appreciate the author and the book more than if I didn't have this additional information. I'm glad it was there!
This did feel dated. Written in 1971 (I was just a baby) - the actions of the kids (running around freely all day, and all night, especially after one child had drowned/died), the dialog (the kids were quoting Shakespeare, and kept bringing up being born with a "caul" which I had to look up). Even the parents, and the whole Supernatural society and seance ... just not the type of thing I see as normal.
Still, I enjoyed re-reading this. I did have a vague memory of the story, not bad for 40+ years! It had made an impression on me as a little girl. It does leave you (the reader) not quite sure about things (was Miranda there as a ghost?)
On minor thing ... "Sherry came prancing up on a make-believe horse" ... that was something my friends and I did during our childhood. We'd ride imaginary horses home from school, and the only limit on how many horses we could have, was the number of names we could come up with for them. I'm not sure if that was something we came up with on our own, or by chance it was inspired by this book.
There was an afterward included in the Kindle copy, written by a grand-daughter of the author. I'm sure that was not included in my original copy, but it was really interesting to read and made me appreciate the author and the book more than if I didn't have this additional information. I'm glad it was there!
luluruzam's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
corncobwebs's review against another edition
The other day when we were all talking, Tammy said, "Well, I think she made it all up, after she found the diary. I don't believe she ever saw Miranda at all."
Eddie said loyally, "I do. I believe she could Miranda, even if we couldn't."
"Yep," Kirk said.
Tammy said, "What do you think, Lindsey? Was there a ghost next door?"
All I could say was, "I don't know."
Because I really don't.
Good read-alike for [b:The Headless Cupid|2316|The Headless Cupid (Stanley Family, #1)|Zilpha Keatley Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327934261s/2316.jpg|1550961]. Exhibits a healthy level of skepticism, while not completely sucking the magic and mystery out of the unknown.
Eddie said loyally, "I do. I believe she could Miranda, even if we couldn't."
"Yep," Kirk said.
Tammy said, "What do you think, Lindsey? Was there a ghost next door?"
All I could say was, "I don't know."
Because I really don't.
Good read-alike for [b:The Headless Cupid|2316|The Headless Cupid (Stanley Family, #1)|Zilpha Keatley Snyder|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327934261s/2316.jpg|1550961]. Exhibits a healthy level of skepticism, while not completely sucking the magic and mystery out of the unknown.
tunacullen's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bobbiejowoo's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a fun young reader mystery! It felt very Nancy Drew! Less spooky than I was expecting, but a fun adventure nonetheless!