User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
This is exactly the kind of middle grade book I would have
loved as a kid. This is going to show my age, but every time I went to the library, I'd look in the card catalog under "ghost" to see if there was anything new. The Haunting by Lindsey Duga would have been an instant favorite!
I know I'm not supposed to review middle grade
for other adult readers, blah, blah, blah. Too bad because I am going to so
prepare thyself. If you can't handle me saying this is a great book for kids but not so much for older readers - you've been warned.
I'm going to happily pass this book on to my boys. I think they would find it just scary enough to get creeped out by it. That's the beauty of young readers. They don't have a thousand stories in their minds and a thousand tropes that have come before when they pick up something new. The Haunting will be fresh and new and creepy.
If you are an adult reader who reads middle grade as one of your own personal genres - like I do! - The Haunting isn't going to feel particularly new. The Haunting reminded me of Little Orphan Annie - with Sandy and Miss Hannigan and Daddy Warbucks - which I enjoyed. The scares are fun, but they are also very traditional for a ghost story. The reader will know what's going on in The Haunting long before our main character Emily figures it out. This will be far more thrilling to younger readers.
This was my first time reading Lindsey Duga. She has written YA previously, but The Haunting was her middle grade debut. She has another middle grade horror coming out in March 2021 called Ghost in the Headlights so you know my inner Jen is excited to read that one next year as well.
3.5/5 stars
Rating: really liked it
This book would be perfect for someone who is wanting to get started in spooky books but is a little worried and not wanting to get to scared. This story is about a young orphan girl named Emily and her loyal dog who finally get a chance at a family. But when they go to there new home, Emily quickly starts to realize that maybe things aren't what they seem as weird things start happening to her and her dog. Emily is determined to get to the bottom of it and discover whether her new home is really haunted or if it's all just her imagination.
I'm a sucker for a good ghost story and I absolutely loved this one for having the dog be such a huge part of the story. I give it a 3 stars because I immediately guessed the whole storyline after the first chapter. Either way though it was still a good story with a gothic feel and great for the spooky season.
Rating: really liked it
I might be aging myself here... but does anyone remember the show Are You Afraid of the Dark?
You know how some of those episodes were truly excellent and creepy and full on eyes bugging out of your head terrifying?
Well that’s what this book was like. It’s like one of those great episodes that has spent the last 20+ years occasionally floating across your brain and making you shiver.
A truly fun and exciting middle grade ghost story.
Rating: really liked it
3.5/5 ⭐️
This was super cool! I love a middle grade spooky ghost story! I swear sometimes they’re even better then adult ghost stories.
Rating: really liked it
Loved it! I scare easy and hate the horror genre but have found a fondness for the middle grade version of the genre. This was another fun story. Not TOO scary and creepy for, you know, an adult but just enough to keep me thoroughly engrossed. Well okay, maybe a little scared and creeped out.
Rating: really liked it
An excellent story for young readers who love stories about ghosts. Even though it is aimed at 10-14yr old readers, adults will enjoy the story of Emily and the ghost that haunts the house of her newly adopted family.
Rating: really liked it
This was an okay book. I never was impressed by anything throughout it, and altogether it wasn't a story I would remember for more than a year.
The plot was good. I like horror stories, especially ghosts ones because I'm not scared of them. I did like the dog, Archie, he was cute and reminded me of my own good. That's basically it though. Except for Archie, all the characters were incredibly bland, they had nothing special to them. And the ending was rushed. The book is overall fast-paced, but the ending was just RUSHED.
Not much else. This is a middle-grade read, so couldn't expect much. If you're just starting out in the horror category and don't really care about the characters and more on the plot, then I'll recommend this. But otherwise, not really.
Rating: really liked it
Skip this and read “Small Spaces” and “Dead Voices” by Katherine Arden and/or “Spirit Hunters” by Ellen Oh if you are looking for a tween horror book that’s actually scary and has smart characters instead of boring yourself with the Scooby-Doo-grade hijinks and dummy main character this book offers.
Rating: really liked it
Library copy
In Victorian London, Emily lives in Evanshires Home for Neglected Girls, having been abandoned as a baby. It's a bleak existence, brightened only by a dog, Archie, she befriended, who visits with her through the gate. When the Thorntons arrive looking for a child to adopt, they pick her, even though she is unkempt and frequently in trouble. They take her home to Blackthorn Manor, a sprawling but decrepit estate where Miss Greer takes care of the housekeeping. Right away, Emily notices odd things, and there is an ever growing list of things she is not allowed to do, like pick blackberries or play music. She does meet another girl, Kat, and the two play, although Kat is very secretive, shady, and sometimes shows up at unusual times, accompanied by creepy phenomenon. The Thorntons try to interact with Emily, but Mrs. Thornton seems very frail and prone to headaches. Emily is left alone a lot, but eventually starts to realize that there is a ghost who means her ill and is connected with a family secret.
Strengths: I was not at all surprised at the note from Duga at the end that discussed her love of Mary Downing Hahn and the late Betty Ren Wright when she was young. Books like this are why I was sure I could make a career running an orphanage in England when I was young! There are all of the important hallmarks of creepy, killer ghosts-- crashing vases, cold spots, and creepy sounds. The Haunting pays homage to both of those authors, and is a good read alike for Barbara Brooks Wallace's historical ghost stories as well a s India Hill Brown's The Forgotten Girl.
Weaknesses: I've read dozens and dozens of similar books over the years; since most of them are out of print or in very bad shape having been read frequently in my middle school library over the last 30-40 years, this is a fine book to replace those, even if it didn't seem fresh to ME.
What I really think: I liked Ghost in the Headlights a lot better, but young readers who haven't read quite as many books about orphans moving into haunted houses as I have will pick up this book for the spooky cover and share Emily's growing fear of Kat.
Rating: really liked it
Wanted something quick and fun I could recommend to students next year--(Scholastic always has the best book trailers and intriguing covers!) So I chose this slim read from my last Book Fair haul and wanted something I could read until one of my library holds come through---LOL I’m Kindle reading addicted and the library is helping so much to get me into ebooks---Anyways started this 2020 read with a decidedly creepy cover depicting a ghost girl --hmm- okay so this one starts with a young girl living a poor and terrible life in an orphanage where she is simultaneously neglected and overworked with the headmistress holding a personal vendetta against her...Emily’s life is all starvation, hardships and poverty with the only bright spot a stray dog who visits her and she doesn’t see it getting any better until one day a beautiful young rich couple enters the orphanage and --miraculously they choose her as their new foster daughter and allow her dog to come along too…
“And now here was Emily, riding out with her new family, to a new home, a new life.” (Pg. 24)
Emily’s wildest dreams come true as she is whisked away to live and be a part of this family in their huge mansion...what are a few rules and doors she is forbidden to enter?
“She had parents who had given her a beautiful room, accepted her best friend, and allowed her an entire castle to explore. What was one off-limits room out of so many open to her? What was one rule compared to an endless list of them at Evanshire?” (Pg. 44)
the only problem is the house has been horribly neglected, the parents seem to be holding a secret and the only child Emily meets to play with only shows up right before disaster happens jeopardizing her happiness…...
Figuring out the mystery of this house and her new parents is pretty much the premise of this super fast read that holds your interest and is written for kids with lots of eerieness and creepy atmosphere...Pretty good, thanks Scholastic!
Rating: really liked it
Wait Till Helen Comes.
The Doll in the Garden.
These are books of my childhood. In fact, I don’t know any of my contemporaries who don’t remember these reads from Mary Downing Hahn.
Lindsey Duga’s The Haunting takes me right back to my childhood, curled under a blanket with a flashlight and squeezing a stuffed animal.
The Haunting stars 12-year-old Emily, an orphan who has never known anything other than cold loneliness. Emily has no hope of advancing past her current condition, she’s just too old, too plain to get adopted. Everything changes when the Thorntons, a young couple from London, choose Emily to join their family.
Emily soon finds herself at Blackthorn Manor, a grand estate with surprises around every corner. But not all surprises are good ones. As Emily explores the grounds and rooms, she meets Kat, a girl who seems to know everything about the estate, and strange things happen whenever she’s around.
As time passes, those strange things start to become less strange and more dangerous — a narrow miss with a toppled bookcase, shattering glass and erupting fire. Emily tries to explain what’s going on to her new parents, but they won’t listen. As Emily uncovers the Thorntons’ past, she may just be able to save her future.
The Haunting is just the right amount of creepy mystery for middle readers. Author Lindsey Duga’s prose is spot on for this genre. Emily is likeable and Kat’s unsettling behavior is perfectly balanced. I did figure out the mystery before the “big reveal” but that didn’t lessen my anticipation for the climax.
The Haunting is a fast-paced read that I finished in a day. It’s sure to be a hit with middle graders.
Rating: really liked it
There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a good old ghost story, especially one set back in time. Lindsey Duga’s book, “The Haunting,” brought a ghost story to life for me in an old house where something sinister is lurking.
Emily knows that adoption is out of the picture for her when she’s competing with beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde girls of much younger ages around her at Evanshire’s Home for Neglected Girls. But all that changes when the Thornton’s, a rich couple, come and choose Emily from amongst all the girls. Emily can’t believe her luck. She and her beloved dog, Archie, are whisked away to Blackthorn Manor, where she expects to be loved and become the child of a family she had only dreamed of before.
But something weird is going on in Blackthorn Manor. Emily sees shadows crawling around the walls. Things seem to fall apart all around her, trashing the home that she knows she’s supposed to care for. And an odd girl who seems to know the manor better than anyone keeps showing up, trying to befriend her. Emily knows the Thornton’s are hiding something from her, and as more bad things start happening at the manor, Emily knows she needs to find out quick, before whatever is haunting the manor banishes Emily out of the home.
Good, creepy ghosts that wreak havoc have always been a favorite of mine. And the ghost (because yes, it’s totally a ghost) that Duga shows us at the end is scary and satisfying at the same time. If you love a good, kid-friendly ghost story, this book is definitely for you.
Rating: really liked it
The only life 12-year-old Emily has ever known is the cold, unloved existence of being an orphan. But everything changes when the Thorntons, a young couple from London, adopt Emily, whisking her away to a new life at their grand estate.
At first, life at Blackthorn Manor is wonderful. But as Emily explores the grounds and rooms, she stumbles upon a mysterious girl named Kat, who appears to be similar in age, and the two become fast friends.
That's when things take a turn for the worse. Kat seems to know a curious amount about the estate, and strange things happen whenever she's around. In one case, Emily narrowly avoids getting toppled by a bookcase in the library; in another, the fire erupts in the fireplace, nearly burning Emily's hands. It's almost as if someone -- or something -- wants Emily dead
This book has very good plot twists and humor incorporated into it. It's the character development which I like the most the way Emily starts to grow more nervous and gains courage by hanging around Kat.
So all in all, this was a very good book, a thriller to have on my shelves i rate it a 5/10 because of its use of vocabulary and plotline. An edge of your seat tale
Rating: really liked it
More Middle-Grade March Madness.
My inner 10-year-old would give this 5 stars, the adult in me gives it a "meh" but I am not the intended audience, so young Me wins.
I can't tell you how many times I chose a book as a child with a creepy cover and an ominous copy on the back cover only to be disappointed. I'm looking at YOU, Nancy Drew. So often, there was never a ghost, there was always some mystery solved by pulling a rubber mask off the face of some very human villain, a la Scooby Doo, and it was all so very disappointing.
Well, Duga delivers. There is a pretty terrifying ghost skipping around this gothic, isolated mansion. It causes shadows to bleed from the ceiling, bookcases to topple, and fires to start themselves. We have some useless adults and one very brave mutt. This is the kind of story I wanted to read as a kid.
I would call it "starter horror" if this gives a kid nightmares, well then we are not ready for horror.
Rating: really liked it
Emily has always dreamed of being adopted. So, when she is whisked away to the Blackthorn Manor by the wealthy Thornton family, she was overjoyed. At first, everything felt like a fairytale, but then things started to feel a little off. At times, the manor itself would be in complete disrepair, and her new parents acted like they were harboring a secret. Then horrible accidents started occurring, no matter how hard Emily tried to be careful. Is the manor trying to keep her away from her new parents, or is there a secret dying to get out?
The Haunting is a wonderful ghost story that will keep readers guessing until the very end, while being ideally suited for the middle-grade reading audience.
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