Hahn, Mary Downing. The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall. Clarion, 2010. ISBN 978-0547385600. $17.00. 153 p.
Reviewer: Laurien Clay
Reading Level: Intermediate, Young Adult
Rating: Excellent
Genre: Fiction; Ghost stories;
Subject: Orphans—Juvenile fiction; Ghosts—Juvenile fiction; Brothers and sisters—Juvenile fiction; Books—Reviews;
Sophia is dead. Florence Crutchfield learns this when fortune knocks on the door of Miss Medleycoate’s Home for Orphan Girls. This news takes her to live at Crutchfield Hall with her great-uncle. Even though her uncle is kind, the accident that took her cousin, Sophie, has left its deathly pall over the house, from great-aunt Eugenie’s bitterness to cousin James’s state as an invalid. However, the grave cannot keep Sophie from returning to Crutchfield. She demands what she believes is her due, and it may take all of Florence’s will to prevent disaster—and further loss of life.
Hahn, author of over forty award-winning books, takes readers for another chilling spin in this literarily savvy ghost tale. While the plot is predictable and one cannot completely suspend disbelief, her talent with the written word more than compensates for the shortcomings. A master of diction, Hahn diffuses images into the barest corners of prose, making this story one absorbing read.
Volume 31, no. 3 (January/February 2011)
