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The Haunting at Stratton Falls
Abby, living with relatives in upstate New York after her soldier father is declared MIA, finds herself the victim of her cousin Chad's pranks and, even worse, of the hauntings of a long-dead girl -- a girl whose father fought in the Civil War. Is she trying to tell Abby something?
- GenresGhosts
160 pages, Hardcover
First published August 21, 2000
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 26, 2018
Abby and her mother used to live in Florida. But, her father is off fighting in the war against the Nazis and has been listed as missing in action. They had to leave Florida to stay with relatives in New York state. The closer it gets to Christmas the more Abby misses her father. Everything is different here....they don't put a starfish at the top of the Christmas tree, it's snowing and cold, and instead of going to the beach, her cousins want to go sledding and build snowmen. Then her cousins tell her the story of the ghost....every Christmas the spirit of a girl appears. The more Abby learns about the mystery, the more intrigued she is. Then she actually sees the ghost. Can she help the ghostly girl find peace?
This book is a short, quick read. Perfect for middle-grade ages and up, the story is an enjoyable Christmas themed ghost story. It's geared towards children, so there is nothing inappropriate or too frightening for kids. As an adult, I still enjoyed the story. The book is well-written, interesting and lightly spooky. It made for a nice afternoon read. I will definitely be reading more by this author. I love reading kid's books as palate cleansers between heavy adult fiction titles.
Brenda Seabrooke has written many other middle-grade books including Stonewolf and The Haunting of Swain's Fancy.
This book is a short, quick read. Perfect for middle-grade ages and up, the story is an enjoyable Christmas themed ghost story. It's geared towards children, so there is nothing inappropriate or too frightening for kids. As an adult, I still enjoyed the story. The book is well-written, interesting and lightly spooky. It made for a nice afternoon read. I will definitely be reading more by this author. I love reading kid's books as palate cleansers between heavy adult fiction titles.
Brenda Seabrooke has written many other middle-grade books including Stonewolf and The Haunting of Swain's Fancy.
March 30, 2019
The book I am reading is called THE HAUNTING AT STRATTON FALLS by Brenda Seabrooke. The setting of this story takes place in 1865 in the winter, in New York. The characters is an 11 year old boy and girl named Abby and Chad, and an ghost named Felicia. I found this book in the library because I was looking for a book with an ugly cover.
This book is about an girl named Abby who had an father that got lost in war so she and her mother moved into her moms brother house with his wife and 3 children. One of those children were named Chad and he was very mean to Abby. One day Chads mother asked him and Abby to take some gifts to her friend for Christmas and so they did and as they got there Chads mother friends told Abby and Chad about a ghost that comes during Christmas time to their house and the reason she comes is to warn someone in the house that something bad is going to happen to them or something bad is going to happen to one of her family members. Abby instantly thinks about her dad and gets scared. They leave and go back to the house and the next day it was Christmas and after Christmas dinner all the children go outside and go sledding. Chad put wax on his sled and Abby got on the sled and she went too fast and fell into a river and almost froze to death. Felicia comes in and saves her from dying in the river. The next day Abby and her mother get news that they don't have to worry about her father anymore and that was Abby's best thing she got for Christmas.
This book was a really good book and it was written really well. My favorite part was when Felicia saved Abby.
My personal opinion about this book is that the author should make a part two but with Abby's dad at home with his family. The connection I made with this book was worrying about a father. MY dad got put in prison and I didn't get to talk to him before he left so that worried me a lot. The readers I recommend to read this book are people who like to read books that take place in the past.
This book is about an girl named Abby who had an father that got lost in war so she and her mother moved into her moms brother house with his wife and 3 children. One of those children were named Chad and he was very mean to Abby. One day Chads mother asked him and Abby to take some gifts to her friend for Christmas and so they did and as they got there Chads mother friends told Abby and Chad about a ghost that comes during Christmas time to their house and the reason she comes is to warn someone in the house that something bad is going to happen to them or something bad is going to happen to one of her family members. Abby instantly thinks about her dad and gets scared. They leave and go back to the house and the next day it was Christmas and after Christmas dinner all the children go outside and go sledding. Chad put wax on his sled and Abby got on the sled and she went too fast and fell into a river and almost froze to death. Felicia comes in and saves her from dying in the river. The next day Abby and her mother get news that they don't have to worry about her father anymore and that was Abby's best thing she got for Christmas.
This book was a really good book and it was written really well. My favorite part was when Felicia saved Abby.
My personal opinion about this book is that the author should make a part two but with Abby's dad at home with his family. The connection I made with this book was worrying about a father. MY dad got put in prison and I didn't get to talk to him before he left so that worried me a lot. The readers I recommend to read this book are people who like to read books that take place in the past.
August 16, 2008
Abby and her mother have temporarily moved to Stratton Falls in upstate NY, far away from their home in Jacksonville, FL. Abby's father is in Europe, fighting in WWII and Abby is now stuck with her aunt and uncle, their adorable twins and horrible son. Abby's mom hasn't been herself since they got the news that Abby's father is missing in action. Abby is trying to adjust to this completely different life and is more alone than ever, missing her father and tormented by her cousin Chad. Abby starts to notice some strange things happening around the house late at night, most notably the wet forrtprints that keep appearing without any reasonable explanations. Could the rumors of a ghost be true?
Not good. Very average book that thankfully is a quick read, but lacking in substance. None of the characters feel very well defined and I really couldn't care too much about Abby and her problems. Skip this.
Not good. Very average book that thankfully is a quick read, but lacking in substance. None of the characters feel very well defined and I really couldn't care too much about Abby and her problems. Skip this.
October 22, 2018
Good book for the youth.
May 11, 2023
Cute story for younger readers. There was more time spent describing the details for making a doll house and doll furniture out of household items than spent on the ghost in the story.
February 23, 2016
The novel "The Haunting at Stratton Falls" by Brenda Seabrooke, during World War II. The main character of this novel is a fearful, curious, and thoughtful girl named Abby. On page 115, Abby was super scared to go sledding. She lived in Florida but since her father was at war, she lived with her Aunt in Stratton Falls, New York. This was a thing Abby never did since she was so used to warm weather. Also, Abby was very curious. On page 67, Abby was constantly asking who the girl was and why she appeared at the house so late. Was it a sign? Lastly, Abby was very thoughtful. "I hope my daddy was here and I hope he gets his Christmas package", Abby stated (Page 110). She was nice enough to think of her father, fighting in Europe in World War II while Christmas was going on. Overall, Abby is a great person. She has very common qualities. In this novel, many unexpected things came up. Abby was at her Aunt and Uncle's house while her father served in World War II in 1939. Her cousins made it hard for Abby to fit in, but she stuck around. There was some paranormal activity going on and it was identified as signs. Was Abby's father safe? You'll have to find out.
This story's point of view was written in third person, which allowed the reader to get a glimpse at the character's background, thoughts and personality. This novel had various themes. "Always be aware of the future" would be a great theme because of Abby thinking everything would be alright after her dad went to war, but she was not prepared nor aware of hard times (pg. 150). Also, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" would be a theme because of Abby thinking someone was dangerous and mean, when they were just trying to help. Two mood words for the novel would be spooky and heartwarming. Those words don't sound like they would go together but it gave the novel a nice twist. Spooky because of the wet mysterious footprints that Abby spotted on the floor (pg. 19). Heartwarming because of the nice family Christmas they had. Minus Abby's father. She couldn't stop thinking about him (pg. 110). One of the most important quotes in the book was on page 140, "A girl about your age wearing an old fashion red velvet dress." This quote meant tons to the characters believe it or not. The red velvet dress was used as symbolism. It showed a sign of safety. It was brought up numerous times during the novel. When this specific dress was described, all of the characters thought of peace and calmness.
The way I can connect to the main character Abby, was that we both try our best to make everyone happy. During what was supposed to be her nice, exciting Christmas, Abby chose to worry about her father serving in the war and about what gifts she would get him (pg. 112). When someone gets sick in my family, I'm always hoping that they are okay, when I am away from home. I help my family by cooking food for them. I would give this book an 8/10. This is because the novel had it's juicy parts but also had dull, boring parts. The ending was very slow, and I got bored of it sometimes. Otherwise, the rising action and climax of the book was very interesting. It made me want to read more. If you like mysteries and spooky stories, with a twist, I would recommenced this book for you. This novel also had some nice, kind, heartwarming parts too.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The climax of the story is when the ghost Felicia comes and gives a red velvet dress to Abby for her Christmas gift. (pg. 109). This made Abby know that the dress was a sign of something particular. When Abby wore the dress she fell into the river than, Felicia quickly saved her. The resolution of the novel was when Abby realized that Felicia wasn’t there to warn her about her Father, but she was their to keep her safe (pg. 150)
This story's point of view was written in third person, which allowed the reader to get a glimpse at the character's background, thoughts and personality. This novel had various themes. "Always be aware of the future" would be a great theme because of Abby thinking everything would be alright after her dad went to war, but she was not prepared nor aware of hard times (pg. 150). Also, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" would be a theme because of Abby thinking someone was dangerous and mean, when they were just trying to help. Two mood words for the novel would be spooky and heartwarming. Those words don't sound like they would go together but it gave the novel a nice twist. Spooky because of the wet mysterious footprints that Abby spotted on the floor (pg. 19). Heartwarming because of the nice family Christmas they had. Minus Abby's father. She couldn't stop thinking about him (pg. 110). One of the most important quotes in the book was on page 140, "A girl about your age wearing an old fashion red velvet dress." This quote meant tons to the characters believe it or not. The red velvet dress was used as symbolism. It showed a sign of safety. It was brought up numerous times during the novel. When this specific dress was described, all of the characters thought of peace and calmness.
The way I can connect to the main character Abby, was that we both try our best to make everyone happy. During what was supposed to be her nice, exciting Christmas, Abby chose to worry about her father serving in the war and about what gifts she would get him (pg. 112). When someone gets sick in my family, I'm always hoping that they are okay, when I am away from home. I help my family by cooking food for them. I would give this book an 8/10. This is because the novel had it's juicy parts but also had dull, boring parts. The ending was very slow, and I got bored of it sometimes. Otherwise, the rising action and climax of the book was very interesting. It made me want to read more. If you like mysteries and spooky stories, with a twist, I would recommenced this book for you. This novel also had some nice, kind, heartwarming parts too.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The climax of the story is when the ghost Felicia comes and gives a red velvet dress to Abby for her Christmas gift. (pg. 109). This made Abby know that the dress was a sign of something particular. When Abby wore the dress she fell into the river than, Felicia quickly saved her. The resolution of the novel was when Abby realized that Felicia wasn’t there to warn her about her Father, but she was their to keep her safe (pg. 150)
November 18, 2007
I read it because the setting is in upstate New York.
July 8, 2013
I read this book a really long time ago, and don't remember much about it. I think I enjoyed it though
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews