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Seven for a Secret Never to be Told: A Ghost Story for Children

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Seven for a Secret Never to be Told is a spooky tale for middle grade readers.
11 year old Mia Page lives with her Nan in a cottage that backs onto an overgrown field. Everything in her life seems normal until one night she is woken by the sound of crying.
As the days go by more disturbing and inexplicable things begin to happen. Mia confides in her best friend Safi, a refugee boy from Iraq, but has she put his life at risk by exposing him to the supernatural forces unfolding around her?
A mysterious, wooden talisman and a grainy, black and white photograph provide unsettling clues to the ghostly phenomenon. An old and terrible secret is untangling. Mia and Safi need all their grit and determination to face the danger ahead. Will they be able to solve the riddle of the crying boy or will the haunting continue forever?

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 10, 2017

4 people are currently reading
3 people want to read

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Joy McNally-Bells

3 books1 follower

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
3,117 reviews6 followers
July 26, 2017
Mia lived with her Mum and Nan in a little cottage named, ‘Magpie Cottage’. One night she was sure that she had heard someone crying outside, but in the morning her Nan thought she must of misheard.

On the day of her school swimming lesson her costume was nowhere to be found. Later the costume was discovered soaking wet, and dripping on the floor. Another day she saw someone was walking besides her Nan, whilst she was out walking the dog, but her Nan told her no-one was with her.

These strange occurrences kept on happening, so when tales started emerging about a group of friends in the 1050’s, and the death of one of them, Mia decided to investigate further. Could she really be having contact with a ghost?

Seven for a Secret is a children’s ghost story. It deals with paranormal activity, but it is not that scary that it is going to give kids nightmares.

I was intrigued by the book, and flew through it. I wanted to know if all of the events that were happening to Mia, or those that she witnessed, were connected, and how.

The book opens on Christmas Eve 1950, though I didn’t realise at the time what the significance of this information had to do with the story. I presumed that the opening was about a group of lads hearing a ghost.

The book has short chapters, which I find are a must for children. It is a book that I would say would best be for those 9+ years old, as there is a lot of text, too much for a young child to read, plus there are no images throughout either.

Brilliant, mildly creepy, and gripping. This is a book that has been written by a very talented debut novelist. I’d love to read more about Mia, perhaps she really has a sixth sense that is worth exploring.

Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
Profile Image for Alayne.
351 reviews
June 8, 2017
What a wonderful debut novel :) OK it is for children but as an adult I still enjoyed it and was excited to discover the truth at the end. Well written Joy :)
Profile Image for Kelly Nelson.
1 review
April 29, 2017
Love it!

I just read this in one sitting. Could NOT put it down. Well done Joy my lovely friend! Fantastic read x
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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