Eldritch Manor

Eldritch Manor #1

by Kim Thompson

Twelve - year - old Willa Fuller is convinced that the old folks in the shabby boarding house down the street are prisoners of their sinister landlady, Miss Trang. Only when Willa is hired on as housekeeper does she discover the truth, which is far more fascinating. Eldritch Manor is a retirement home for some very strange beings indeed. All hav...

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

188 pages, Paperback

First published September 29, 2012

Reviews

[Tiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Eldritch Manor begins very quietly, with twelve-year old Willa being told by her mom that she can't go to the shore to visit her grandfather, but that she has to find a paying job to help support the family. After a series of missteps, Willa ends up finding out about Eldritch Manor, a very strange elderly home with even stranger tenants. Willa accidentally takes the Manor's housekeeper out of the equation, and thus becomes the next housekeeper.

In order to test whether she's able to keep the secrets of this place, Miss Trang, the keeper of the house invites Willa to a dinner where she's not allowed to act like anyone is strange or different. It's a dinner with the weirdest beings she's ever encountered. I don't want to give away what/who the occupants of Eldritch are, but suffice to say, they come from a different world. Fantastical, mythical creatures are a reality in this world, and Willa meets Belle, a cranky lady who really just wants to go to the sea; the bravado-filled Tengu; Horace, a very old, very wise professor; Baz, who has sharp eyes and instincts; Mab, a tiny being who lives in a dollhouse; and Robert, a ginormous being from the mythological world.

Read the rest of this review at Mostly YA Lit...

[Cait · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute. It wrapped up a little too quickly at the end for and I don't think that things were explained fully at the end, which I would have liked, but it was a cute story.

[gloriabluestocking · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea for a story, but the quality of writing was lacking, imo.

[Saffy 🍉 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book was really interesting! It was a book I couldn't put down! I really want to read the other books in the series

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book as I found myself laughing at some of the antics of the characters and eager to find out what happens next. The author's writing style holds a lot of charm and she leaves us with just enough mystery to keep us looking for more. Children will enjoy it and adults will not want to poke their eyes out while reading it to them.

My only complaint about this story was that there were too many questions left unanswered and it made me feel that the plot was not fully thought out. I absolutely loved that with each chapter something new and wild happened but I feel like that wildness got out of control and the author was not able to tie it all up by the end. I know that not everything needs to be cinched tight with a bow by the end of a story but there was the key issue of the main character's family history that was alluded to throughout the novel but not fully explained by the end. In fact, the main character (Willa) seems to make a wild leap of logic that, even though I saw it coming, does not seem plausible for a 12 year old girl.

Other than that this was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I believe it will entertain many a child.

[Brian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure how this one got published, except that I think it's a vanity press pub. Poor characterization (no main character development at all), plot elements that are left unfinished and therefore unsatisfying, an ending battle that is more horror than anything else in the book and therefore doesn't seem to "fit" into the story, and a cast of rather unlikable characters living in the manor...all told means that there is little to hold on to in this book. It needed a really firm editor to bring out the gem that is hiding somewhere deep within.

[Kiirstin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really fabulous concept, with really interesting ideas, but the execution was disappointing to me as an adult. However, kids will eat this up, and its appearance on the Silver Birch nominees list for Forest of Reading 2014 makes total sense to me. The one place where kids might have the same sort of challenges as I did would be the ending. The ending wasn't as fleshed out as it should have been (I can deal with open questions; the questions were answered, but so briefly it was as if they didn't matter.) That said, very creative and imaginative, and I hope it reaches its proper audience.

full review at a book a week

[Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eldritch Manor was not the best book I've ever read. The thing about this was that the beginning was fast and then when it got to the middle it was very boring! In the beginning willa gets a job at a house at the end of the street where al these old fogies live. But then the head boss of the house tells Willa that the people that live in this house are from a different world but have come to this world to live for eternity. One night Willa is about to go to bed when a horse with red eyes goes down the street towards the retirement home. she has to tell them immediately. the next thing you know Willa is taking care of the crazy old bunch. Follow Willa as she tries to protect the old fogies from danger and tries to keep them in line!

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed "Eldritch Manor". It starts slow, but builds to incredible momentum in the third act. I wish the minor, family drama arc was more fleshed out (although that dinner scene was great), which is the only reason this rating isn't higher. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for the sequel.

I read "Eldritch Manor" as part of a book club read for some of my students. I feel like reading it with my teacher hat on definitely skews my appreciation of the book. I immediately thought about ways to ask the kids about foreshadowing they encounter, and what mythical creature they would like to eat dinner with. Still though, even without taking this on as a purely pleasurable read, I enjoyed it enough to read it in a day.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars. Enjoyable read, but the ending was a bit rushed, with the family relationship issues wrapped up way to quickly. The main character, Willa, connected the dots a little too easily, especially considering the craziness and danger in which she and her friends were involved. I doubt she would have had the time to think about her family and its makeup. There were some bits of foreshadowing that the reader can pick up on, so the ending isn't a surprise, but there needs to be more to feel the Willa came to the idea naturally.

[Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave Eldritch Manor 4 stars. I gave it 4 stars because it really deserves it. Me being who I am, I usually would never even pick up a fantasy book. But to me that book has a lot of great things. Such as funny and unique characters, a twisted plot, a surprising solution, and a very mysterious ending that takes a minute or two to understand. It just doesn't get that 5th star because the beginning is kinda slow. But overall 4 stars is a very good rating for a very good book. Bye

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful DELIGHTFUL read!!!
When it flew across my Goodreads page, I almost didn't read it because it was written for children and then I remembered "The Book Thief" and decided to give it a go.
What fun! More than glad I read it!
Took me back to my youth and all the magic that filled it from authors like Kim Thompson.
Read it with your children or your nieces and nephews or your students or borrow your friends children or not and just read it for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

[David Polegato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eldritch Manor is a very involving story focused around a retirement home for very old people that are not what they seem. It has a very nice pace to it which keeps your interest throughout the whole book. There will be some very interesting scenes that alone could make this book into a must read but it is so much more. I Highly recommend you READ this book.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good premise and good characters. Ending was iffy.

[Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should have had quite a bit more editing done; the writing doesn't hold up that well. Still, it was a cute story with more charm than a lot of other books I've finished lately.

[Francesca Caputo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book in silver birch ever!!!!!:)

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastical, starts realistic and gets weirder. Surprise ending, suitable for all ages (above about grade 3-4 due to difficult language), not very long. Cute, not amazing.

[Helene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous kid's book, with a feisty little heroine.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my reading pet peeves is when a book doesn't indicate it's part of a series. I was surprised at the hasty ending of this, with many questions still left unanswered, but was willing to let that go...until I came here to plunk it into my list and found two other books. Why hide that it's a series? So odd.

The book itself has a great idea that's only partially realized. The cast of senior fantastic beings aren't the most likeable, but I kept reading because I wondered where this could lead. The editing definitely could have been tighter. But knowing now that it's a series (or at least a trilogy) makes some of the loose ends make sense.

All in all, a quick read with some fun/funny bits that took away some of my bitterness about unknowingly starting a series.