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The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story
Ghost story master Mary Downing Hahn unrolls the suspenseful, spine-chilling yarn of a girl imprisoned for more than a century, the terrifying events that put her there, and a friendship that crosses the boundary between past and present.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 4, 2018
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6226 people want to read
About the author
Mary Downing Hahn
71 books4,377 followersI grew up in a small shingled house down at the end of Guilford Road in College Park, Maryland. Our block was loaded with kids my age. We spent hours outdoors playing "Kick the Can" and "Mother, May I" as well as cowboy and outlaw games that usually ended in quarrels about who shot whom. In the summer, we went on day long expeditions into forbidden territory -- the woods on the other side of the train tracks, the creek that wound its way through College Park, and the experimental farm run by the University of Maryland.
In elementary school, I was known as the class artist. I loved to read and draw but I hated writing reports. Requirements such as outlines, perfect penmanship, and following directions killed my interest in putting words on paper. All those facts -- who cared what the principal products of Chile were? To me, writing reports was almost as boring as math.
Despite my dislike of writing, I loved to make up stories. Instead of telling them in words, I told them in pictures. My stories were usually about orphans who ran away and had the sort of exciting adventures I would have enjoyed if my mother hadn't always interfered.
When I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in more complex stories. I wanted to show how people felt, what they thought, what they said. For this, I needed words. Although I wasn't sure I was smart enough, I decided to write and illustrate children's books when I grew up. Consequently, at the age of thirteen, I began my first book. Small Town Life was about a girl named Susan, as tall and skinny and freckle faced as I was. Unlike her shy, self conscious creator, however, Susan was a leader who lived the life I wanted to live -- my ideal self, in other words. Although I never finished Small Town Life, it marked the start of a lifelong interest in writing.
In high school, I kept a diary. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories and dreamed of being published in The New Yorker. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage or the confidence to send anything there.
By the time my first novel was published, I was 41 years old. That's how long it took me to get serious about writing. The Sara Summer took me a year to write, another year to find a publisher, and yet another year of revisions before Clarion accepted it.
Since Sara appeared in 1979, I've written an average of one book a year. If I have a plot firmly in mind when I begin, the writing goes fairly quickly. More typically, I start with a character or a situation and only a vague idea of what's going to happen. Therefore, I spend a lot of time revising and thinking things out. If I'd paid more attention to the craft of outlining back in elementary school, I might be a faster writer, but, on the other hand, if I knew everything that was going to happen in a story, I might be too bored to write it down. Writing is a journey of discovery. That's what makes it so exciting.
In elementary school, I was known as the class artist. I loved to read and draw but I hated writing reports. Requirements such as outlines, perfect penmanship, and following directions killed my interest in putting words on paper. All those facts -- who cared what the principal products of Chile were? To me, writing reports was almost as boring as math.
Despite my dislike of writing, I loved to make up stories. Instead of telling them in words, I told them in pictures. My stories were usually about orphans who ran away and had the sort of exciting adventures I would have enjoyed if my mother hadn't always interfered.
When I was in junior high school, I developed an interest in more complex stories. I wanted to show how people felt, what they thought, what they said. For this, I needed words. Although I wasn't sure I was smart enough, I decided to write and illustrate children's books when I grew up. Consequently, at the age of thirteen, I began my first book. Small Town Life was about a girl named Susan, as tall and skinny and freckle faced as I was. Unlike her shy, self conscious creator, however, Susan was a leader who lived the life I wanted to live -- my ideal self, in other words. Although I never finished Small Town Life, it marked the start of a lifelong interest in writing.
In high school, I kept a diary. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories and dreamed of being published in The New Yorker. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage or the confidence to send anything there.
By the time my first novel was published, I was 41 years old. That's how long it took me to get serious about writing. The Sara Summer took me a year to write, another year to find a publisher, and yet another year of revisions before Clarion accepted it.
Since Sara appeared in 1979, I've written an average of one book a year. If I have a plot firmly in mind when I begin, the writing goes fairly quickly. More typically, I start with a character or a situation and only a vague idea of what's going to happen. Therefore, I spend a lot of time revising and thinking things out. If I'd paid more attention to the craft of outlining back in elementary school, I might be a faster writer, but, on the other hand, if I knew everything that was going to happen in a story, I might be too bored to write it down. Writing is a journey of discovery. That's what makes it so exciting.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 961 reviews
September 3, 2020
With Mary Downing Hahn's The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story, I do have to admit that this is one of those stories where I have been so personally and massively disappointed with and by (in particular) the ending that my reading pleasure has in fact and indeed been lastingly and negatively affected (and to such an extent that I really have ended up not enjoying the story as a whole nearly as much as I had fondly assumed and hoped I would). For yes, I was kind of majorly wanting and even totally expecting after Jules and her new friend Maisie had convinced ghost girl Lily to leave the locked room and change the past (to save her artist father and her mother from being murdered and by extension also her from dying of hunger and thirst in the locked room which she had of course been afraid to leave since her father had told her to hide and to only come out when called) that in fact and indeed, not only the past but also the future (the present) had been truly and realistically altered. In other words and very much alike to Antonia Barber's novel The Ghosts, that the Bennet family names on the cemetery headstone would also disappear (or at least appear as them not having been murdered but dying of normal old age sometime in the future), that Lily's family had thus not simply moved into some kind of alternative existence (with Lily, spurned on by Jules and Maisie, truly having changed the reality of the past so that she and her parents not only survived the attack, the home invasion, but continued to live and prosper at Oak Hill, and that the murder of artist Henry Bennet and his wife had thus never happened, that Lily and Aunt Nellie had saved them and indeed that chief villain Mr. Bailey was in absolute reality the one who had ended up killed, with his coconspirator Ellis Dixon imprisoned and tied up, and not just in some alternative type of life, some alternate universe so to speak, but in actual and total reality).
Now while my problems with the ending are of course being a mostly personal quibble, and even though I have found much of The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story an engagingly sweet ghost (and time slip) tale that also presents and features important messages (lessons) regarding friendship, bravery and yes, that parents do need to consider their children's wishes and their need for a stable and not constantly changing existence and not just their own desires and wants, from a purely personal reading enjoyment point of departure, I have found The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story definitely not what I was expecting according to the GR book description (which in my opinion certainly does seem to insinuate that Jules and Maisie do help Lily change the past). And therefore, only a two and a half star ranking from me, but rounded down to two stars, as I also and sadly have found Jules' artist parents rather neglectful and nonchalant towards their daughter at best, with the father until the very end of the novel stubbornly insisting on continuing his nomadic life of travelling around the country restoring historic buildings and the mother (who is a writer) also often seemingly using her daughter's, using Jules' unhappiness and even her anger at how she is always forced to change schools and can thus never really make lasting friends as intellectual, as thematic fodder for her novels, for her literary characters (and yes, this is such a nasty difference if one looks at Henry Bennet, who although he is an artist and also a very famous one, never once loses sight of the fact that he has a family and that his family comes first). And even though by the end of The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story, Jules' family does appear to be described by Mary Downing Hahn as staying on in Hillsborough on a more permanent basis, I do still feel (inside of me) that the father in particular is likely only staying because this place looks like a good career opportunity for him and indeed that if something better and more tempting (historic house restoration wise) were coming along, that he would more than likely once again not at all hesitate to once again uproot his family and leave like a total and utter nomad.
Now while my problems with the ending are of course being a mostly personal quibble, and even though I have found much of The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story an engagingly sweet ghost (and time slip) tale that also presents and features important messages (lessons) regarding friendship, bravery and yes, that parents do need to consider their children's wishes and their need for a stable and not constantly changing existence and not just their own desires and wants, from a purely personal reading enjoyment point of departure, I have found The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story definitely not what I was expecting according to the GR book description (which in my opinion certainly does seem to insinuate that Jules and Maisie do help Lily change the past). And therefore, only a two and a half star ranking from me, but rounded down to two stars, as I also and sadly have found Jules' artist parents rather neglectful and nonchalant towards their daughter at best, with the father until the very end of the novel stubbornly insisting on continuing his nomadic life of travelling around the country restoring historic buildings and the mother (who is a writer) also often seemingly using her daughter's, using Jules' unhappiness and even her anger at how she is always forced to change schools and can thus never really make lasting friends as intellectual, as thematic fodder for her novels, for her literary characters (and yes, this is such a nasty difference if one looks at Henry Bennet, who although he is an artist and also a very famous one, never once loses sight of the fact that he has a family and that his family comes first). And even though by the end of The Girl in the Locked Room: A Ghost Story, Jules' family does appear to be described by Mary Downing Hahn as staying on in Hillsborough on a more permanent basis, I do still feel (inside of me) that the father in particular is likely only staying because this place looks like a good career opportunity for him and indeed that if something better and more tempting (historic house restoration wise) were coming along, that he would more than likely once again not at all hesitate to once again uproot his family and leave like a total and utter nomad.
December 22, 2018
Mary Downing Hahn tells a great ghost story! Her stories are written for a middle-grade audience, but even at 50-years old, I love her ghostly tales!
Jules and her parents move around a lot. Her dad restores historic old houses and buildings. So they live in one place only long enough for him to finish a project, then move on to another town and another restoration job. Jules is tired of moving, new schools and having no friends. Her father's newest project is Oak Hill, an old mansion in Hillsborough, VA. Locals say the house is haunted. When Jules sees the ghost of a young girl, she realizes the stories just might be true. She makes a new friend, Maisie, and the two girls start investigating the history of the house and why the spirit of the girl is trapped there.
This story is a bit spooky, but still age appropriate for middle-grade kids. Kids (and adults) who enjoy ghost stories would love this book.
I listened to the audio book version of this story. Narrated by Rachel Dulude, the audio is just under 4 hours long. Delude reads at a nice pace and has a pleasant voice. I have partial hearing loss but was easily able to hear and understand the entire book.
Mary Downing Hahn is the author of more than 30 middle-grade/young adult novels. Most of them are supernatural/lightly spooky tales.
Jules and her parents move around a lot. Her dad restores historic old houses and buildings. So they live in one place only long enough for him to finish a project, then move on to another town and another restoration job. Jules is tired of moving, new schools and having no friends. Her father's newest project is Oak Hill, an old mansion in Hillsborough, VA. Locals say the house is haunted. When Jules sees the ghost of a young girl, she realizes the stories just might be true. She makes a new friend, Maisie, and the two girls start investigating the history of the house and why the spirit of the girl is trapped there.
This story is a bit spooky, but still age appropriate for middle-grade kids. Kids (and adults) who enjoy ghost stories would love this book.
I listened to the audio book version of this story. Narrated by Rachel Dulude, the audio is just under 4 hours long. Delude reads at a nice pace and has a pleasant voice. I have partial hearing loss but was easily able to hear and understand the entire book.
Mary Downing Hahn is the author of more than 30 middle-grade/young adult novels. Most of them are supernatural/lightly spooky tales.
April 4, 2018
Jules has never stayed in one place for more than a year because of her dad, who restores historical buildings across the country. She yearns for a permanent home and friends she can grow up with. But when she and her family arrive in Hillsborough, she starts seeing scenes of life from hundreds of years before, and a girl dressed in old fashioned clothing.
The girl has been hiding for years. She’s lonely and sad, and watches Jules in her strange clothes. She wants to go outside too, but every night they come for her...
I enjoyed this ghost story, filled with both sadness and hope. Jules is relatable, as is her brand new friend, Maisie, whom she meets in the library and bonds over fantasy novels. You also can’t help but feel for the mysterious girl in the wardrobe.
Thank you to Clarion Books and Netgalley for an ARC.
The girl has been hiding for years. She’s lonely and sad, and watches Jules in her strange clothes. She wants to go outside too, but every night they come for her...
I enjoyed this ghost story, filled with both sadness and hope. Jules is relatable, as is her brand new friend, Maisie, whom she meets in the library and bonds over fantasy novels. You also can’t help but feel for the mysterious girl in the wardrobe.
Thank you to Clarion Books and Netgalley for an ARC.
March 28, 2018
Author Mary Downing Hahn writes ghostly children’s books that will delight adults as well, and her latest, The Girl in the Locked Room proves no exception. I couldn’t put it down, if you’ll pardon the cliché!
Jules Aldridge has moved — yet again — this time to Hillsborough, Virginia; her father Ron oversees the renovation of historic homes, and this time he is lovingly restoring Oak Hill, a dilapidated 200-year-old mansion. But Jules fears he’ll move yet again, as he does after he finishes every job, condemning her to a new school and no friends. But Jules soon realizes there’s a girl in Oak Hill’s attic — but only she can see her. Who is this ghostly presence?
Told alternatively by Jules and the frightened, eponymous girl in the locked room in the attic, The Girl in the Locked Room relates a great tale of friendship across time. Recommended for young and old.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review.
Jules Aldridge has moved — yet again — this time to Hillsborough, Virginia; her father Ron oversees the renovation of historic homes, and this time he is lovingly restoring Oak Hill, a dilapidated 200-year-old mansion. But Jules fears he’ll move yet again, as he does after he finishes every job, condemning her to a new school and no friends. But Jules soon realizes there’s a girl in Oak Hill’s attic — but only she can see her. Who is this ghostly presence?
Told alternatively by Jules and the frightened, eponymous girl in the locked room in the attic, The Girl in the Locked Room relates a great tale of friendship across time. Recommended for young and old.
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review.
December 6, 2024
With the season of Halloween upon us, it is always interesting to find just the right kind of books available to read.
Jules dad renovates old houses. This one seems the most “unusual” of all when it turns out to harbor a ghost on the top floor in a locked room.
Why is she there?
What secrets does she harbor?
And…What can Jules and her new friend Maisie discover that will help this young girl who has been left behind leave the house…
And… Allow this house to no longer be haunted by her?
Told in alternating chapters between Jules and the “ghost” Lily, the narrative is quick paced and engaging.
Interest level: Grades 4th – 6th
Jules dad renovates old houses. This one seems the most “unusual” of all when it turns out to harbor a ghost on the top floor in a locked room.
Why is she there?
What secrets does she harbor?
And…What can Jules and her new friend Maisie discover that will help this young girl who has been left behind leave the house…
And… Allow this house to no longer be haunted by her?
Told in alternating chapters between Jules and the “ghost” Lily, the narrative is quick paced and engaging.
Interest level: Grades 4th – 6th
June 21, 2018
This was a very gentle ghost story, not a scary one, perfect for young readers who want to explore the paranormal a little but need a safe story. I prefered "Wait Til Helen Comes" Mary Downing Hahn as a kid.
September 15, 2025
خیلی بانمک بود . من انتظار یه کتاب ترسناک نداشتم و از این لحاظ که ترسناک نبود غافلگیر نشدم . داستان جالب بود و تخیلی اما هنوز لذت بخش بود .
بهترین ویژگی این کتاب کوتاه بودنشه که باعث میشه اضافه داستان گرفته بشه و لپ مطلب گفته بشه
من اینکه از دو دیدگاه جولز و دختر مطرح میشد و دوست داشتم و به نظر ارزش یک بار خوندن رو داره
شخصیت های رمان جذابیت دارند و به حدی کشش وجود داره که بخوای داستان رو تموم کنی
همین دیگه
پایان ۲۵ شهریور ماه ۱۴۰۴
ساعت ۲:۴۰ دقیقه بامداد
:)
بهترین ویژگی این کتاب کوتاه بودنشه که باعث میشه اضافه داستان گرفته بشه و لپ مطلب گفته بشه
من اینکه از دو دیدگاه جولز و دختر مطرح میشد و دوست داشتم و به نظر ارزش یک بار خوندن رو داره
شخصیت های رمان جذابیت دارند و به حدی کشش وجود داره که بخوای داستان رو تموم کنی
همین دیگه
پایان ۲۵ شهریور ماه ۱۴۰۴
ساعت ۲:۴۰ دقیقه بامداد
:)
June 6, 2021
This book was a little sad and had a lonely vibe to it as it's about a young girl who died in a locked room of an old house more then a hundred years ago. When a girl named Jules and her family move into an addition build on the back of the old house, Jules sees the young girl in the window and is determined to help her.
I honestly thought this book would be much more creepy then it actually was but it was still a very good ghost story that sucked me in right away and had me wanting to keep reading. The young girl locked in the room really tugged at my heart strings as I read about her and her very lonely afterlife.
I honestly thought this book would be much more creepy then it actually was but it was still a very good ghost story that sucked me in right away and had me wanting to keep reading. The young girl locked in the room really tugged at my heart strings as I read about her and her very lonely afterlife.
August 17, 2022
خب این کتاب ی کتاب کوتاهه ترسناکه که برای ی روزه خوندن مناسبه
اوایل کتاب داستان تم ترسناکشو نشون داد،نمیگم عالی ولی خوب بود
اما اخرای داستان دیگه اب بندی شده بود داستان و کلا ترسناک بودن فراموش شده بود ،
با اینکه سعی میکرد ترسناک باشه ولی نبود
اوایل کتاب داستان تم ترسناکشو نشون داد،نمیگم عالی ولی خوب بود
اما اخرای داستان دیگه اب بندی شده بود داستان و کلا ترسناک بودن فراموش شده بود ،
با اینکه سعی میکرد ترسناک باشه ولی نبود
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July 2, 2020Fantastic
October 8, 2022
A very sweet ghost story about time travel, friendship, and helping others. I enjoyed the simple read and the naive characters.
September 11, 2022
3.5. It’s not scary at all.
Jules dad flips old homes. So when they move into the latest home, Jules sees a little girl Lilly. She also hears horses. Only problem is there are no horses and she is the only little girl around. Can Jules help Lilly? Will Jules be able to stay in the same town?
Jules dad flips old homes. So when they move into the latest home, Jules sees a little girl Lilly. She also hears horses. Only problem is there are no horses and she is the only little girl around. Can Jules help Lilly? Will Jules be able to stay in the same town?
January 21, 2021
I am in the 7th grade and I absolutely loved this book. I recommended this book to at least three people that I thought would like it. I love how this book is in third person point of view. Other seventh graders should really read this!!
September 28, 2023
Very enjoyable ghost story, not scary at all.
December 8, 2025
I'm so obviously not the target audience for
The Girl in the Locked Room
so I didn't expect to be scared, though the title and cover art did give me a brief chill and thrill.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
There is a girl in a locked room.
She has been locked in the attic for a long time.
She despairs of ever getting out until a 13 year old girl named Jules and her family arrive to renovate the old home the girl has been imprisoned in for over a century.
How will Jules and her new BFF, Maisie, save the girl from the locked room?
On paper, the premise is nothing new, a ghost trapped in a house, haunted by her past and memories and unable to let go.
Okay, sounds straightforward but then we get a bunch of random themes and subplots:
Jules has visions and she and Maisie talk about multi-verses and another dimensions and what???
How did we get from a typical ghost story into Twilight Zone metaphysics, none of which is ever explained, naturally.
Also, I don't know what time period Jules lives in but her speech and that of her parents and friend does not sound modern or realistic.
It's obvious that I won't be reading anything else by this author.
** Minor spoilers ahead **
There is a girl in a locked room.
She has been locked in the attic for a long time.
She despairs of ever getting out until a 13 year old girl named Jules and her family arrive to renovate the old home the girl has been imprisoned in for over a century.
How will Jules and her new BFF, Maisie, save the girl from the locked room?
On paper, the premise is nothing new, a ghost trapped in a house, haunted by her past and memories and unable to let go.
Okay, sounds straightforward but then we get a bunch of random themes and subplots:
Jules has visions and she and Maisie talk about multi-verses and another dimensions and what???
How did we get from a typical ghost story into Twilight Zone metaphysics, none of which is ever explained, naturally.
Also, I don't know what time period Jules lives in but her speech and that of her parents and friend does not sound modern or realistic.
It's obvious that I won't be reading anything else by this author.
March 16, 2024
میشه بپرسم این کجاش ترسناک بود؟😶
November 17, 2022
it was honestly way better than i thought i actually really liked it, it was really easy to read anit was entertaining. very slay
December 29, 2020
Found this in my little sisters room and decided to pick it up!
A simple ghost story, but quite cute. The girl in the locked room is predictable, yet still a fun read.
I also discovered that Mary Downing Hahn also wrote,Wait till Helen Comes, which i totally forgot about but it was a favorite as a kid
A simple ghost story, but quite cute. The girl in the locked room is predictable, yet still a fun read.
I also discovered that Mary Downing Hahn also wrote,Wait till Helen Comes, which i totally forgot about but it was a favorite as a kid
October 8, 2018
I am a big fan of Mary Downing Hahn. I think she does a great job of creating a spooky atmosphere for kids. This particular book was not as spooky as it was sad. However, still an interesting portrayal that discusses how our actions affect our course of life.
February 8, 2019
This is my favorite book so far. It is scary and just my type. I think it is a great book for people that like horror and being scared (ME!) And I read this with my bff, Ella. Next, we are reading The Collector! I think it will be really fun and hopefully scary. Bye my QTs! <3
January 22, 2024
داستان تنیجری قشنگی بود :)
February 3, 2022
Very enjoyable. Well written. The ending was well thought out and not rushed.
June 10, 2020
Summary:
A young girl with a tragic past has been left alone and locked away in her attic for so long that she forgets everything, including her own name.
That is until one day, Jules and her parents move into the abandoned house while it's being renovated. Jules immediately senses something horrible happened there and even starts to see strange people on the property that no one else can see.
Will she be able to finally set the sad girl in the attic free?
Personal opinion:
Considering this is a middle grade book, it is more simply written with a nice overall message.
I'm going to start with the fact that I did not really see the point of adding in the bit about alternate universes. The general story didn't seem to really fit in with that to me. I also would have enjoyed this book a bit more if it had some age appropriate scares. It is a ghost story after all.
While I wouldn't recommend it for older teens or adults, it might be an okay read for middle grades who enjoy non-scary books.
A young girl with a tragic past has been left alone and locked away in her attic for so long that she forgets everything, including her own name.
That is until one day, Jules and her parents move into the abandoned house while it's being renovated. Jules immediately senses something horrible happened there and even starts to see strange people on the property that no one else can see.
Will she be able to finally set the sad girl in the attic free?
Personal opinion:
Considering this is a middle grade book, it is more simply written with a nice overall message.
I'm going to start with the fact that I did not really see the point of adding in the bit about alternate universes. The general story didn't seem to really fit in with that to me. I also would have enjoyed this book a bit more if it had some age appropriate scares. It is a ghost story after all.
While I wouldn't recommend it for older teens or adults, it might be an okay read for middle grades who enjoy non-scary books.
October 18, 2024
I read this partially for a nostalgia factor since I used to read Hahn as a kid, but also because it's spooky season and I love a good ghost story. Compared to her other works I found this one to be pretty mild. It wasn't as spooky of a ghost story has Hahn has done historically,
October 3, 2020
This was cute little ghost story. If I read this as a kid I would have loved every minute of it. Not an evil spirit but a friendly one. Perfect for a middle grade book.
October 7, 2018
I’d rate this 3 1/2 stars. It’s not as spooky as I thought it would be, but a solid middle grade ghost story which touches on the subject of alternate realities.
September 25, 2018
4.5 stars
How long do you keep your promise? To Lily….you keep it forever. Massie and Jules needed to convince Lily that there was another alternative to keeping that promise before it was too late.
This is another great ghost story that is threaded with compassion. I liked how Massie and Jules solved the mystery and then, went about proving to Lily that she mattered to them.
How long do you keep your promise? To Lily….you keep it forever. Massie and Jules needed to convince Lily that there was another alternative to keeping that promise before it was too late.
This is another great ghost story that is threaded with compassion. I liked how Massie and Jules solved the mystery and then, went about proving to Lily that she mattered to them.
August 13, 2018
When Jules and her parents move into the long-abandoned Oak Hill, it isn’t the first time she’s been frightened by a house. Her father restores old buildings, but Oak Hill’s history is grimmer and more mysterious than most. There’s a room on the third floor that has been locked for over a century, and someone may still be inside it. When Jules makes contact with the ghost of ten-year-old Lily, she wonders whether the past can be changed and Lily and her family can be saved.
I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Clarion Books. Full disclosure: I thought I was picking up a YA novel, but The Girl in the Locked Room is more middle grade territory. The two main characters are twelve and ten, and the novel reads like something I would have picked up randomly in the children’s section of the library twenty years ago. This isn’t a mark against it, but I might have reconsidered if I’d known. As a reviewer, I’m not sure what makes a middle grade novel good for middle graders; I can only say whether it’s also entertaining for adults.
In this case, I’d have to go with no. It’s a fast read at only 200 pages, and I read it in under a day, in part because I was eager to get through it. There just isn’t a lot to it, plot-wise. The conflict of the novel isn’t obvious until well after the 50% mark, and as conflicts go, it’s pretty bland and a little nonsensical. I was expecting a ghost story and, instead, I got a poorly explained science fiction multiverse with a side of meager haunting. The alternate dimension angle, or why the characters are able to access it in Oak Hill, is never properly addressed, and in a novel that already includes ghosts, I’m less accepting of yet more Strange Things. Worse, there isn’t an ounce of actual horror in it, since the living characters are never in any real danger.
I’m not fond of the structure either. The chapters alternate between Jules and Lily and, again, there seems to be no reason at all for it until halfway into the novel. Lily’s sections are boring and repetitive, and they take every possible bit of suspense out of the ghost story. She’s obviously harmless, but I’m not convinced Jules has reason to think so as quickly as she does. (Any horror movie will tell you that setting a ghost free from a locked room usually doesn’t end well. Oh, if only the story had gone that way). I can’t think of any adjectives to describe Jules. She’s just there, a vehicle for the story to get where it’s going. I would rate it lower, but I don’t think there’s anything actually wrong with the novel; I’m just not the audience for it.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Clarion Books. Full disclosure: I thought I was picking up a YA novel, but The Girl in the Locked Room is more middle grade territory. The two main characters are twelve and ten, and the novel reads like something I would have picked up randomly in the children’s section of the library twenty years ago. This isn’t a mark against it, but I might have reconsidered if I’d known. As a reviewer, I’m not sure what makes a middle grade novel good for middle graders; I can only say whether it’s also entertaining for adults.
In this case, I’d have to go with no. It’s a fast read at only 200 pages, and I read it in under a day, in part because I was eager to get through it. There just isn’t a lot to it, plot-wise. The conflict of the novel isn’t obvious until well after the 50% mark, and as conflicts go, it’s pretty bland and a little nonsensical. I was expecting a ghost story and, instead, I got a poorly explained science fiction multiverse with a side of meager haunting. The alternate dimension angle, or why the characters are able to access it in Oak Hill, is never properly addressed, and in a novel that already includes ghosts, I’m less accepting of yet more Strange Things. Worse, there isn’t an ounce of actual horror in it, since the living characters are never in any real danger.
I’m not fond of the structure either. The chapters alternate between Jules and Lily and, again, there seems to be no reason at all for it until halfway into the novel. Lily’s sections are boring and repetitive, and they take every possible bit of suspense out of the ghost story. She’s obviously harmless, but I’m not convinced Jules has reason to think so as quickly as she does. (Any horror movie will tell you that setting a ghost free from a locked room usually doesn’t end well. Oh, if only the story had gone that way). I can’t think of any adjectives to describe Jules. She’s just there, a vehicle for the story to get where it’s going. I would rate it lower, but I don’t think there’s anything actually wrong with the novel; I’m just not the audience for it.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
September 3, 2018
Mary Downing Hahn is the queen of the middle grades scary story, at least according to this librarian and most of her fifth graders through the years as well as many of those in the fourth grade. “The Girl in the Locked Room” is similar to Hahn’s “The Old Willis Place” in creep factor which means that it is a ghost story and there are moments of trepidation, but it does not cause the major chills of her “Deep and Dark and Dangerous,” “Wait Til Helen Comes,” or “All the Lovely Bad Ones.” In “The Girl,” Jules and her mom are dragged by her building restoration father to Oak Hill where she begins to see the wisp of a little girl in the window of a third floor room and hears the ghosts of evil men on horseback. When she meets a like-minded friend in town, the two decide to rescue the ghostly girl and restore her to a past where she isn’t locked into a room for centuries and can be reunited with murdered parents. Some readers may be disappointed that their spines aren’t tingled throughout, but fans of Hahn’s previous works will thrill to a story well told. Parents, teachers, and librarians will be pleased with the strong characters, the interesting twists to a plot with clear problem/resolution and climax, plus an absence of any sexual tension, profanity or other potential content issues that seem to plague many books aimed at the grades 4-8 audience. Highly recommended.
December 18, 2018
The things that go bump in the night. Every child’s nightmare reaches out to me as I flip through the pages of The Girl in the Locked Room. My scenes are falling awake and aware of every sound I hear. My heart pounds and my eyes dart across the page. The book draws me in.
Jules’ dad has a job. He is to renovate the old house on the hill. The one the people in the town below believe is haunted. Jules has a bad feeling, especially when she starts to see a family no one else can see. Especially when dolls start to speak. Especially when she meets Lily.
The Girl can vividly remember her promise to her mom that she would stay in the room. The Girl hears hooves on dirt almost every night. She hides in the closet. One day she sees new activity below. She can see Jules. She can see and hear what the men are doing to her home. Her world is forever changed by the arrival of Jules.
This book is full of spooks, but it is also filled with messages of love and care. The Girl holds loyalty dear while Jules’ sences are overpowered by the need to help. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a scary book.
Jules’ dad has a job. He is to renovate the old house on the hill. The one the people in the town below believe is haunted. Jules has a bad feeling, especially when she starts to see a family no one else can see. Especially when dolls start to speak. Especially when she meets Lily.
The Girl can vividly remember her promise to her mom that she would stay in the room. The Girl hears hooves on dirt almost every night. She hides in the closet. One day she sees new activity below. She can see Jules. She can see and hear what the men are doing to her home. Her world is forever changed by the arrival of Jules.
This book is full of spooks, but it is also filled with messages of love and care. The Girl holds loyalty dear while Jules’ sences are overpowered by the need to help. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a scary book.
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