Ravencave

by Marcus Sedgwick

A grim discovery brings disturbing revelations in this chilling ghost story from the late Marcus Sedgwick.

While mucking about in the ruins of an old farm while on holiday in Yorkshire, James hears strange laughter echoing around the walls. The ghost of a young girl appears to him and urges James to follow her but at first he’s too afraid.

When she appears again, this time James follows. But will he be able to face the terrible truth she reveals ...?

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Ghosts, Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Middle Grade

Unknown Binding

First published March 2, 2023

About the author

Marcus Sedgwick was a British writer and illustrator. He authored several young adult and children's books and picture books, a work of nonfiction and several novels for adults, and illustrated a collection of myths and a book of folk tales for adults.

Reviews

[Kirsty Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm this was a hard one to rate, I get the concept and I thought it was profound but for me it was a little too short to really make me care about the characters and the events. Going in I was expecting a spooky ghost story but it ended up being super depressing and emotional and nowhere near as spooky as I wanted.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0 Sterne
Ich wusste nicht, dass es sich hierbei um ein Kinderbuch handelt und habe mich deshalb lange darüber geärgert, wie offensichtlich der Plot Twist angedeutet wurde. Ich habe mir die Stellen markiert und es sind wirklich viele, weshalb ich mich frage, ob man das Ende nicht selbst einem Kind vorwegnimmt. Die Figuren wurden zudem überhaupt nicht beschrieben. Auseinanderhalten konnte ich sie nur, weil es verschiedene Familienmitglieder waren.

Trotz einiger negativer Aspekte hatte ich dennoch ein interessantes Leseerlebnis. Es ist nicht besonders lang und alle Kapitel erfüllen ihren Zweck. Die Geschichte ist außerdem tiefgründiger als erwartet und somit war ich ein paar Stunden gut beschäftigt. Einem jungen Kind würde ich das Buch nicht empfehlen, da es doch recht düster ist.

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨ "I am left wondering how it is that people go on. How do people keep on going, even when everything seems to be against them?"

An evocative novella that paints a vivid portrait of its setting and a haunting tale. I enjoyed how it explores themes of love, loss, grief, fractured family dynamics and more through engaging and well-written prose. Even though I guessed the twist halfway through, this book still gave me the feels.

Thank you Union Square & Co. for the Netgalley ARC.

[Ronja]

Ich dachte erst, dass es 3 Sterne werden weil die Geschichte schon vorhersehbar ist. Aber das Ende ist so herzergreifend deswegen 4 <3

[Skye Elder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written. The main lesson in the story was introduced nicely, and the story kept at a good pace.
I’ll recommend this to people who love short ghost stories that teaches an important lesson(or lessons).

[Amanda Almén · Rating 3 out of 5]

Det här var en spökhistoria i all sin enkelhet som hade tjänat på att vara lite längre, lite värre och lite mer. Förvisso finns det något bekvämt i en kortare berättelse, men ibland behövs fler sidor för att riktigt komma in på djupet. Så kändes det med Ravencave.

Boken handlar om Jamie, som är iväg med sin familj på semester på den brittiska landsbygden. Något har hänt med familjen, de är distanserade och pratar inte längre med varandra som de gjorde förr. Ingen delar dock med sig till Jamie - han är yngst och de vill inte besvära honom med familjetragedier. När Jamie får syn på en flicka i en grotta de passerar bestämmer han sig för att följa efter henne - men vem är hon egentligen? Finns hon på riktigt? Och vad vill hon Jamie?

Boken ristade sår i hjärtat och trots att jag tidigt såg vändningen komma rann tårarna när boken närmar sig sista sidorna. Viktiga ämnen som fattigdom, klassfrågor och vikten av skyddsnät i samhället vidrörs men det bränner aldrig till på riktigt - risporna utvecklas aldrig till något mer, de varken läker eller blir värre och därmed landar boken i tre grottsystem av fem möjliga.

[Milly Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of Barrington Stoke's books, having found them very accessible to some of the pupils that I used to teach. This one is a story not just about ghosts, but about family, ancestors and loss. Our narrator is James who is on holiday in Yorkshire with his mum, dad and elder brother Robbie. Dad has just lost his job, Mum, who is a writer, has got writer's block and Robbie is grumpy and ignoring him. The purpose of the holiday is to scatter Gran's ashes because Dad's family originated from that area. While falling behind on one of the family trek, James hears laughter and sees the ghost of a young girl and this leads to a tragic discovery. Right from the outset, there is a feeling that there is something not quite right, an unsettling undertone which reluctant readers would latch on to. A super and accessible read for reluctant readers.

[Frederic · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars out of 5. Yes, the story is straightforward and I knew where it was going, but as usual with Sedgwick the writing is so powerful and beautiful! I also really liked how issues of technology and development and their effects on individuals and families were brought in, and loved the setting. (After my last read I needed something good, and this really fit the bill!)

[Katha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book and bought it because the cover was so pretty <3
This book is just so beautiful..
There are no other words for it except of beautiful <3
I think everyone should read this book!!
Definitely one of my favorite books!

[Lynn :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read. I don't really know what else to say. It was sad though.

[whatbooknext · Rating 4 out of 5]

James is used to being left behind. No matter how many walks his parents take them on, they seem to forget he’s 2 years younger than his big brother Robbie, and that he often struggles to keep up.

At least he knows the path they’re on in the Yorkshire Dales. They were on the very same one last year. This time they’re back to scatter James’ grandmother’s ashes, and also for his father to explore some of the places their ancestors lived.

There are several ruins along the paths. There is a farm called Crackpot Hall, which sounds hilarious to James, but doesn’t mean anything like it sounds. Crackpot means something else entirely in the Norse language of Vikings from long ago.

James stops to look at Crackpot Hall again. It’s a tumble of broken walls and weeds, its roof gone long before. Unlike last time, he’s not alone. There is laughter among the ruins. Young laughter. He follows it to find a young girl of seven or eight. She’s barefoot and James remembers the tales of the wild children of the Dales. He also remembers stories his parents have told him about Mum’s ‘gift’. She has seen ghosts herself, and more besides. Maybe that’s why James sees the girl ghost?

Her calls to follow her are ignored, and James catches up with his family. But she’s persistent. She says she needs his help. Tired of being ignored and left behind, he decides he will see what she wants.

Her answer reveals the answers to so many troubling questions he’s had for a while. It also gives James just what he needs to reconnect with his family.


Empathy for James comes early, as he shares his hurt with the reader about feeling ‘left behind’. His parents are keen walkers, his brother older, and they stride ahead without him. But this gives James an opportunity to see a ghost, just like the stories his mum has always told him. Along with James, I was keen to know what she wanted, or needed his help with. The answer was a surprise to both me and James and all of a sudden everything else made sense.

James tells his story direct to the reader, skipping back and forth through his family stories and generations providing a great background to his tale. These stories of past ancestors also mirror the present. Entire communities lost livelihoods when technology changed or improved in the past, and it’s still happening over a hundred years later. James’ father is facing sudden unemployment along with hundred’s of others.

Perfect for Reluctant Readers, and anyone with Dyslexia, this is another Barrington Stoke story that will capture readers early.

A ghost story, a social commentary and a fracturing family becoming whole again.


Author – Marcus Sedgwick

Dyslexic Read

Reading Age – 8 / Interest Age – 11+

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is regret across Jamie's family as they holiday in Yorkshire. His mother still has writer's block, his father has been laid off in a P&O-styled massed redundancy/swap for agency workers, and his brother is turning into a bolshy, sullen teenager. They have something to do that is making them less than sunny – and the weather is certainly that too. Can Jamie turn their frowns upside down, as it were, and bring the family closer together – in just a few short days?

I could have responded to this in several different ways – joy at the fact it's a volume that quotes an earlier review of mine, dismay at guessing the twist on page 30-something. Interest in how the twist is revealed a lot earlier than I had expected. Intrigue at the socialist leanings of the piece, pointing out as it does that those mass dismissals have always been a thing from the days of the industrial revolution – which clearly is not the standard content of a novel for pre-teens, but there you go.

The end result however was delight, for this was a joy to read. Yes, you have to see the author struggle to keep the secret from us, or at least play along as if he has to – I could tell there was something off from the get-go, with the character of Jamie lagging behind and panting so much I wondered if he wasn't the family dog. But there is so much message and emotion packed into the drama, and not in a heavy-handed, indoctrinating kind of way. This has a sucker punch that is appropriate for adults, and certainly won't feel like it's talking down to the intended reader. Once again Mr Sedgwick has provided a publisher working to provide volumes for dyslexic audiences and those with other reading issues, with something that is a sterling piece of fiction mature and high-quality enough for all-comers.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

James and his family are on vacation in the English countryside. It is, perhaps, ill-advised since James’ dad just lost his job, but the family is there to scatter Granny’s ashes amongst the hills and villages where her ancestors lived. Dad claims to feel a connection to the area, but James isn’t so sure. In fact, he’s a little bored with this vacation…until the ghost of a girl appears and commands that he follow her. James is startled and a little afraid. After all, his mom is the one who sees ghosts, not him. James realizes that he feels compelled to follow her, but he soon realizes that she will show him things that maybe he doesn’t want to know.

I really don’t know how you can fit a story of this complexity into less than 125 pages. It has everything: an atmospheric setting, torrential rains, a family on edge, sullen teens, dealing with loss, and connecting to who you are. Don’t miss this one.

This story is great for readers who enjoy mysteries and stories of family and finding your way in the world. “Ravencave” is part of an ongoing series of books that are formatted to support those who have reading challenges, including dyslexia. I read the e-ARC of this story, but have seen physical copies of other titles in this series in my local bookstore. The books are short, generally less than 150 pages. As promised in the blurb, the paper is cream-colored and the font is more dyslexia-friendly than what you would find in a typical book.

I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley and Union Square & Co., and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

People are good, but there are handful of people who will tell you the opposite, simply because it serves them to do so. Mostly because it helps them to get richer.

My seventh book of the August 2026 MG Reading Challenge, and the first one to make me cry...

3.5, rounded up. It's really well told, but to say much about it, I'd have to slap a spoiler tag on this whole review. So I won't say much, but it's a quick, emotionally HEAVY read ("Ghosts.Trauma.Family" is the 3 word synopsis the publisher gave), and it's rather depressing, but also beautiful, in a melancholy way. You can probably guess more by what Lists I add this to, but I wouldn't want to spoil it outright. I find it hard to recommend a book like this, if I'm honest.

It's set in the Yorkshire Dales, Crackpot specifically (which is Norse and translates to, you guessed it, Ravencave) in Swaledale, and also Coverham and Danby Mill, and the family stays near Middleham in what, in real life, must be The Cover Bridge Inn (the Cover is a river, and it's here at its confluence with the river Ure that the inn stands. I live in Yorkshire now, but not in this part, so I was more than a little amused to look it up on the map and see that "Barf Bank" is the road on the other side of the river. It lightened my mood - this book is broody.

Will definitely read more from this author, and hope not all of his books will make me cry.

[Kath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm trying to read as many of Marcus' books as I can, starting with his Barrington Stoke books, written for reluctant readers. These books combine an easy to read style with heavier themes that you might expect in books for teenagers. I absolutely loved this one, his most recent Barrington Stoke book. The themes it covers are grief, loss, family, ancestries and even capitalist society and its many, many losers and injured parties. I have to admit I didn't see the plot twist coming, although it is not an original one, and I think this is mainly due to Sedgwick's clever writing style completely drawing me in to the character's voice and lulling me into a false sense of security. I find that his characters are so relatable, for example being a younger sibling of 2 only child parents myself I totally understood where Jamie was coming from with the rest of his family striding off into the Yorkshire Dales and leaving him behind! This is a great little novella/short story for everyone and I highly recommend.

[Jaiden Hettick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wait for getting this book for free from the Los Angeles Public Library... this is much better than I expected it to be. (spoilers) I did the plot twist of the boy being a ghost by like chapter two, so I wasn't shocked by anything I read. I did like the idea that he wasn't aware that he was a ghost till later on and had to face the facts. At least now he knows his family wasn't ignoring him lol. I did like the idea that the mom could see ghosts, so she kept convincing the family to talk to him even though he was dead. Honestly, I wish this book was longer so that I could've been a little more attached to the characters by the end, but it was a good short beach read. If I was the reason my siblings died, though, I would need to be restrained tbh.

FAV PART - when his brother ran back out of the car right before leaving and told the waterfall where he died how much he loved him and that he got to hear it (end spoilers).

It is rare for me to wish a book was longer.

[Mila · Rating 4 out of 5]

"People are good, but there are a handful of people who will tell you the opposite, simply because it serves them to do so. Mostly because it helps them to get richer."

This book, short & tragic as it is, gave me EMOtional damage. I procrastinated to finish it, but as I read more and realised what it is actually about, I regreted it instantly for not picking it up sooner.
It revolves around various themes such as family heritage and dynamics, grief, historical changes, but most of all people. People just trying to makes ends meet, living, laughing and caring for each other. I can't tell who are happier, the rich or the poor, but I just know they're all people just existing in their own time and space.
A very interesting approach on grief and loss, but in its whole, an emotional ghost story perfect for the spooky season! ~ ☆

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a great, atmospheric tale of family, grief, and moving on. This last aspect becomes more important as you gradually understand what the story is actually about. As the family struggle through an increasingly wild landscape, trying to reconnect with their ancestral past, they all find they have to make peace with their own more recent past. It's beautifully written, Sedgwick conjures up the beauty and starkness of the landscape, as well as the emotional turmoil of the characters. All of the characters worked for me, their interactions all convincing. I particularly liked the links to the past and how Sedgwick ties that into the present. Really enjoyable.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

[Arimi Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shortlisted for Lancashire book of the year 2024, and back in my local library in bulk in 2025. So what is this book about then?

This book tells a depressing tale of grief and loss, through the lens of our main character James. The story has a lot of repetitive elements, hwoever I do think this would be a good book for a child who is starting to read longer books. It was clearly wrote for either an advanced reader in primary school or someone moving onto larger books in high school.

The story goes on about ghosts and historical events, whilst also talking about James navigating changes in the family dynamic. Whilst this book wasn't for me, I do believe this book would be great for primary school or high school children who are starting to read more routinely or regularly.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, and this dissapointed me because I wanted to love it. It was clear from chapter 2 where the plot was going and it felt predictable. Deptite this I cried through the final couple of chapters because the writing is good.

My daughter also read this and she liked it slightly more than I did, but not her favourite book. Being the target audieince she did not realise where the story was heading as quickly and I think this helped her to maintain interest in it better than I did.

Its a perfectly ok book.

2 stars from me 3 from my daughter

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

a swift read this, i did it in a couple of hours today. The tale is a pretty decent ghost story about a family looking into their past, theres a good twist that i don't think kids will see, although to my adult eyes it was obvious from early on. Its longlisted for this year's carnegie and i reckon should stand a good chance of reaching the shortlist. Marcus Sedgewick is to be added to the list of authors i need to read more of. Top class work.

[Subo · Rating 3 out of 5]

5.5/10

i liked how when u read for the first time, u don't realise he's a ghost - but only when he realises, so do we and all the small and big querks in his family and their actions make sense - kinda like a OHHH moment - the author hid that quite well - and i felt geniunely sad when the family was getting closure - and hope for their future - the book itself was abit draggy tho and i didn't really feel much for the boy or the other characters till the end

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me feel quite angry for the sake of the main character at the start, until I realised something! Though I admit I really doubted my theory for a while.
It's a lovely story but it is very short so don't expect all the answers, some things just have to be accepted which is difficult for me as I always want to understand everything! Still really enjoyed it anyway.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s short as Barrington Stoke books tend to be. I did find myself disappointed in it though. Very early on I realised what the story would be and I was just waiting it for it to get to there. The end was alright.

[Agent_bugs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably would have enjoyed this a bit more if I hadn't worked out what was happening as soon as chapter two. Though given that this is (I believe) Marcus Sedgwick's final book, the ending hits harder than it would have otherwise.
The cover is gorgeous too.

[bex · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fab short book! Ordered this not thinking it was a ya book but i read it in one sitting. Perfect for beginner readers especially if u love a ghost story, i have now passed it onto my son to read :)

[Molly C-H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ravencave started out good but I guessed all the plot twists ahead of time :(. Being a fan of Baringtonstoke and the ethos behind their publishing's I think they need to publish books that are a lot bigger in terms of volume and the plot twists are less obvious!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, poignant swansong.

***Proof gifted by UK publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***

[Sakuko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely written children's book about family, loss and healing.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atmospheric and beautifully written.

Exactly what you expect from Marcus Sedgwick. Thrilled that it is an accessible quick read.

(Last couple of pages heartbreaking in context)