El diario de Primrose

Aveline Jones #1

by Phil Hickes

Aveline viaja a Malmouth para quedarse unos días con su tía, y aunque el viaje no la emociona del todo, este pueblo costero parece ser el escenario perfecto para lo que más le leer relatos de fantasmas. En ese lugar los días son grises, fríos y arrastran consigo el aire del mar y sus aterradoras leyendas. Como si no fuera suficiente, Aveline descubre un libro que no solo tiene escalofriantes historias sobre también perteneció a Primrose Penberthy, una chica que desapareció misteriosamente y a quien nadie volvió a ver jamás. Intrigada, Aveline intentará resolver el misterio, sin saber que ahora algo o alguien ha vuelto… y la está buscando.

Genres: Middle Grade, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy, Halloween, Paranormal, Fiction

Paperback

First published September 17, 2020

About the author

I live in Oregon at the moment, though I hail from the UK. Growing up in a house overlooking a graveyard, on the edge of the bleak and foreboding Pennine Hills, seems to have instilled in me an obsession with all things dark and spooky. The complete Aveline Jones trilogy is available at all good bookstores and has been, or will be, translated into Spanish, German, Czech, French, Turkish, Polish and Russian. My latest effort is called Shadowhall Academy and follows the spooky adventures of the Aunt Lilian character from the Aveline books as a young girl in the 1980s. I also have a dyslexia-friendly ghost story coming out with Barrington Stoke at Halloween this year.

Favourite authors include Robert Aickman, Stephen King (his early stuff), M R James, Susan Cooper, H P Lovecraft, Philip Pullman, Shirley Jackson, James Herbert, Lindsey Barraclough, Alan Garner, Neil Gaiman, Dennis Wheatley, Andrew Michael Hurley, Penelope Lively, Alan Moore, Mervyn Peake, Bernard Cornwell, Arthur Machen, Jane Austen, Cormac McCarthy, Roald Dahl, Jeanette Winterson, George R R Martin, Chris Priestley, Graham Joyce, Dan Rhodes, Robin Spriggs and many more.

Reviews

[Nikola · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25/5
Mam 24 lata i byłam przerażona słuchając audiobooka gdy prowadziłam samochód w nocy 😂

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is as close to perfect to a middle grade ghost story mystery as we're gonna get!

Aveline is forced to stay with her Aunt in the lead-up to Halloween in a small coastal village. While there, Aveline comes across a book of ghost stories that used to belong to a girl who went missing over thirty years before. With spooky happenings, Aveline's life is then put into mortal danger when it appears a vengeful ghost may want her for her own.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. The atmosphere was pitch-perfect in this, from the gloomy stormy weather, to the small-town feel, it was very nicely written. It's one of those books where you could cosy down with a hot chocolate on a dark night close to Halloween and read cover-to-cover. For a ghost story mystery, this one is a fantastic one.

The character of Aveline is very approachable and her affinity for ghost stories adds to her charm. She is balanced out by her Aunt Lilian and new friend Harold, who try to add some rationality to the strange hauntings. A character I also absolutely loved was the quirky Mr Lieberman who owns the local bookshop. The adults in this aren't infuriating or in the way like a lot of adults are in middle grade novels - the characters were done so well, I seemed to like them all (well, maybe except the terrifying ghost... but no spoilers here).

I only wish this had of been longer as I would have loved more of the investigation into the missing girl's disappearance. However, this was such a quick and atmospheric read that I would recommend to read by the fire when it's dark out and you're after some chills. Very excited for the next book now - 'The Bewitching of Aveline Jones'.

[Alex.andthebooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

No lektura idealna na Halloween!

[not my high · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Horrory dla dzieci wcale nie są straszne"
Horrory dla dzieci:

[Jade Ratley · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.43 on CAWPILE

[Sarah ♡ (let’s interact!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Haunting Of Aveline Jones is a spooky and gripping tale that I did not want to put down. This is a perfect story to read on the run up to Halloween. 🎃
It is very autumnal, gives you that cozy feeling, and is well-written.
I felt an affinity with the main character Aveline, as I too, am obsessed with ghosts and all things that go bump in the night.

Aveline Jones goes to visit her Aunt Lilian in the small, coastal town of Malmouth. She visits a bookshop there and finds a book of ghost stories set in the local area. However, once she starts reading the book, she sees that one particular story has been scribbled out. It’s unreadable. Plus, there is a name etched into the front page of the book - Primrose Pemberthy.
So, who is this mysterious Primrose and was she the one who crossed out the story? Is this local folklore going to end up being true? 👻

5 Stars - and somebody please kick me up the bum to read the sequel this year as it has been sitting on my bookshelves near to my bed for the longest time lol one of my 2025 reading resolutions is to bloody finish series once I start them !!

[Izabela Górska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Książka middle-grade, która nie jest infantylna, kojarzy się z najlepszymi książkami/filmami tego typu i realnie wprowadza niepokojącą jesienną aurę? Biorę i chce kolejny tom

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is only October but Winter has come early and so too has half-term. Aveline had many plans for her extended break but none of them involved residing with her cold and controlling aunt in her colder and bleaker seaside home. Looking to distract herself from the relentlessly dreary weather and her aunt's disproving demeanour she escapes to a second-hand book store to add a new addition of the ghost stories she adores so much, to her collection. The mysterious volume she selects promises to be as nightmare-inducing as she was anticipating, but the history of it might just be even more so!

This was exactly the sort of middle-grade story I adore - eerie, full of adventure, and with a sassy protagonist unafraid to throw herself into danger, if it also means getting to the heart of the mystery! The seaside setting, blanketed in its relentlessly gloomy weather, also added an extra chilling element and I adored Aveline's exploration of her new setting as much as I did the expansion of her sleuthing abilities. This was full of sinister atmosphere as it was heart and I adored both sides of charming yet ghostly little tale.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Phil Hicks and the publisher, Usborne, for this opportunity.

[Chantel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book & those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters that contain reflections on child endangerment, forceful disappearance of a minor, crime involving a minor, death of a child, & others.

Aveline Jones is a 12-year-old girl on her way to spend her term break with her Aunt Lilian who lives in the seaside town of Malmouth in England, a place that might have been inspired by the Cornwall-located village of Falmouth. Deliciously sour in brooding fog, mystic, & lore, this story sees Aveline—a lover of ghost stories large & small—develop feelings of discomfort & fear towards the little town. Morbidly built scarecrows encompassing the likes of sick children litter the lawns of the town & Aveline becomes aware of the murky figure of a woman looming around her aunt’s house.

Though this story does not necessarily deal, in a direct fashion, with the crime that saw Primrose Penberthy kidnapped from her home & though we are to believe that the ghost of Cora Poole was the villain at the head of Primrose’s demise; I thought it important to leave a content warning at the beginning of this review because, having read this book in my adult years, I could not help but feel that some particularly critical young readers might regard Primrose’s disappearance in the 1980s as falling outside the realm of the supernatural. Therefore, should this review be found by someone looking out for the better interest of a young reader or should a certain someone come upon my words; may the content warning be regarded as a caution to the conversations that might ensue after the reading of this story.

On that note, I recently wondered if the Horror genre I grew to both dread & adore was not one that I should seek out any longer. It is no secret that I read a great deal, as I have always done. However, the greater the number of recent publications I read the lesser my enthusiasm for the genre as a whole.

I have found myself to be an outlier in terms of my opinions regarding what is both good writing & a ghastly plot—this being a positive thing, of course. Perhaps it is the luck of the draw that I should have come upon so many books that led me to question if it was indeed I, who was in the wrong & not the story at hand. Many people still find the absurd & banal horrifying & I suppose that’s wonderful but, they feel subpar to me. Where is the gruesome simplicity that haunts the bones with a simple wind chill?

Upon reading this book I can confidently say that the horrors I seek to find within books still exist. Of course, it is fine if you find the horror tropes of the 1970s frightening, however, what Hickes presents in this story holds tightly to the classic ensemble of true-to-the-core horror; one does not need to be young to fear abduction. I will credit the sublime feelings evoked upon reading this story to the resplendent writing of the author. I am not quick to look past the abundant skill & craft that is required to make a simple story spooky.


Many of us might remember the scary stories that were whispered amongst ourselves & our friends when we were younger; the lore that haunted bathroom mirrors, the non-existent dog that lay near a bedside, etc. This story follows a similar fashion in that it leads Aveline into a second-hand bookstore wherein the owner, Mr. Lieberman, is a great enthusiast of books.

When Aveline is led to the gloomy corner of the shop where all the ghost stories reside, she comes across a book that holds the lore of the town. In this book, Aveline sees Primrose’s name written in black ink; the same ink that scratched out the book's final story, the one that tells the tale of the "Lady in the Waves."

Up until this point, I knew that this book would have knocked my socks off as a child. I would have been riddled with nightmares. To my wonderful astonishment, I felt worried that the unthinkable would happen to our poor heroine, even knowing that there was a second instalment of the book.

This leads me to re-emphasize the content warning. The “Lady in the Waves” is said to be Cora Poole who saw herself & her two (2) daughters pulled into the ocean by a wave during an unruly storm, while they waited by the cliff’s edge for the return of the patriarch who had spent the day on his fishing boat. The very next day, a group of fishermen drag Cora’s corpse into one of their nets & she is described as having lost her eyeballs; gaping holes are left in their place, leaving the impression of deep dark sunken caves.

Holding that description in mind; Aveline watches the ghost of Cora Poole climb the rungs of a ladder out of the water seeking to kidnap children to replace those that were killed in the ocean. The ghost of Primrose appears to help Aveline hide from the creeping tendons of Cora Poole as she slinks through the properties around the village seeking an unsuspecting child. When we are certain that Aveline is about to be dragged into the ocean blue by the vice grip of a parasitic corpse; Aveline is rescued by Mr. Lieberman’s great-nephew, Harold.

We watch as Primrose returns to her grave, one that entombed her beyond the grasp of her family & loved ones. The case of the disappearance of Primrose is a 30-year-old cold case file & upon watching her return to the sea we know that she will never be found. It was sad & led me to wonder if the story functions as a double-entendre. Is there a predator amongst the villagers or is there simply a morose, grief-stricken ghost; the likes of which Henry James himself might write about?

I admit that the quick conclusion of events near the end felt unsettling. I attribute this bout of frustration to my age & reading level. Should you be the target audience for this book I am certain that the happy ending might bring some feelings of reprieve that were sequestered through the scenes in which Aveline held her breath for dear life.

Given that I appreciate the book’s target age, I can acknowledge that this was well done. The main character was saved by a person who grew in bravery ten-fold to see to it that no one else should befall her fate. It’s quaint, & cozy & allows the reader to feel at peace.

Overall, I am truly blown away by the story at hand. Though I acknowledge that some books are better succeeded upon the mind of a reader whose age befalls the storyline, I think that we can appreciate a good book at whichever age; good writing is good writing, whoever it is for.

If you find yourself in need of a reminder: of all the greatness that is locked away within the Horror genre, of all the terror that can befall the deep crevices of our hearts & of all the joys that we feel upon coming across a storybook as a young reader that riddled us with faithfulness for fear; I should hope that you happen upon a dreary afternoon that sees you enjoying this book as much as I did.

[Alwynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satisfyingly eerie, supernatural children’s book, with a slightly old-fashioned feel - reminding me of similar books by classic authors like Penelope Lively. This is centred on Aveline Jones who’s dreading having to spend half-term with her fussy, forbidding aunt in a remote, Cornish fishing village. But once there Aveline’s love of ghost stories unexpectedly leads her to Primrose, a girl who vanished without a trace years before. Primrose’s disappearance is somehow intertwined with local legends about a vengeful spirit who rises from the sea at Halloween, a spirit who may be pursuing Aveline. This is a simply told but highly effective, atmospheric piece, the characters are a little sketchily drawn but the plot's intriguing enough to make it a compelling read. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of the strangely deserted, eccentric village and the inventive incorporation of a reworking of the La Llorona myth.

Rating: 3.5

[Stefie vom Buchschnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nur 1 Wort:
Jahreshighlight

Das Buch kann ich definitiv in der Originalsprache empfehlen - sehr leicht zu lesen, unfassbar atmosphärisch (was mich total überrascht hat!), schaurig - eigentlich ja die perfekte Herbstlektüre.
Das Setting ist richtig toll, die Charaktere gewinnt man innerhalb der 200 Seiten sehr lieb.
Ein Kinderbuch, das ich abends im Bett nicht lesen mochte.
Empfohlen wird das Buch für Kinder zwischen 9 und 11 Jahren. Kann ich allerdings nicht bestätigen. Ich würde sagen AB 11 Jahre.

[kamila.czyta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ale super to było!!

[dunkelgefunkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

So schön. Der Autor schafft es auf wenigen Seiten eine Hand voll liebevoller Charaktere einzuführen, eine kindgerecht gruselige und kuschelige Atmosphäre zu schaffen und einfach gut zu unterhalten. Wenn die Zeit es zulässt, dann an einem Tag lesbar, weil spannend, nie langweilig und einfach schön!

[mara.literacka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nowa ulubiona seria middle-grade 🤍 Mrocznie, ciekawostkowo i przygodowo. Idealna na jesien. Czekam na kolejne części!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aveline Jones is forced to stay with her uptight Aunt in a spooky seaside town in October. Storms, creepy scarecrows and a strange boy who likes eating chips all await. Aveline can't think of anything worse. Until she finds a book, a book of ghost stories, that belonged to a girl. A girl who went missing over 30 years ago. Cue a mystery to be solved...

This was the perfect book to read at this time of year. Even the cover oozes Autumnal atmosphere. And yes, at times this was incredibly creepy, with a final scene that did give me a few shivers. I just wish it was a bit longer to really build up this tension. At times the story just goes too fast, zipping from one scene to the next without giving the story time to breathe.

I did really like the relationship between Aveline, Harold and his great uncle the bookshop owner. He's eccentric enough to come off as harmless and good company rather than weird. Harold was also developing into a good friend before the story ended too. However, I found the familial relationship between Aveline and her aunt a bit stiff and unnatural - a bit like an extension of her personality. It doesn't ever seem to thaw, even though the narrative tries really hard to get them to build up some kind of relationship. It just ended up still feeling standoffish to me.

Very atmospheric middle grade that sits on the right side of spooky. Read it next to a roaring fire with a warm hot chocolate and try not to get too scared.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aveline goes to a little bookstore and finds a really cool book full of local ghost stories. Unfortunately, the previous owner of said book decided to cross out the words of the final story, making it impossible to read it. Aveline sets out to find Primrose Penberthy, the book’s previous owner, to find out more about this final story. But Primrose went missing over thirty years ago.


The biggest strength of this book is that all the elements of the story are perfectly attuned to each other. The writing style just instantly grabs you and yanks you into the story. The mystery of Primrose’s disappearance is very slowly unraveled and the revelations constantly keep you on your toes. I love the ghost story within a story concept. It’s gripping, tense, creepy and atmospheric. It’s very spooky and mysterious, without being over the top. There are some subtle scare tactics used here that are common in horror stories, but they never go too far. It’s a slow and tense build towards a really strong and satisfying climax.


The setting helps a lot too. The way the town is described for example is always just the right amount of creepy and spooky, without being too scary. And I love that even seemingly unimportant details all play their part in elevating the story as a whole, and make sense in the grand scheme of things.


Strong writing that hooks you from the start and a fascinating spooky mystery that refuses to let you go. Easy recommendation.

[Klaudia • szumiabooki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niby książka dla młodszych czytelników, ale momentami sama dostawałam gęsiej skórki 👀

[Ania (literackie_serce) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaaaa fantastyczna książka na jesień 🤎
Niby dla dzieci, ale ja naprawdę się bałam 😂

[Michelle Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best middle grade ghost stories I’ve read. The essence of autumn is perfectly captured in its atmospheric pages, and it’s far creepier than I expected it to be.

Ghost obsessed, cheese sandwich loving Aveline is a likeable and intrepid protagonist, and the other characters are well-drawn, too, particularly her prickly aunt and the terrifying spectre of Cora Poole. An excellent book (and perfect Halloween story) for young readers who enjoy being scared. There are some genuinely bone chilling moments which thrilled me, and this is exactly the sort of book I’d seek out as a child. I loved it, and I’m delighted to know there are more adventures from Aveline on the way.

[Marta Demianiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5⭐️ Bardzo sympatyczna książka. Myślę, że dla młodzieży będzie super, ale i dla dorosłych boidutków, którzy jednak chcieliby coś w klimacie lekkiej grozy przeczytać w czasie „spooky season”, sprawdzi się nieźle. Przyjemnie sie czyta i podobają mi się także dorośli bohaterowie tej książki i ich zachowanie.

[Karolina | midnights.reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
bardzo przyjemna! pomimo tego, że rzadko sięgam po middle grade to i tak dobrze się bawiłam🤓 idealna książka na jesień🍂

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this book was so good!! I read it in 1 sitting cover to cover! I literally couldn’t put it down! Not only is it set at Halloween time-it is the perfect Halloween read in every way imaginable! It was so creepy! I got a little scared at some points, not gonna lie😆😆 I was so pleasantly surprised! This has all the elements to make this a perfect spooky MG. We have a creepy town that Aveline is unfamiliar with, & her staying w/an aunt she hardly knows in her sometimes creepy house. We have old town legends/tales...the choppy eerie sea..There’s a bookstore, where Aveline finds a spooky old book. She loves ghost stories, so she is excited with the find. But she has no idea just how spooky this book will be. The book belonged to a girl who mysteriously vanished years ago w/o a trace. She feels a closeness to this girl, & decides to investigate her & her disappearance. Along w/the bookshop owner & his nephew(loved them BOTH) helping along the way. But that’s just the base work of the story lol that’s not even including all the creepy things that happen or that we learn throughout the book-which I will not be spoiling for you. Ohhh!! The creepy “scarecrow” “kids”!!!! Eeeshhhh so creepy-all I’m going to say lol I didn’t know there would be more, but I was so happy to see in the back a cover & description for the next book!! Cannot wait!! Such a hauntingly beautiful cover & illustrations sprinkled throughout too!!😍😍 Highly recommend! 💜💜

[shubiektywnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierwsza książka w ramach grozowego segmentu #czytamszeroko u Krysi z Kanału o Książkach

🎧

3,75

Rzeczywiście jak na literaturę dziecięcą dość niepokojącą książka, na pewno niejedna młoda duszyczka będzie miała po niej koszmary. Jako dorosła czytelniczka zauważam pewne naiwności, ale przymykam oko.

[Pulek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nawet się szczególnie jakoś nie bałam co plus, historia też ciekawa, trochę cosy, trochę nastrojowo, dzieje się w UK , więc tym bardziej klimatycznie. Natomiast za krótka dla mnie , szybko się wszystko wyjaśnia i praktycznie trzeba to przyjąć na wiarę, ale biorę na to poprawkę, bo w końcu jest raczej targetowana do młodszego czytelnika.

[Natalia Sypuła · Rating 4 out of 5]

W swoim gatunku świetna! I naprawdę straszna.

Miesiąc angielski

[natka_bookish_life · Rating 4 out of 5]

kocham! kocham! kocham! absolutnie niesamowita historia jak i styl!
niesamowicie żałuję że za moich dziecięcych lat nie było takich książek!

[Boo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

[books.of.youth · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cool🎃✨, muszę przeczytać całą trylogię bo świetnie się bawiłam i myślę że to jeden z lepszych tytułów na jesień jeśli szukacie czegoś klimatycznego i *troszkę* strasznego 👻

[Schizanthus Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Do you ever feel like something bad is about to happen? I’ve been getting that a lot lately.”
P.P.

Aveline Jones loves ghost stories and cheese sandwiches. She’s not thrilled with the idea of staying with her Aunt Lilian in Malmouth while her mother visits her granny in hospital.

Before long, though, Aveline finds the perfect book of ghost stories, along with the diary of Primrose Penberthy, a missing local girl. Aveline suspects the two books are connected.

Part of her wished she’d never picked it up. Or the book of ghost stories. They appeared to be leading her to a place she wasn’t wholly sure she wanted to go.

This story takes place around Halloween and Malmouth has the perfect weather for a spooky adventure. There are even some really creepy childlike scarecrows.



I’m all set because Malmouth has a second hand bookstore and coffee shop. You will love the bookseller immediately and you’ll want to be friends with his great-nephew (not immediately because he’s shy and can seem kinda grumpy at times, but he’ll grow on you).

Aunt Lilian, who quite possibly has OCD, seemed a bit prickly at first but by the end of the story I wanted to go get a coffee with her. Aunt Lilian also provided me with my favourite sentence:

“So is there anything the matter, Aveline, or have you just decided to be pale and interesting today?”

I loved the mystery; the excerpts from Primrose’s diary, along with the newspaper article Aveline reads, really helped to draw me in. I was a scaredy-cat as a kid so I doubt I would have been able to read this book after dark, although it’s the kind of scary that would have both freaked me out and made me want to keep reading.



I absolutely adored Keith Robinson’s illustrations. They capture the atmosphere of the story brilliantly and the scarecrow pictures, in particular, are creepy as hell. The cover image is absolutely gorgeous - Aveline looks just as I imagined she would and the weather, which has a significant part to play in the story, is highlighted.

I’m so glad Aveline has more stories to tell. I’m already looking forward to the sequel, The Bewitching of Aveline Jones, which also has an amazing cover.

Reread 20 May 2022

It’s so rare for me to reread a book, not because I don’t want to but because my TBR pile is always threatening to bury me alive. My library has now purchased the sequel and I couldn’t resist returning with Aveline to Malmouth before finding out what spookiness she encounters next.

I enjoyed this read just as much as I did the first time around. I was reminded of how much I liked Ghost Girl and Book Boy, and how perfectly the illustrations complimented the story. I appreciated the connection between the creepy scarecrows and the crossed out story in Aveline’s book more this time around.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the release of the third book in the series makes me want to dive back into the cold, dark water with the lady in the waves.

Blog - https://schizanthusnerd.com

[Zena · Rating 5 out of 5]

To moje tegoroczne odkrycie! Chociaż sama nie przepadam za książkami grozy, to sięgnęłam po tę - zdawałoby się - niewinną pozycję. Niech Was nie zwiedzie opis wydawcy informujący, że książka jest skierowana do czytelnika 9+! Mimo że początek jednoznacznie wskazuje, że jest to literatura dla młodszego odbiorcy, to z czasem robi się naprawdę strasznie 😱 Bardzo dobrze napisana historia, do tego wciągająca i nawet przerażająca, a przecież w formie raczej krótka. Cieszę się gdy autor na rozsądnej liczbie stron umie stworzyć intrygujacą opowieść. Nie znoszę lania wody.