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Meg and Sue #1
On All Hallow's Eve
Meg, her sister Sue, her archenemy Kenny, and his brother Rip discover that they must cooperate to save themselves when they are confronted by the terrible Dark Queen in the Halloween Wood
160 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1984
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69 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 18, 2018
IT IS THE BOOK!!!!!!
It's finally THE book. I read this one as a kid, and only really remembered it because I read it out loud to my mom, having liked it so much, and there was a particular sentence I stuttered over. That was the only reason I remembered this thing existed, that sentence near the end where the creatures entered the area around the altar 'another and another and another.'
I love the cover art on this book, art that extends to an equally awesome back cover. I can't believe I didn't remember that part because I enjoy owning a copy mostly just to look at this thing whenever I can. It's beautifully done.
The actual story - I'm a little too old for it now. This book hit all the right points for child-me and I adored it. Reading it out loud to my mom? I forced that on her, simply because I enjoyed it that much - had to share it whether she liked it or not, haha. I'm giving it 5 stars here because when you're the target audience, this book is a gem you treasure. Now? Ehh. It's okay. But that's alright, because it's not meant for me at this age.
I have entire shelf on Goodreads of 'Not THE Book' now, from trying to find this one in particular. Which is great because now I have a whole bunch of Halloween reads to come back to and there weren't many of those on my shelves before!
It's finally THE book. I read this one as a kid, and only really remembered it because I read it out loud to my mom, having liked it so much, and there was a particular sentence I stuttered over. That was the only reason I remembered this thing existed, that sentence near the end where the creatures entered the area around the altar 'another and another and another.'
I love the cover art on this book, art that extends to an equally awesome back cover. I can't believe I didn't remember that part because I enjoy owning a copy mostly just to look at this thing whenever I can. It's beautifully done.
The actual story - I'm a little too old for it now. This book hit all the right points for child-me and I adored it. Reading it out loud to my mom? I forced that on her, simply because I enjoyed it that much - had to share it whether she liked it or not, haha. I'm giving it 5 stars here because when you're the target audience, this book is a gem you treasure. Now? Ehh. It's okay. But that's alright, because it's not meant for me at this age.
I have entire shelf on Goodreads of 'Not THE Book' now, from trying to find this one in particular. Which is great because now I have a whole bunch of Halloween reads to come back to and there weren't many of those on my shelves before!
November 2, 2015
I love this cute story! I read it as a kid and although I don't reread it every Halloween, it is definitely one worthy to be reread every year. It brings back stories of Halloweens gone by and conjures fond memories of this time of year from my youth. It is definitely worth a look!
September 26, 2021
This book came out when I was three years old, so I suppose I must've just missed it as I was growing up. I recently saw someone enthusiastically talking about it in the comments of a blog post about Halloween nostalgia. Curious, I looked it up and when I saw this cover I was hooked and had to check it out. That's done my wallet in sooooo many times before with a book that can't measure up to its beautiful cover art. But this one was actually pretty enjoyable, even for someone well into adulthood like me. It was a great story full of imagination and interesting monsters/creatures, and would've made a fun, creepy Halloween movie during the fantasy movie heyday of the 80s (especially if it was in Jim Henson's hands!). And yes, that cover illustration continues onto the back and is very well done.
October 30, 2011
I first read this book when I was ten or eleven. My Mom had signed me up for a Book-of-the-Month club and I remember being so excited to get this book. Look at the cover! All purple and with a scary/beautiful lady who might be a queen or might be witch. What's not to love when you're a young girl obsessed by books? And it turned out to be all those things! This fast paced Hallowe'en adventure about two sisters and the neighbourhood bully soon became a favourite of mine.
This Hallowe'en, I got to thinking about this book again. I realized I no longer owned it. It wasn't with all my old books that my Mom had saved for me when I last went home. I had no idea if I had loaned it to someone and they never returned it or if my Mom had given it away by accident, not knowing it was one of my favourites. I had to find it and read it and see if it was still as amazing and terrifying as it was when I was a kid!
Thankfully, the local library has a few copies and I was thrilled to find it.
The story isn't as scary as I remember it being, but it's still a great one. Things move quickly, from the moment we meet Meg and Sue heading out to the school's Hallowe'en party, right through all the twists and turns in time and space and all the way out the other side.
On All Hallow's Eve brought me back to being ten again...curled up in bed with a small clip light, feverishly reading because I just have to find out how everything is going to end up.
This Hallowe'en, I got to thinking about this book again. I realized I no longer owned it. It wasn't with all my old books that my Mom had saved for me when I last went home. I had no idea if I had loaned it to someone and they never returned it or if my Mom had given it away by accident, not knowing it was one of my favourites. I had to find it and read it and see if it was still as amazing and terrifying as it was when I was a kid!
Thankfully, the local library has a few copies and I was thrilled to find it.
The story isn't as scary as I remember it being, but it's still a great one. Things move quickly, from the moment we meet Meg and Sue heading out to the school's Hallowe'en party, right through all the twists and turns in time and space and all the way out the other side.
On All Hallow's Eve brought me back to being ten again...curled up in bed with a small clip light, feverishly reading because I just have to find out how everything is going to end up.
October 23, 2017
(Audiobook)
I enjoyed this book as a child. It introduced readers to the 'other' meaning of Halloween. In the late 70s & 80s, it was all about costumes and candy. Christian religions weren't turning it into Fall Festivals and kids were safe to go house to house.
Names had a deeper meaning, portals to other worlds were unique in literature, and learning about other religions were part of being open minded and tolerant. This was a book ahead of its time.
I was able to appreciate the story line just as much as an adult. The lore, adventure, and time slip, myth/lengend were woven together and held tight. I still enjoy the characters' growth, knowledge, emotions, and relationships.
The characters weren't orphaned or destined to save the world, which is the constant boring theme of today's YA fantasy.
Grace Chetwin's On All Hallow's Eve is a timeless, wonderful tale for the season for all ages.
I enjoyed this book as a child. It introduced readers to the 'other' meaning of Halloween. In the late 70s & 80s, it was all about costumes and candy. Christian religions weren't turning it into Fall Festivals and kids were safe to go house to house.
Names had a deeper meaning, portals to other worlds were unique in literature, and learning about other religions were part of being open minded and tolerant. This was a book ahead of its time.
I was able to appreciate the story line just as much as an adult. The lore, adventure, and time slip, myth/lengend were woven together and held tight. I still enjoy the characters' growth, knowledge, emotions, and relationships.
The characters weren't orphaned or destined to save the world, which is the constant boring theme of today's YA fantasy.
Grace Chetwin's On All Hallow's Eve is a timeless, wonderful tale for the season for all ages.
October 11, 2018
I gave this book 3 stars because I went into it expecting a real Halloweeny read and the begining started off that way but then it took off into a totally different direction. It was a quick read though, probably a middle grade novel. I did enjoy the characters and character development of the main character Meg. And the book has good description of the scenes so I could easily picture it in my head.
September 19, 2018
It was hard to get into it for the first serval chapters and the whining characters but it finally managed to get good towards the end.
Read
October 4, 2019DNF [Audiobook by Scribd]
October 21, 2023
3.5 stars
Read
July 25, 2007Great book for young preteens but I reread it not too long ago again.
August 21, 2012
I read this as a child and loved it :)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews