Thursday, 31 August 2017

The Ghost in Annie's Room by Philippa Pearce and Cate James (Children's, Dyslexia friendly, 10E/10E)

 July 2017, Barrington Stoke, 96 pages, Paperback, Review copy

 Summary from Barrington Stoke
When the Brown family go on holiday, Emma likes her cosy room. But her brother keeps teasing her about ghosts, her aunt keeps chatting about her absent daughter, and no one will tell Emma the truth about cousin Annie’s old room…

Nayu's thoughts
I didn't know Philippa was dead until I finished the book and read the back page-I don't always read a press release sheet before the book I'm reviewing. Having a dead author is obviously sad for the world as there won't be new stoeies from Philippa, but kind of cool because her words are reaching so many people. 

I love how this tale isn't so spooky I had to stop reading, and the twist at the end made my spine tingle as Emma finds out the truth about Annie. It made me laugh a lot as it's typical feelings for what happened for Annie's mother, and that's all I can say wihout spoiling the surprise! There's a real sense of family holidayness - I know what I mean, what happens on a typical family holiday happens to Annie, even if that phrase doesn't make much sense to other people. 

Cate's illustrations really drew me in to the story (honestly no pun intended!), it's a style I like and the softness of the pictures made it all a smidge less scary. It's not a book I will reread at night or when I'm on my own, but it's a sweet one and I want to treasure it because I don't have any of Philipp's books. Plus I like what happens to Emma, including her annoying little brother's antics which I wanted more of! 

Find out more on Cate's website

Suggested read

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