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The Haunting of Aveline Jones is a deliciously dark, hauntingly-good ghost story, filled to the brim with menace, malevolence and mystery. 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.
The biggest strength of this book is that all the elements of the story are perfectly attuned to each other. Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Aveline is travelling to Scarbury, the village where her Uncle Rowan lived before he mysteriously disappeared 10 years ago.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? There are some subtle scare tactics used here that are common in horror stories, but they never go too far. This was full of sinister atmosphere as it was heart and I adored both sides of charming yet ghostly little tale. Aveline is a feisty, intelligent girl who, although often scared by what is happening around her, is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to Primrose. This is one of the coolest middle grade covers I've seen this year, but unfortunately the story didn't live up to my expectations.
They capture the atmosphere of the story brilliantly and the scarecrow pictures, in particular, are creepy as hell. I just loved her sense of adventure and how quickly she was willing to throw herself into any situation, even though she was just as on edge and spooked as the reader. Just the right amount of horror and suspense for ages 9+ I loved the authors descriptions of the sea and the weather as the suspense built. We collaborate with authors across all adult fiction genres, and also handle children’s books, young adult and cross-over fiction. Later we learn why the villagers use the dolls and I could understand, but dang, I would just have moved away.
This is a very scary book indeed, made all the more chilling by some fantastic illustrations by Keith Robinson. I only wish this had of been longer as I would have loved more of the investigation into the missing girl's disappearance.
Strange happenings begin to occur and Aveline finds herself entangled in a very dangerous showdown with a vengeful ghost. It is here that she is to spend the break with her Aunt Lilian so that her mum can visit Aveline’s sick grandmother. Take one eerie and miserable seaside town, a girl with a penchant for ghost stories, and a generous helping of things that go bump in the night, and you have all the ingredients you need to conjure up a tale that will have you well and truly spooked.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. Aveline is a wonderful protagonist, with her slightly quirky need to surround herself with ghost stories. As mum drives into the town with the purpose of dropping her off, they are shocked to see a strange-looking boy leaning against a wall who on closer inspection turns out to be the first of many scarecrows that are dotted around the village.
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