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Children's Fiction General

Haunted

by (author) Barbara Haworth-Attard

Publisher
HarperCollins Canada
Initial publish date
Mar 2017
Category
General
Recommended Age
13 to 18
Recommended Grade
5 to 12
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781554689767
    Publish Date
    Oct 2010
    List Price
    $11.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781443452953
    Publish Date
    Mar 2017
    List Price
    $7.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780002008211
    Publish Date
    Aug 2009
    List Price
    $17.99

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Where to buy it

Description

Dee is feeding the chickens the morning they discover the bones on the mountain. A sense of foreboding strengthens when the police show her a ring found with the remains. It belonged to a friend of hers, Mary Ann Simpson, who had disappeared four years ago. Strangely, other girls have also disappeared from this small town nestled in the shadow of the Bruce Peninsula—the “mountain” that Dee knows like the back of her hand.

Like her grandmother, Dee has “The Sight,” an ability not only to see spirits from the afterlife but also to experience their deaths—a “gift” that becomes more troubling as this story takes darker turns. While trying to help local police with the investigation, Dee is drawn into a deepening mystery that soon strikes terrifyingly close to home.

Set in the aftermath of World War I, when soldiers are returning to a society that doesn’t know the full horrors of what they went through, Haunted is an atmospheric story that will haunt readers long after they finish reading.

About the author

Barbara Haworth-Attard is the acclaimed author of 13 children’s books, including Theories of Relativity, winner of two teen choice awards—the Snow Willow Award (Saskatchewan) and the Stellar Book Award (BC)—and finalist for the Governor General’s Award. Her other popular titles include A Is For Angst, Forget- Me-Not, Irish Chain and Flying Geese. Haworth-Attard lives with her family in London, Ontario. Visit her online at www.barbarahaworthattard.com.

Barbara Haworth-Attard's profile page

Librarian Reviews

Haunted

Haunted is told through Dee, short for Defiance, a 14-year-old girl living with her grandmother outside the imaginary village of Price’s Corners in Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula, just after the First World War. Dee and her grandmother both have “the sight,” the gift of being able to see things others cannot.

Everyone in the village believes that Mary Ann Simpson ran away four years ago. When her bones are discovered on the mountain overlooking Price’s Corners, it quickly becomes apparent that she was murdered. Is it possible that several other girls who disappeared over the years were also the killer’s victims? From time to time, as the story progresses, Dee sees and feels a dark cloud of evil that tells her the murderer may still be around.

With the help of Clarence, a young man whose family has moved into the farm next door, Dee tries to find a clue to the mystery. Everything suddenly comes frighteningly close to home with the disappearance of Clooey, Dee’s best friend.

Dee is a sympathetic protagonist, easy to identify with, and her determination and courage in the face of the evil she perceives are remarkable. Barbara Haworth-Attard writes a well-plotted mystery, spooky without being terrifying, and full of authentic atmosphere and well-drawn characters.

Source: The Canadian Children's Bookcentre. Fall 2009. Vol.32 No.4.

Haunted

Like her Gran, Dee has “the Sight,” the skill to see spirits from the afterlife and experience their earlier deaths — something that grows more terrifying as events take sinister turns. While trying to aid with the investigation of girls who have gone missing, Dee is pulled into a mystery that soon strikes frighteningly close to home.

Source: The Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Best Books for Kids & Teens. 2010.

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