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When Aveline is sent to stay with her aunt in a small, sea-side village, she finds a book full of ghost stories. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Aveline, and I am delighted to see that another adventure is planned for her in the future. Not only are the stories spine-tingling, but it once belonged to Primrose Penberthy, who vanished mysteriously, never to be seen again. The Haunting of Aveline Jones was a suspenseful, hair raising, frightening read that had me on the edge of my seat throughout.
A fantastic little book, which would be the perfect read for Halloween for both middle graders and adults alike! Being forced to spend October half term with her Aunt Lilian in Malmouth, Aveline is sure to be bored. The town of Malmouth itself is dark, grey and makes you feel slightly unsettled which, in my opinion, was the whole purpose of it. The first in a deliciously spine-tingling, spooky new series, where mysteries are always solved, spirits are always laid to rest, and everybody gets to bed on time.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. In an unusually cold October – one so cold that it has closed schools early ahead of the half term holiday – Aveline arrives in the dark and gloomy coastal town of Malmouth.
Plot wise, I did enjoy the whole mystery of Primrose’s disappearance and found myself thinking up theories to how she came to vanish from the town, none of which were right mind you. At times the story just goes too fast, zipping from one scene to the next without giving the story time to breathe. Strong writing that hooks you from the start and a fascinating spooky mystery that refuses to let you go.
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 own fate. There are some subtle scare tactics used here that are common in horror stories, but they never go too far.
Later we learn why the villagers use the dolls and I could understand, but dang, I would just have moved away. I left with a feeling of, 'was that it' because I felt that the answers were given too quickly, told to Aveline rather than her finding them for herself. 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). They capture the atmosphere of the story brilliantly and the scarecrow pictures, in particular, are creepy as hell.His short storieshave been published in adult horror anthologies, but Phil turned his hand to writing middle grade as hewanted to create the same visceral thrill he remembers from reading Alan Garner, Clive King and RoaldDahl. Very atmospheric, particularly the descriptions of the seaside town in Autumn, the emptiness of the streets now the tourists have gone. From the minute Aveline arrives, she is perturbed by the presence of ghoulish scarecrows adorning the houses, and the unmistakeably creepy sounds she hears at night. The setting is a little West Country fishing port, where Aveline is staying with her aunt while her mother is away. The essence of autumn is perfectly captured in its atmospheric pages, and it’s far creepier than I expected it to be.
And while that does happen most of the time in real life, I love seeing it play out different because I think it is also a teaching moment for the adults that read middle grade.I was spooked out quite a few times and before sleeping had to read a cutesy picture book to calm my mind. Driving into the town, they are surprised and spooked to see child like figures standing outside of homes. When you read a ghost story in broad daylight on a summer afternoon and you find the hairs standing up on the back of your neck, you know that it’s going to be a spooky read. But also surprisingly her aunt who builds a relationship with Aveline throughout everything that is happening.
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