Crandalls' castle

Title:

Crandalls' castle

Author:

Wright, Betty Ren.

ISBN:

9780823417261

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

177 pages ; 22 cm

Reading Level:

670 Lexile.

Abstract:

Charli's impulsive uncle, Will Crandall, decides to buy the town's abandoned, possibly haunted castle and fix it up as a bed-and-breakfast, but Charli and Sophia, a clairvoyant orphan who has come to stay with the Crandall family, know his plan is somehow dangerous.

Subject:

Orphans -- Juvenile fiction.

Clairvoyance -- Juvenile fiction.

Ghosts -- Fiction.

Cousins -- Juvenile fiction.

Stepfathers -- Juvenile fiction.

Family life -- Wisconsin -- Fiction.

Wisconsin -- Juvenile fiction.

Diaries -- Juvenile fiction.

Ghost stories.

Fiction.

Genre:

Diaries -- Juvenile fiction.

Ghost stories.

Available:*

Audience	Shelf Location	Material Type	Shelf Number	Current Location
Kids/Juvenile	Fiction	Book	JFIC WRIGHT	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Charli's excited about the Crandall family's newest endeavor-to fix up the town's old mansion and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast-at first. She even volunteers to help. Then strange things begin to happen. Charli hears someone singing-but no one one is there. She sees the shadow of a rocking cradle-but there is no cradle. And then she hears a baby crying, and crying... Something terrible happened in the old house many years ago. And it may happen again, unless Charli can figure out how to stop the past from repeating itself.

Author Notes

Betty Ren Wright was born in Wakefield, Michigan on June 15, 1927. She graduated from Downer University and was the chief editor for Western Publishing for over 30 years. During her lifetime, she wrote numerous children's books including A Ghost in the Family, A Ghost in the House, The Ghost of Mercy Manor, Too Many Secrets, A Ghost Comes Calling, The Dollhouse Murders, The Secret Window, and Getting Rid of Marjorie. She also wrote thirty-five picture books. Her short stories appeared in Redbook, Ladies' Home Journal, Young Miss, and numerous other magazines. She died on December 31, 2013 at the age of 86.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-7-In alternating chapters, two girls narrate this suspenseful novel. Charli, 12, is adjusting to life with her new stepfather when her impulsive Uncle Will Crandall announces that he has purchased a rundown mansion, rumored to be haunted, that he plans to turn into a bed-and-breakfast. On her visit, Charli sees the shadow of a rocking cradle and senses a disturbing and frightening presence. Orphaned Sophia, 14, has recently come to live with Charli's aunt and uncle and has a deep secret-she sometimes "knows things" before they happen-and she is convinced that Uncle Will's plans are dangerous. The girls' prickly relationship as they help clean the Castle, and the dread each feels toward the house, provides tension to the story. Both are sure that no one will believe them if they mention their fears. A biography of one of the mansion's former residents leads to the ghost's identity and this fact, along with Sophia's prescience, helps the girls when they must rescue Charli's youngest cousin from near death. This novel will satisfy readers looking for a scary story. The adjustment of both girls to their new living situations adds reality to the plot and gives the novel more substance than many in the genre.-Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Gr. 4^-7. Twelve-year-old Charli Belland doesn't like change, and lately there's been a lot. She has a new stepfather; and when her beloved cousins, the Crandalls, who live across the street, take in an orphaned teen, Charli feels left out. Fourteen-year-old Sophia, who has been shuffled between foster homes, likes the Crandalls, but she worries that they will discover her secret (clairvoyant abilities) and send her away. Then uncle Will buys an abandoned mansion and enlists the girls' help in cleaning it up. Both girls sense something wrong as they work, and they find themselves banding together when the house's dark past comes into the present in a chilling climax. Wright characteristically combines a well-written, shivery ghost story with distinctively drawn, appealing protagonists whose issues and dilemmas are sympathetically portrayed. By alternating Charli's third-person narrative with Sophia's first-person journal entries, she adds suspense and character depth as she realistically depicts the progression of the girls' relationship from one of resentment to one of trust. --Shelle Rosenfeld