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I was initially drawn to The Haunting of Aveline Jones because of the gorgeous cover art. I know that you're not supposed to be judging books by their covers, but let's be honest, we all do. This one immediately jumped out at me and drew me in, and once I read the blurb I was hooked. Aveline Jones has been sent to the seaside town of Malmouth on the Cornish Coast to stay with her Aunt Lilian whilst her mother visits her Grandmother who is unwell. This is a spine tingly ghost story perfect for those Autumn evenings when the warm summer evenings are a distant memory and there is a definite chill in the air.
Some girls like ballet; some like football; Aveline Jones likes ghosts. And anyone who enjoys a creepy, well-plotted, atmospheric ghost story will love this book. The setting is a little West Country fishing port, where Aveline is staying with her aunt while her mother is away. Hallowe’en is approaching and Aveline is unsettled by the village’s custom of leaving life-size manikins of children outside the houses – it’s seriously spooky. A visit to the local second-hand bookshop begins an adventure that will reveal the reason for the dolls, and one that sees Aveline herself caught up in an old tragedy that still haunts the villagers. It’s deliciously creepy reading, just the thing to add a frisson of fear as the nights draw out and highly recommended! This book follows Aveline as she is dropped off at her estranged aunt's to spend the half term holidays. Straight away, Aveline senses some strange things about the seaside town where her aunt lives, and soon finds herself involved in a mystery involving ghost stories and a child who went missing 30 years ago The Haunting of Aveline Jones is the spookiest, most exciting adventure ever! I couldn't put it down! Aveline is brave and smart, and the ghosts are... Aveline finds herself pushed into visiting the local bookstore. There she finds a friend in its chatty owner and his nephew, but she also discovers a mysterious book telling some of the local stories. I think what I liked a lot about this book is the mood that is there throughout the book. It feels grey and bleak in the town, with odd customs. I certainly felt the mood that is conveyed on the UK cover. There is something very unsettling about it all. The added illustrations by Keith Robinson that are spread throughout the book help set the mood.As well as being a sad, chilling ghost story, this is also a tale of friendship. Aveline feels a deep connection to Primrose Penberthy, a girl who went missing in Malmouth 30 years previously. Defying time and space barriers, Aveline feels herself developing a unique friendship with this girl with whom she has so much in common and yet will never get the chance to meet. The power of this friendship comes to its peak in the final climax of the book and my heart lifted as it materialised. When searching for more clues within the bookstore, they discover a young girls diary...Primrose Penberthy. This young girl went missing some 30 years ago on Halloween and the mystery was never solved.
P.P. Aveline Jones loves ghost stories and cheese sandwiches. She’s not thrilled with the idea of staying with her Aunt Lilian in Malmouth while her mother visits her granny in hospital.
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Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... So spooky and the atmosphere was everything. I have yet to read an adult book with this kind of atmosphere. An exploration of the local second hand bookstore delivers the perfect book of local ghostly folklore, but why has someone desecrated the last story in the book? What follows is a quest to find out why the book had been damaged, who was the original owner, and what had happened to her? Following Aveline as she visits a Cornish seaside town and visits a book shop to find local ghost stories. This leads her to a cold case mystery from the 80’s and to a local myth that are somehow connected! I have literally just finished this, I started it yesterday and have binged read it on and off all day today, gripping!
Aveline loves all things ghost and ghouly, and loves nothing more than to delve into a good ghost story. A family illness means Aveline has to spend her half term holiday with her aunt, in the coastal town of Malmouth. In the summer this seaside town is a friendly and welcoming place, but by October the tourists have left and the town takes on a more sinister feel. One of the first things Aveline sees when she arrives in the town is a scary child-like scarecrow by a garden wall; surely it’s a bit early for Halloween decorations? Of course you can't review a ghost story without talking about the spooky side of things. It is wonderfully creepy, and there were plenty of moments that left my spine tingling. I'd spend hours pouring over 'Goosebumps' books and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' was always on the tv, and The Haunting of Aveline Jones has all the elements of those classics. I would have adored this as a kid, it undoubtedly would have given me nightmares, but that wouldn't have stopped me reading it time and time again. I read this story in one day and loved it entirely. Feeling spooked, haunted and proud of Aveline all the way through to the end! Whether you read it on a sunny bright day or a rainy grey day, I am sure you will enjoy it!
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The character of Aveline is very approachable and her affinity for ghost stories adds to her charm. She is balanced out by her Aunt Lilian and new friend Harold, who try to add some rationality to the strange hauntings. A character I also absolutely loved was the quirky Mr Lieberman who owns the local bookshop. The adults in this aren't infuriating or in the way like a lot of adults are in middle grade novels - the characters were done so well, I seemed to like them all (well, maybe except the terrifying ghost... but no spoilers here). I wish this book had been around when I was growing up – younger me would have loved it (of course present me did too!) Atmospheric, creepy and chilling it was a perfect read for a grey, rainy day. Just in time for Halloween, our Author of the Week is releasing his first scary story, The Haunting of Aveline Jones, which is all about a young girl who is fascinated by ghost stories. When she comes across a book that once belonged to Primrose Penberthy, who mysteriously went missing, she decides to investigate her disappearance... It seems very unrealistic for the mum to go from Bristol to Cornwall and then to Scotland TWICE in one week. I can’t even figure out the logistics of that. I know as a middle grade, that isn’t supposed to matter. But financially that is a lot, and also timewise that is a lot of traveling! When Aveline is forced to spend her half term holiday with her Aunt Lilian by the sea in Malmouth, she fears she's in for a week of rules and dullness. Until, that is, she finds a second hand book with a mystery. The more she knows, the more real the mystery becomes, and maybe half term being dull would have been a relief...
Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Though this story does not necessarily deal, in a direct fashion, with the crime that saw Primrose Penberthy kidnapped from her home & though we are to believe that the ghost of Cora Poole was in fact the villain at the head of Primrose’s demise; I thought it important to leave a content warning at the beginning of this review because, having read this book in my adult years, I could not help but feel that a number of particularly critical young readers might regard Primrose’s disappearance in the 1980s as falling outside the realm of the supernatural. Therefore, should this review be found by someone looking out for the better interest of a young reader or should a certain someone come upon my words, may they be regarded as a caution to the conversations that might ensue after the reading of this story. The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have...Harold and his uncle were great characters. Harold took me a bit to get used to, but I loved his uncle. He was sweet, kind, and knew his stuff. And yes, he could win a gold medal for talking. 😛 Okay, enough with the chit-chat. If you love fast-paced stories involving disappearences, spooky scarecrows, ghosts and unsolved mysteries, this is your book. Oh wait, this is your book series (there's more stories to come, how cool is that?) The Haunting of Aveline Jones is a deliciously scary story that will send shivers down your spine. One cold, blustery October half-term, Aveline travels to the Cornish coast to spend the week with her hard-edged, strict Aunt Lillian. Right from the start, readers are immersed in a shadowy, autumnal mood. The town of Malmouth is full of folklore and ghost stories. Superstitions live on even though most towns people have forgotten how they started and Aunt Lillian’s old house is full of secrets. The Haunting Of Aveline Jones is a spooky and gripping tale that I did not want to put down. This is a perfect story to read on the run up to Halloween. 🎃
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