Written by Lindsey Barraclough
Ms Barraclough has hit the right combination of in-depth characters, the shivers of creepy settings and long past history. Set in war blasted England in the 1950s, the creepy house, creepy aunt and creepy stories that have haunted the village for hundreds of years are pitch perfect. I hardly want to read it at night, since my windows are not barred and nailed shut! I do have to wonder at Cora and Mimi’s father who dumps them on their aunt in the middle of no where even when the aunt begs him not to. And the absent mother who is suffering from mental illness brought on from an incident in the same creepy village and creepy house when she was a child, resulting in the loss of her sister, eerily the same age as Cora and Mimi now. The cast of characters is rich and alive and the monster is truly monstrous. It is a little long, mostly because of all the rich background of the secondary characters, but the writing is engaging and so real it just sucks you right in. When Cora and Roger are stuck in the bunker while the horrible creature is sniffing around for them made me actually hold my breath. Read with all the lights on!!
Review by Kaydean Judy, Granger High School Media Center
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 9-12
Long Lankin
Written by Lindsey Barraclough
Candlewick Press
464 pages
Release Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 9780763658083 (hardcover)
