The Door Between (Fours Crossing Books) [Hardcover]

Nancy Garden (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 11 and up | Series: Fours Crossing Books

When her father announces plans for a housing development in the woods considered sacred by the mysterious hermit, the village is attacked by seemingly supernatural wild dogs; and Melissa realizes that she must find and pacify the hermit, even if it means traveling to the Otherworld. Sequel to "Watersmeet."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Continuing the story begun in Fours Crossing and Watersmeet, Garden's new novel puts Melissa at the crossroads of youth and womanhoodat a time when she has the chance to prove herself as the true Keeper who will join the Old Ways with the New. Even before Melissa is sure of her destiny, the hermit who clings to the Old Ways has beset Fours Crossing with problems in the form of wild, destructive dogs, through which bulletseven silver onespass. Melissa wins the hermit over with a newfound compassion and maturity. Despite evocative descriptions of a New England town under siege, the story has problems for readers unfamiliar with the other books. There is a laborious retelling of key elements from the past. These contribute to the suspense of the story, but the sheer bulk of references to earlier events ultimately renders the plot more dependent on the other books, rather than less. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8 As in the two previous books in this series, Fours Crossing (1981) and Watersmeet (1983, both Farrar), strands of Celtic mythology and pagan rituals are woven into a modern-day fantasy. Thirteen-year-old Melissa Dunn continues her struggles with the mad hermit who persists in his determination to destroy her tiny New Hampshire village. He is convinced that the people must be punished for growing lax in following the Old Ways, rituals brought by Celtic settlers in the late 1600s. The hermit's evil power becomes evident as Melissa encounters phantom-like hounds that terrorize the villagers, frightening spirits that try to lure her into dangerous situations, and the disappearance of Ancient Tools that have magical powers. Melissa, who is related to the original Keepers of the Old Ways, is set in the task of traveling through the door between the Upper World (living world) and the Otherworld (place of the dead), where she must pass trials to prove her worthiness to become the next Keeper. A mood of suspense and powerful magic pervades the story until almost the very end, when the climax is weakened by a prosaic solution for housing the Ancient Tools. Significant events from previous books are well integrated, allowing this one to stand on its own. Readers interested in fantasies involving Celtic mythology may want to read others, such as Bond's String in the Harp (Atheneum, 1976), Cooper's ``The Dark Is Rising'' series (Atheneum), and Garner's The Owl Service (Del Rey, 1981). Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, Vt.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 183 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (J); 1st edition (June 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374318336
• ISBN-13: 978-0374318338
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,964,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Great!, December 4, 2002

By 

Dave Anderson (Saint Charles, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Door Between (Fours Crossing Books) (Hardcover)

This book was very suspenseful and mysterious!I would definitely call this a mystery book!Loved it!