Customer Reviews

Ghost Girl (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
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This is the first book I've read from author Torey Hayden. While I was reading, it reminded me of author Dave Pelzer's book, "A Child Called It." While the content may be similar in that children are affected by the actions of adults, Ghost Girl is clearly different. As Hayden went on to describe the dialogue and experiences Jadie had gone though, there were many times when I was forced to set the book down in order to contemplate what I was reading. The pictures I created in my mind made me sick to my stomach. I could not even fathom what Jadie had to endure. Yet Hayden had the compassion to do what was right, which was to just care. Hayden's caring is what saved Jadie and her sisters from continued abuse. Yet questions went unanswered: were Jadie's descriptions psychotic or from real experience dealing with the occult and Satanism? We may never know and I really don't think it is the main point of Hayden's book.

I think Torey Hayden's writing is complete and very intriguing. She has already become a favorite author for education and I look forward to reading her other books of children with special needs.

NOTE: While this book will keep the reader interested, it can be very dark, horrid, and at times, scary.

Once again Torey Hayden has written an outstanding book about her work with children. This book is mainly about Jadie, who, at 8 is (s)electively mute, walks hunched over and expresses fears that initially seem bizarre.

At the opening of the book, Torey Hayden meets Jadie and her classmates after half term break. Within a short space of time during that first day together, Jadie broke her self imposed silence and spoke softly when asked a direct question. From that point on, Jadie's verbal progress is remarkable. A bright, expressive child, Jadie described a bizarre life outside of the classroom that certainly makes for a strong case for ritual abuse. Luckily Jadie was provided with a classroom environment in which she felt safe.

Jadie feared spiders because she believed they could hear her and "tell on her" if she divulged anything that could be construed as a breach of confidence. She explained her posture as a means of "keeping her insides from falling out;" she fears the number 6 and worries about her younger sister surviving her sixth birthday; she said adults she knew told her how at six one gains power and how people can hurt others with impunity; she describes drinking blood as "oily" and "slipping down." Ghosts and themes of death are trenchant; many of Jadie's early drawings are of ghosts and she said that she and her little sisters were ghosts at night. She also believed that a playmate who had allegedly died had become a ghost and that that child's ghost had gotten into her, Jadie.

Each fear she expressed can be traced to ritual abuse. In many cases, ritual abusers claim that spiders as well as insects spy on children and report anything the children might tell. Imbibing blood and other body fluids is often a cult activity and the number 6 has a long history of having dark magical properties attributed to it. Jadie's fear that her sister would not survive past that age appears to underscore this belief. Her strong aversion for Halloween is another good case in point as Halloween is considered a high holiday in cult circles. Jadie wanted no part of it.

Another point that leans towards ritual abuse was Jadie's sexual precocity and acting out. She described adult acts and even said how she and her sisters were so abused. Although Jadie had a good command of language from the telling, the question remains as to what really took place.

This is a very chilling book that will certainly leave indelible impressions upon the minds of all who read it. It is easy to make good cases for ritual abuse, but that is remains an open question. Jadie was a very brave and soldierly little girl who tried to protect her sisters and explain a part of her life that can at best be described as hazy and shadowy.

Once again, Torey Hayden has written a captivating account of her experiences with a fascinating and trouble young child. As usual, the author's loving attention and professional insight help uncover hidden layers of traumatic emotion causing this child's unusual behavior. I believe the girl is the real star of this book though. Her behavior and attempts at healing in reaction to apparently appauling abuse is a testament to the depth and complexity of the human psyche.

While the epilogue paints a happy ending for the girl, I can't help but feel frustrated with the final chapters in the book -- at how long it took even a smart sensitive teacher to take seriously a girl's graphic descriptions of sexual abuse, at the entire professional community's naivete concerning the existence of ritual child abuse groups in this country, and the inability of the police to solve the case. For example, the girl demonstrates competence at operating video equipment (something her parents did not own in the 1980s) and describes being abused on TV, but the adults interpret this as a sign of mental disturbance, pretending to be in a TV show, not her familiarity with the making of child pornographic videos. I'm sure all the readers of this book are craving a follow-up book on the girl, who is now a healthy adult who apparently sticks to her story of ritual abuse.

This is the incredible story of Jadie, a young girl who refuses to speak until her dedicated teacher convinces her to do so. Once she does, the story that comes out of her mouth--the story of her home life--is one that will shock, sadden, enrage, and leave the reader in disbelief. I could not put this book down. Jadie's character has a certain mystique about her when she does speak and as her story starts to unfold. It is intriquing and frightening as you ask yourself whether the horrors she's telling of are real or the result of a vivid imagination. Jadie's irrepressible spirit; her desire to tell her story, and her seemingly split personalities were incredibly fascinating, and I was inspired by the story of someone who has survived such horrific abuse, and had the courage to blow the horn on it as well. I will warn you, though...when Jadie begins to tell the story of the abuse she's suffered, the book leads you through several very graphic scenes of sickening sexual abuse. This book is not intended for children or those who are easily upset by stories of child abuse. There are also some statements that offer a disturbing look into the world of satanic cults, and many of those statements talk about rituals that turned my stomach. All in all, though, this was an incredible, eye-opening and inspiring story. It reminded me of the sacrifices that teachers make to each child in this country, each and every day.

This is the first Torey Hayden book I've ever read and I know that it's not my last. I couldn't put the book down. I also teach emotionally distrubed children and feel that Ghost Girl a must read for any Special Education teacher.

I read this book as part of a class I am taking as my graduate program for Special Education. I found that I could not put this book down because I found the story so intriging and was curious to find out if they ever were able to discover if Jadie's story was true. Yes, this book is very graphic in the details Jadie describes her sexual abuse and other aspects of ritual abuse. I could not believe how long it took for something to finally be done for Jadie and her sisters because everyone kept believing it was Jadie being mentally disturbed and her story was a fabrication even though she understood things that an 8-9 year old shouldn't have understood. The book did reveal that sexual abuse and ritualistic abuse can take place anywhere in this country and that teachers should take any allegation of any type of abuse seriously. I think this book should be read by any educators or future teachers, but it is an adult book. I was disappointed at the end of the book because I wanted to find out who(m) was doing this to Jadie, instead of the inference that it was her parents. Overall, it was a very good book to read and very enlightening about ritual abuse.

Ghost girl by Torey Hayden shows how one person can change another person's life....forever. This is probably one of the most successful stories in showing a teacher's love and courage, Jadie would still be home getting abused. In this story Jadie is crying out to the world by being an "elective mute." While others ran away or gave up, this teacher, torey, got Jadie talking and communicating with her and opened her up to telling her the sick and horrifying life she was living in. Jadie was living in a pure, Satanist nightmare and Torey did the only thing she knew how to get this girl help and get her out of this nightmare; she fully succeeded in doing that. So Jadie wouldn't be abused anymore, she was placed in a foster home far away, and before she left, she gave Torey a piece of paper. "In my hand I still had the small piece of paper Jadie had given to me. Carefully pulling it open I found two words. Thank-you."

If the book wasn't listed as non-fiction, I never would have guessed that anything so tragic could happen to a young child!

The book centers around Torey, the author, a special ed teacher and her new class. One of the children, Jadie, is an elective mute something that Torey by coincidence specializes in. After Jadie is convinced to begin speaking to Torey, the child begins to act strangely and divulge even stranger things. Her world is deep and very, very dark , indicating abuse of some kind.

Torey also gives insight into the problems of the other classmates. Their plights are deeply touching.

We are lucky to have teachers like Torey in the world. People who are so drawn to helping children.

I am a Torey Hayden fan, I have read all her books and love all of them. This book however, is different from the rest. The writing in particular is so very well polished, that i think that in that sense it stands out from the rest as a better read. However, i DO NOT recommend this book to anyone. I consider myself to have a strong stomach, but this book has scarred me for life. There are some parts of the book, that when i was finished reading, i felt physically ill and regretted exposing myself to such horror. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE Torey Hayden, and it is not her fault that this story has happened, but what this little girl describes makes David Pelzer's "A Child Called "It" seem like a walk in the park. I'm hoping i will forget the things i have read in this book, and in result regret reading it completely. It might have been worth it if there at least was some sort of concrete, solid resolution at the end, but there was not. Hoping this -was the only reason why i continued to read. The lack of explanation at the end made this horrific read not worth the exposure.

This book held me completely enthralled until it was finished. The emotions that flowed were intense. So many times I cried for this little girl, muttering, "Oh my god, what have they done to her" As a children's advocate, a nanny, and as a college student studying education and child psychology, and focusing on language and victim's counseling respectively, this book hit home. Thank you, Torey Hayden, for saving this child's life. Readers, prepare; this book will tear at your heart and provoke strong emotions.