A Haunting in Williamsburg (Avon Camelot Books) [Paperback]

Lou Kassem (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: Avon Camelot Books

At first Jayne thought she was dreaming. Staying in colonial Williamsberg in a house one owned by her ancestors, She was used to seeing peple dressed in old-fashion costumes...but not in the middle of the night, not standing at the foot of her bed...

The trouble stranger was Sally Custis, a young girl who once lived in the house. She was haunted by a terrible wrong she had done over 200 years ago and she begged Jayne to help her set it right.But little did Jayne know when she steeped among the dead in the darkened old graveyard, that a chilling hand of evil would reach out to stop her from discovering a long buried truth...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jayne Curtis, 13, is spending the summer with her Aunt Liz in Williamsburg, Va. The resulting loneliness is familiar: after failing to speak up against a classmate who claimed Jayne's essay as his own, she's been ostracized by the kids back home for her supposed attempt at plagiarism. One night, Jayne meets Sally, a teenaged ancestral ghost who's been inhabiting Liz's landmark home since 1781. Sally, too, had mishandled a crisis: when her brother, Jeremiah, was killed while crossing enemy lines to run a secret errand for her, he was wrongly branded a traitor. Sally remained silent, and her death shortly afterward kept the error from being corrected. Now she wants Jayne to restore the family name; in doing so, Jayne puts herself in grave danger. The narrative is marred by mannered dialogue and brief time-travel transitions that come out of nowhere. Moreover, some plot elements are convoluted and far-fetched, even for a ghost story. The novel overall is short on thrills and unlikely to hold readers' interest. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Lou Kassem has written more than a dozen books for young people. She lives in Southwestern Virginia.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038075892X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380758920
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,093,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Real Page-Turner from Beginning to End...GREAT!!, July 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Haunting in Williamsburg (Avon Camelot Books) (Paperback)

On a recent family vacation to Williamsburg, my 9-year-old daughter was looking for fiction works with a Williamsburg backdrop to enhance her trip. This was one we came across. I was skeptical at first because of the ghost theme, so I started reading it. I only intended to read enough to discern if it was appropriate for her, but I could not put it down and ended up reading the entire book. The ghost story is great and in the telling provides some interesting American history information. It was fun to read about places we had visited and things we had seen from both the modern-day and Colonial perspective. In this book, some good values are taught without the reader even being aware of it. I highly recommend it whether you have a keen interest in Williamsburg or not...a great read!! And...my daughter loved it too! Some other great books set in Williamsburg for elementary-age girls are the Felicity books from the American Girls Collection.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THe PAST BLURS INTO THE PRESENT, May 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Haunting in Williamsburg (Avon Camelot Books) (Paperback)

Twelve-year-old Jayne Custis must spend the summer with an aunt in Colonial Williamsburg, VA. She arrives with a lot of emotional baggage which weighs on her conscience--the issue is moral cowardice. Allowed much freedom of movement and given delicious meals by the devoted Black housekeeper, Jayne delves into the city's historic past while trying to forget her own, uncertain future.

She gradually becomes aware of a ghostly presence trying to contact her--that of a young woman (her own ancestor, in fact) who begs her help to redress a 200-year-old wrong. Jayne learns about her family history and dedicates herself to solving the mystery and clearning the name of an ancestor. She meets a friendly boy who helps her, but there is very real danger in the cemetery, from an embittered ghost who does not want the truth to be revealed. Can a young girl clear the family name of the tainted, shameful charge of Treason and set the tender heart of the lady ghost finally at peace? This book is a light read and will introduce elementary students to a very special city/tourist attraction and Colonial times.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Williamsburg doesn't just attract tourists!, November 12, 2001

By 

Danielle - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Haunting in Williamsburg (Avon Camelot Books) (Paperback)

A Haunting in Williamsburg was a decent book, though some information in the story doesn't make any sense when it is put together. It's about a girl who is in the shadows and has a secret she is keeping and is sent to her aunt's house who lives in Williamsburg. She meets people and starts to blossom but then she meets an old family ghost who has a deadly secret herself and asks the girl to help her settle her spirit and live in peace. If you want a surprise turning in a book than you should read this book.