Customer Reviews

A Haunting in Williamsburg (Avon Camelot Books)

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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.

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.

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.