Once upon a Dark November [Library Binding]

Carol Beach York (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

A high school freshman with a crush on her English teacher, Katie enjoys her job doing housework in his house until a murder in his family has Katie fearing for her own life.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- The prologue to this suspense novel describes a small child locked in an attic as a punishment by "Auntie." The scene then advances 35 years to tell of the life of 14-year-old Katie Allen, who lives on the same street as that anonymous child from long ago. Katie has a part-time job doing household chores for the wife of her English teacher, Mr. Herron. One day Mrs. Herron's mysterious and gloomy cousin Martin comes to visit and shows no apparent intention of leaving. When Miss Gorley, the elderly woman who lives down the street, is murdered, Katie's life is endangered also, for she has seen Martin at the murder site on the morning of the killing. From here the plot quickly unravels. Martin is really Mr. Herron in disguise, invented to provide a scapegoat for the Herrons, who killed Miss Gorley for her money. And, of course, Mr. Herron was the child in the attic, locked there by hated "Auntie" Gorley years ago. This books starts off as a good spooky mystery, and it alternates between the wholesomeness of Katie's home and the morose gloom that surrounds Miss Gorley and Martin. Readers know something terrible will happen before it's all over, and will delight in the scary anticipation of that event. Not even the most accepting and gullible of readers, however, will swallow the Herrons' plan as believable. The idea that Katie, who has a crush on Mr. Herron and who observes him closely every day, would not recognize his disguise as Martin is ludicrous. The unbelieveable ending reduces this to a marginal purchase for libraries in which mysteries are in great demand. --Bruce Ann Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Library Binding: 98 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House; 1st edition (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823407802
• ISBN-13: 978-0823407804
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,123,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A school reveiw, February 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Once upon a Dark November (Library Binding)

There's a killer on Katie's street and they might be coming after her. Katie Allen lives on Linden Street in the city of Grandville. On Tuesday's and Friday's Katie goes to work in the Herron's house. Mr. Herron is the English teacher, who Katie has a crush on. One day Mrs. Herron told Katie that her cousin Martin was coming to visit. He hadn't been in Grandville for twenty years and now, out of the blue, he decides to come for a visit. They were packing away Halloween costumes and Katie saw a Frankenstein mask with a tear in the chin. After all of that was put away, they went upstairs to get the room ready for her cousin Martin. When they were putting the sheets on the bed, Mrs. Herron forgot that Katie was there and started talking to herself. "No good will come from this visit." She shuttered as if she were afraid, and Katie just knew something bad was going to happen when martin came. The next time Katie came over Martin was there. He sat at the kitchen table with a mustache and big, thick glasses. He didn't look happy in Katie's opinion. He went out with Mrs. Herron a lot and his room was very empty. When Katie was over, Mrs. Herron often asked Martin if he would go see `Auntie' while he was there. Their Auntie was old Mrs. Gorley at the end of the street. She lived alone in a big house. Whenever Mrs. Herron mentioned Auntie, Cousin Martin always said "I'll see her soon enough." One day, Katie and her mom went to Mrs. Gorley's house to see if she wanted an old clock. On their way over they saw Mrs. Herron and Martin coming out. "He finally went to see Auntie," Katie thought to herself. When they went to see Mrs. Gorley she said she didn't know why Mrs. Herron brought him over. The next Tuesday when Katie went to the Herron's house there were cops there. Mrs. Herron told Katie that someone had murdered Mrs. Gorley the day before. Martin had disappeared and they think he killed her. The cops questioned Katie. She told them that she saw him outside of Mrs. Gorley's house the morning of the day she was murdered. She said that she thought it was Mr. Herron at first because of the way he looked from the back. The police told her that she would have to give a testimony in court. Katie just wanted it all to be over. She was scared because they didn't know where Martin was. One night when Katie was walking home from her friend Heather's house, she felt like someone was following her. No one was there but she still felt better after she was home. She went to the kitchen to lock the back door because she was the only one home. As she reached for it the door burst open and a man wearing a frankinstein mask with a tear in the chin walked in. Katie screamed and turned to run. She bumped the table and thanksgiving decorations fell on the floor. He stumbled on them which gave Katie time to run. She didn't know where she was running, just away. When she finally stopped running she found herself three blocks from home. Her mom, who was driving home, saw Katie and stopped. Katie told her mom what happened and they went to the police station. Katie told a police man that she had seen the mask in the Herron's Halloween costumes. They went to the Herron's house and told them this. Some how the police man figured out that Cousin Martin never existed. And that Mr. Herron was Martin and that he and Mrs. Herron killed Mrs. Gorley. It was Mr. Herron who tried to kill Katie. This shocked Mrs. Herron because it was never in her plan to hurt Katie. This is an interesting book with believable characters and suspense.

This book is interesting because it gives enough clues for you to get an idea of what will happen, but not enough to figure everything out before the end of the book. For example, before Martin came Mrs. Herron said that no good would come from his visit. And then when she asked Martin about visiting Auntie, she seemed to be scared about mentioning it. This gives you the idea that the bad thing Mrs. Herron was talking about has something to do with Martin visiting Auntie. Also, when the masked man broke into Katie's house. The book said that it was a frankinstein mask with a tear in the chin. If the reader has paid attention earlier on, they will remember that that mask was in the Herron's basement. This gives the reader a clue that says either Martin really still in town and after Katie, or it is Mr. or Mrs. Herron. Also when Martin mysteriously disappears. Because Martin is no where to be found, and was seen outside Mrs. Gorely's house the day she was murdered, you pretty much get the idea that he did it. The fact that the police even think that is was Martin supports this opinion.

This book's characters act like people would in real life. For example, when Katie is talking to Heather. Heather is Katie's best friend so Katie tells her that she has a crush on Mr. Herron. Heather tells Katie that she thinks it is creepy and gross that Katie has a crush on their English teacher. If this were real life any girl wouldn't be very supportive if one of their friends liked a teacher. Another example is when Katie was thinking about the fact that she was going to have to give a testimony in court. She didn't want to go, she just wanted it to be over because it scared her. A real person would act this way too. If there was a murderer out on the loose, you wouldn't want to keep hearing about it and talking about it. You would just want to forget about it and move on with your life, and that is how Katie felt. Also, when Katie was running away from the man in the mask. The book said that she barely had time to scream before she turned to run. This is how a person would act in real life. If someone burst into your house, you wouldn't waste time screaming. You would run away as fast as you could. In the book it said that Katie just kept running. She didn't know where she was running, just as far away as she could. This is exactly what a real person would do. They would put as much distance between them and the thing they are running from, as possible.

This book will make it so you won't want to put it down. At the end of every chapter it will leave you with questions, so you have to keep reading to find out what is going to happen. For an example, at the end of chapter one it has just finished telling you a little about where Katie lives and about Mrs. Gorely. It tells you how Mrs. Gorely scared Katie when she was little. You want to keep reading to find out if they say anything more about Mrs. Gorely and if she still scares Katie when Katie gets older. Another example is at the end of chapter two Mrs. Herron has just finished telling Katie about her cousin Martin. Katie gets the eerie feeling that something bad is going to happen when cousin martin comes. You just have to keep reading to find out if Katie is right, and what kind of person Martin is. Also, at the end of chapter four Katie is thinking to her self about Martin. How he is always just sitting at the table thinking. And that bothered Katie. What could he be thinking about, she had thought. This chapter leaves you with so many questions about who Martin is that you have to keep on reading to find out more about him.

This is a great book that seems like it could be a true story because it is so well written. I would recommend this book to everyone. It isn't to hard for younger kids and it is not to easy for older kids. It is in the middle so it is great for everyone.

C.Chapman

3.0 out of 5 stars can't believe., September 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Once upon a Dark November (Library Binding)

I like this story because I think it is hard to guess what happen on next chapter. It is a mystery story, which seems like other normal mystery story. But this story has something more attractive. I don't know how to say it is very interesting story when you read it you will find the technique of the writer, which can make you read it all at one time. He can plot this story look very wonderful for the reader. I will not close it before you read it through the end.
This story is about a young girl whose name is Katie. She dotes on her English teacher, Mr. Herron. Also she goes to work at his house with Mrs. Herron every Tuesdays and Fridays. She likes to go there because she wants to meet the smart teacher as him. But one day everything is changed when Mrs. Herron's cousin come. Cousin Martin is like something terrible and awful for her and for the Granville town because someone is murdered. Miss Gorley is murdered by him. She is an old woman who lives across Katie's house. Also she is a relative with Mrs. Herron and Cousin Martin. It is a mystery and detective story. At the end, it makes Katie feels sad and doesn't believe it.