Out of the Dark [Library Binding]

Betty Ren Wright (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

A young girl struggles with conflicts in family relationships and loyalties until she becomes the target of a vengeful ghost who makes her fear that she will lose everything she ever cared about. By the author of A Ghost in the House.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Surprisingly, this thriller by a writer known for her ability to raise hairs (The Ghosts of Mercy Manor; The Dollhouse Murders) is more successful with its down-to-earth themes than with its supernatural elements. Jessica Belland's family has moved into her grandmother's house in the Wisconsin countryside, where her out-of-work parents need pay no rent. Mrs. Belland finds a low-wage clerical position, but Jessica's father struggles to write a book: "Just thinking of the thick pack of white paper waiting next to the typewriter on the screened-in side porch was enough to give Jessie goosebumps." These real-life worries prove rather more unsettling than Jessie's nightmares and eventual sightings of a prim and pretty phantom in an abandoned schoolhouse. Wright raises some interesting questions that are particularly relevant to her readers-whether to cheat on tests, how to continue a friendship with a difficult, angry girl and the special bond between a grandmother and her granddaughter. However, the main project of this novel is the heavy-handed suspense tale of a ghost out for revenge, and no room is left to develop other matters to real satisfaction. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8?Looking for a fresh start, Jessie and her parents have recently moved to her grandmother's rural home, but her enjoyment of the house is marred by nightmares that are chillingly real. Her parents' frustrations with unemployment have put a strain on the whole family, and she doesn't feel able to share her terror as the threatening ghost of her dreams begins to appear while she is awake. Her grandmother's girlhood diaries seem to provide a clue to the reason for the phantom's hatred and jealousy, but they end before she can solve the mystery. When she and her prickly friend Toni are trapped in a vault in an old schoolhouse, Jessie fears that the ghost's anger will be her end. Relationships built on well-defined characters add realism to this supernatural tale. Effective and well crafted, this horror novel will please Wright's many fans and should win her some new ones.?Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Library Binding: 149 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Trade (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590435981
• ISBN-13: 978-0590435987
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,625,658 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love to be scared, March 9, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Out of the Dark (Library Binding)

This book is very very scary and spooky. It is the one of the best books I have every read and any other fourth graders who like to be scared will love this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the Dark is fabulois, April 22, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Out of the Dark (Library Binding)

Out Of The Dark by Betty Ren Wright is a wonderful, surprising, and thrilling book. The book is about a girl named Jessie. Jessie and her family just moved in her grandma's house while her grandma was away. Almost every night Jessie seems to have bad dreams, in her grandma's old room. Jessie thinks that a change of room might help. Jessie hears of a girl her age and that lives right next door. Jessie decides to go and see what the girl was like. Jessie and the girl, Tony didn't get to a good start. Even though they didn't get to a good start Jessie asked Tony if she would like to take a walk with her. When Jessie and the girl discovered a schoolhouse Jessie needs to get out of the schoolhouse. In Jessie's later days she stared to read her grandmother's diary, which she found in the stuffy old room she was staying in. Once Jessie starts reading her grandma's diary a ghost starts to follow Jessie and try's to hurt Jessie. By the information Jessie has read she thinks she knows who the ghost is. After all the things Jessie has experienced she decides to write to her grandma. But at the end it ends up to be a surprise.

P.S. It is a great book you should read it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Um...The book was okay, July 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of the Dark (Library Binding)

I guess you could say this book was was a cheap thriller. I thought it was a strange book. Plus there was no turning point,it was the same thing over and over again. I don't really like this book personaly...but I think it could be a good book for others.