The Promise (Point) [Paperback]

Robert Westall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1993 | Series: Point

Because Valerie, the beautiful young woman who loves him, is so sick, Bob carelessly makes a promise to her he knows he cannot keep, unaware that, after she dies, she will make him pay. Reprint. AB. H. PW. VY.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What starts out as a fairly conventional love story finishes as a ghost tale, blending the horror of war with the sepulchral chill of the supernatural. Bob's friendship with beautiful, sickly Valerie soon becomes romantic. When Valerie dies, only Bob knows that her willful spirit still lingers among the living. What Bob does not fully realize, however, is that this spirit is determined to leech away his own life force. Westall's gripping tale is good, spooky fun--and thought-provoking as well. The authentically depicted setting--northern England, at the time of World War II--serves to anchor the ghostly goings-on firmly in the real world. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-- Westall falls far short of his abilities in this lackluster novel about a boy haunted by his deceased girlfriend. Bob, 14, admires sickly Valerie's beauty, but doesn't get to know her until her family invites him to tea. He visits her occasionally and circumspectly so he won't be ridiculed by his male schoolmates. He and Valerie experience a small romance characterized mostly by Bob conducting her on little excursions, without her parents' knowledge, outside the garden walls. In an emotional moment, Bob promises to find Valerie if she ever gets lost, not knowing she will use this in her ghost form to try to take him with her. Told in a tone that's disappointingly dispassionate, the story inspires no sympathy for its characters: not Valerie, alive or dead, nor Bob, even when he's being drained of life's energy so he'll join her in the cold otherworld. Only Valerie's father is a convincing human being in a collection of otherwise ho-hum personalities. Bob sometimes seems to be 17, other times 12, especially when he continually refers to Valerie's developing breasts as the "bulges" under her blouse (sweater, dress, robe, whatever) or when he's concealing his affection for Valerie from his buddies. Even the horror element is flat. Valerie's ghost isn't scary or sinister, nor is the plot suspenseful. She doesn't even begin her haunting until over two-thirds of the way through the book, and most readers won't get that far. --Ellen Ramsay, Amphitheater High Sch . , Tucson, AZ
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Point (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590437615
• ISBN-13: 978-0590437615
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,617,388 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good book, February 22, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Promise (Hardcover)

I found it interesting the way the author used the dialog. The discription of all of the people was so realistic I felt I knew Valerie and Bob.