The Secret of Laurel Oaks [Hardcover]

Lois Ruby (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2008 | Age Level: 10 and up

When Lila and her family visit Laurel Oaks Plantation in Louisiana, her parents and brother scoff at the claim that the house is haunted. But secretly, Lila suspects there are ghostly presences willing to communicate with her, and her alone. One spirit eager to tell her story is Daphne, a slave girl at Laurel Oaks in the 1840s, who was blamed for the poisoning deaths of two girls and their mother. Daphne’s spirit senses that Lila is the very person she’s been waiting for, the one who can prove her innocence so her spirit can rest at long last. Shifting back and forth from Lila’s world in the present to Daphne’s world in the past, the true story of what really happened that fateful night finally comes to light.

Laurel Oaks is a thinly disguised version of the legendary Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana, which is on the Smithsonian's list of the ten most haunted places in America. This novel was inspired by the author's visit to the plantation and her experiences there.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—When the Barry family decides to stay at the Laurel Oaks Plantation in Louisiana, considered by the Smithsonian Institution to be one of the 10 most haunted places in the United States, a harmless bit of fun becomes a life-altering experience for Lila, 13, and her 14-year-old brother, Gabe. As they take part in the spooky evening tour of the house, Lila senses and sees what Gabe thinks are all gimmicks and Disney-style special effects. The presence of spirits is strong and one in particular is reaching out to Lila. It is the spirit of Daphne, a slave girl who was accused of poisoning her master's wife and two daughters. Is Lila the one who can put things right for Daphne after all these years and allow peace to come to Laurel Oaks? This plot-twisting ghost story is full of history, friendship, romance, betrayal, and jealousy. Lila's and Daphne's stories are revealed through alternating chapters, shifting between today and the 1840s. While this technique works well, at times it is distracting and seems to make the plot drag needlessly. Overall, this is an interesting read with considerable potential but its ending loses steam.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY
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Review

Praise for THE SECRET OF LAUREL OAKS:

“If you read this book late at night, as I did, in a dark and quiet house, as I did, you may feel the same chill I did—the someone-is-looking-over-your shoulder chill. The heebie-jeebies. The creeps. This is a genuinely spooky and engrossing ghost story, filled with fascinating historical detail.”—Jennifer Armstrong, award-winning author of The Dreams of Mairhe Mehan on The Secret of Laurel Oaks

“Lois Ruby’s The Secret of Laurel Oaks is an intriguing mystery that takes the contemporary heroine (and the reader) on a spirited journey back and forth from a haunted house to the slave-owning family that once owned it....We are in capable hands with Ruby’s deft story telling powers and her devotion to historical truths. A terrific read.”—Sonia Levitin, award-winning author of Strange Relations, The Goodness Gene, and Dream Freedom

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Starscape; 1st edition (September 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765313669
• ISBN-13: 978-0765313669
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,165,485 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun young adult supernatural cold case murder investigation, September 2, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secret of Laurel Oaks (Hardcover)

Since mom is giving a presentation at the Biophysical Anthropology Conference on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, her entire family decided to attend. Besides mom, dad, and their two children (fourteen year old Gabe and thirteen year old Lila) leave their home in Albuquerque to stay for a few nights at creepy allegedly haunted (that is what the Smithsonian web site claims) Laurel Oaks B&B.

The ghost is Daphne an antebellum young slave accused of murdering her Master Judge Nethercott's wife and two daughters Molly and Alice in 1840 at Laurel Oaks Plantation; Daphne died in the nearby Mississippi. She has never moved on because she is obsessed to know what truly happened on that horrific day when four females died. She believes that Lila is the person she has waited for to help her investigate the murders.

The supernatural aspects of the tale has been done a zillion ties, but is somewhat refreshed with non-graphic implications of the uglier realism like molestation and rape on a slave plantation. The story line rotates perspective between the two teen female stars with Daphne's occurring in 1840 and the more fascinating of the two "tales". Young adult fans will enjoy Lila's cold case murder investigation.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars So good., June 9, 2011

By 

Victorya (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Secret of Laurel Oaks (Mass Market Paperback)

Ssspoookeeey. And soooo good.

Lila's family decides to stay at a certified haunted Laurel Oaks Plantation-turned B&B in Louisiana. They all think it's interesting and fun, except for Lila whose recent experience (which possibly involves and highly suggestive of ghosts talking to her) has made her jumpy about spirits and haunted B&B and such.

Soon enough Lila encounters MANY spirits and ghosts in many shapes and forms and also has reasons to doubt whether certain people (and non-people) she sees are actually what they seem to be (people and other things) or NOT. She manages to convince her brother Gabe who firstly and appropriately thinks she's crazy but then sees and hears those spooky things himself.

It's Cold Case plus Ghost Whisperer but WAY CLASSIER. There was a murder mystery, you see, and Lila is to find the secret that solves the mystery.
You get slavery, romance (sweet, nonsteamy kind), love, history, all bundled into a complex murder mystery.

Oh by the way, the author's note at the end says it's based on a true story. There is actually this haunted place and you can go stay there and that murder happened and all.

I am doubly-spooked.