Something Upstairs [Hardcover]

Avi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1990 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

When he moves from Los Angeles to Providence, Rhode Island, Kenny discovers that his new house is haunted by the spirit of a black slave boy who asks Kenny to return with him to the early nineteenth century and prevent his murder by slave traders.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7 A ghost story of redeeming social value: when 12-year-old Kenny Huldorf moves with his family to Providence, Rhode Island, he finds himself embroiled in the century-old murder of a teenage slave named Caleb. Not only is Kenny haunted by the injustice of the murder, but also by the ghost of Caleb himself, who summons Kenny back in time to the early 19th Century, where the boy must solve Caleb's murder to return to his own century. How Kenny does this is the stuff of a somber and ambiguous conclusion upon which Avi intrudes himself as a character as he has earlier done at the book's beginning. Why Avi has chosen to do this is debatableperhaps to reinforce the reality of the social issue, slavery, which drives the narrative. In any event, as a literary device it compromises an otherwise carefully constructed tale, just as the too obvious employment of Caleb as both character and symbol tends to compromise his viability as a character. Nevertheless Something Upstairs is an intelligent and well-intentioned effort. It can provoke discussion of the issues articulated above as well as how, finally, violence visits the lives of both Caleb and Kenny and how Kenny, through choice and circumstance, may have become a slave himself. Michael Cart, Beverly Hills Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Avi's work spans nearly every genre and has received nearly every major prize, including the 2003 Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead. He lives in Denver, Colorado. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812494148
• ISBN-13: 978-0812494143
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,932,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Avi has published more than sixty books. Among them is Crispin: The Cross of Lead, winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal. Other novels with nineteenth-century settings, like The Traitors' Gate -- his grand nod to the work of Charles Dickens -- are listed before the title page, and include the Newbery Honor Book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Avi and his family live in Denver, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good History and Mystery Book, January 8, 2002

By 

Lee DeWald (Nebraska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Something Upstairs (Avon Camelot Books) (Paperback)

"Something Upstairs" is the only book I have ever read by the author, AVI. If this one is any indication, I should read more of him because I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

The story centers around two main characters: Kenny Huldorf, a boy who has just moved into a new house in Providence, Rhode Island; and the ghost of a slave he meets in his room, Caleb. Caleb was murdered in the room that Kenny discovers him and, after several meetings to earn Caleb's trust, their search for who killed Caleb and why he was murdered begins.

This book has enough twists and turns in it for to be a real page-turner. I've read it several times, and I've enjoyed it very much each time. The author claims that all the events in the book are real; in the forward, he claims that he actually met the boy, Kenny Huldorf, and was able to research everything the boy told him. I guess the reader will have to determine for himself/herself whether the events that unfold within the book are actually true.

The suspense level is also very-well maintained in this book as well. There is a twist toward the end that sort of throws the whole book on its ear, and it is only then that Kenny realizes the amplifications of what is actually going on in his adventure with Caleb to find a murderer.

I would highly recommend this book to young readers who like books with a little bit of history, a whole lot of mystery and a healthy dose of twists and turns. "Something Upstairs" is a genuinely good book, worth reading over and over again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Easy Read, November 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Something Upstairs (Avon Camelot Books) (Paperback)

If you are into short scary stories, this book is for you! It tells about a slave from 1800 being helped by a modern boy named Kenny, who has just moved to Providence, Rhode Island. One night, Kenny wakes up and sees hands come up from a stain in his closet. He discovers that this is a slave boy from the past named Caleb who requires his assistance. What I liked about this book was that it showed the views between Caleb and Kenny on life. It was a good contrast because their views were so different. What I disliked about the book was the lack of details and the simplicity of the mystery. My favorite character in the book was Kenny because he was very brave and was not intimidated by a slave trader named Pardon Willinghast, who told him that if he helped Caleb he would be stuck in the year 1800 forever. The setting of Providence is important because Providence was once a slave port. Kenny has recently moved to Providence and is exploring his new home and learns about the slave trade and the previous owners of his house. I would recommend this book to people over the age of 10 because there is some blood and some little kids might be scared of the ghosts. This book is very readable because the style is fast-moving, short and easy. It is good for a quick read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something Upstairs, December 19, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Something Upstairs (Avon Camelot Books) (Paperback)

This is such a fantastic book! It always leaves you wondering what's going to happen next. A boy named Kenny moves into a house in Rhode Island. He finds out that there's a ghost there, and the ghost says that he was murdered. He asks Kenny if he would help him figure out who murdered him before he would get murdered for a second time. The rest of the book is about searching for the murderer. Kenny gets stuck back in time until he can get his key chain back. He has to do something in order to get it back so he can return to his own time. Can he do the task, or will he turn it down? I'm like Kenny because I like to help my friends out in anyway I can, even though I could risk my life to save them.