The Whispering House [Hardcover]

Rebecca Wade (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 22, 2012 | Age Range: 8 and up | Lexile Measure: 830L (What's this?)

Maisie Holt.

This is her book.

It's an old house, one her family plans to stay in for only a short while; but for Hannah Price, secrets soon come creeping out of every corner of Cowleigh Lodge.

First there's the old and dusty book of children's fairy tales that belonged to a young girl named Maisie. Hannah learns that the girl died mysteriously at age eleven in this very house nearly 140 years ago.

Then, when Hannah draws a portrait of Maisie, things begin to fall apart. The house seems to be reverting to its nineteenth-century form, and Hannah's not sure whether it or Maisie herself is sending her messages. Hannah must solve the mystery of Maisie's death, because if she doesn't help her, Maisie may never leave Hannah alone. . . .

Rebecca Wade has created a haunting story that will capture readers' imaginations until the very last page.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rebecca Wade was born in Worcestershire. The house in this story, Cowleigh Lodge, is based on her memory of the house where she grew up. Ms. Wade is a professional viola player, primarily with the Philharmonia Orchestra in England. She is also the author of The Theft & the Miracle. She has two grown children and lives in London.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060774975
• ISBN-13: 978-0060774974
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,337,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Review - The Whispering House October 31, 2012

By Kris

Format:Hardcover

Hannah starts to have strange, intense dreams about being under a canopy of glittering green leaves with a strange, blankly staring face next to hers, when her family relocates to an old Victorian house. There, she finds a dusty book of fairy tales. The book is inscribed, "To Maisie From Your Loving Papa, Christmas 1876." Upon the discovery of Maisie Holt's gravestone in the neighborhood graveyard, Hannah finds out that Maisie died when she was only eleven years old. Hannah decides to find out what happened to Maisie with the help of her best friend Sam.

Hannah is smart, and she can put the clues together. However, all the people she gets in touch with easily gives her the necessary information needed to solve the mystery. She is too perfect, as is her situation, making her seem unreal. Sam is more interesting, and he is the one that helps Hannah make sense about the clues she finds and the dreams she has.

The ending of book is a bit let down, as it isn't nearly as strong as the rest of the book. Still, I do love the plot for the book and how the story weaves the past and the present into one by drawing on intriguing pieces of history, and I found the truth behind the dreams interesting. The Whispering House delivers plenty of spookiness for younger readers, but the older tweens and teens will find this book too simple.

Note - I didn't realize until I was reading this book that it is a book two. The first book about Hannah Price is called The Theft & The Miracle.

Review by Alice @Imaginary Reads

3.0 out of 5 stars The Whispering House September 4, 2012

By Kassandra Fuentes

Format:Hardcover

The book was a good read, but not something that I would usually read. Now, the characters are well developed and make the story cute. Although, I will admit some thing creep me out, especially the doll. Overall, the book was good and I wanted to keep reading to figure out the whole mystery behind the house, doll, and the little dead girl.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Ghostly Mystery August 17, 2012

By K. Coombs VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

A ghost story that starts out scarier than it ends, which is probably just as well for its middle grade audience. Or rather, this is a mystery that's also a ghost story. Apparently the two main characters, Hannah and her friend Sam, have teamed up before, in a mystery called The Theft and the Miracle. Now Hannah's family has temporarily moved into an old, hard-to-rent house across town, and the creepy happenings start piling up.

It seems a little girl named Maisie used to live in the house, and she died as a child, perhaps killed by witchcraft. Locked rooms, an old calendar page, a book of fairy tales, bad dreams, a weirdly marked doll, poltergeist-type activities, and Hannah's own drawing of the dead girl combine to make Hannah jump and worry--and try to solve the mystery of what really happened to Maisie. The weirdness escalates and escalates until Hannah and Sam have their own haunted encounters with Maisie.

Here's a description of the doll:

"The blue ribbon was a problem, however, and it took a lot of coaxing before the tight little knot yielded at last. Then Mom unfastened the dress and gently pulled it over the doll's head. 'Oh!' The exclamation came from both Hannah and her mother at once. They stared at the cloth body, naked save for the black boots. 'What's happened to her?' asked Hannah. 'Don't ask me!' All over the back, stomach, arms, and legs were dark yellowish-brown stains. Each was roughly the size of a small coin, and they were evenly spaced."

As I mentioned, the pacing of this book is intriguing. The tension builds in a truly shivery way. I was well and truly creeped out as a reader, and then the author took the story in an unexpectedly sweet direction. The story works, certainly, just not the way you think it will. And Wade draws on an intriguing bit of history in creating her resolution.

A nice ghost story for kids who like to be scared, but ultimately comforted rather than left scared. And an early Halloween contender, though of course you can read it any time of the year. I will be looking for Hannah and Sam's first adventure and watching out for their next one.