Saturday, October 30, 2010

Review: The House of Dead Maids - Clare B. Dunkle

WherI got it: Library
Rating: 4.5 stars 

Cover Rating: 5 stars (Haunting, much like the illustrations.)
Genre: Young Adult  
Publication Date: September 14, 2010
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Page Count: 146 p.  

Tabby arrives at seldom house to be a nursemaid for the little master. The ghost of the girl that last took her position, haunts her at night and by the light of day. Tabby can't be rid of her and soon other spirits come to her too. She tries to save her heathen charge from his fate, but it is already sealed and he will not take her help. She knows this place houses a terrible evil and she knows they must leave.

This is a story to read on Halloween with only a small light while you are curled up alone in bed. As if the story wasn't horrifying enough, the illustrations aide to put these terrifying images into your head for sure. This was a delectably creepy tale at just the right time of the year. I have not yet read Wuthering Heights in it's entirety, but I now plan to do so soon. I am hoping that there is some chilling edge to Wuthering Heights that follows along where this story left off. It was very interesting to learn that Tabby was in fact a real person and was the nursemaid to the Brontë sisters. This was an excellent spooky tale and you would be wise to read it. The House of Dead Maids was well written and short and definitely one you should not pass up if you have a stomach for hair-raising tales. 

First Line: 
"I was not the first girl she saw, nor the second, and as to why she chose me, I know that now: it was because she did not like me." 


Favorite Line:
"The arms that twined around me were icy, and her dress was wringing wet." 
 

2 comments:

  1. Wuthering Heights is my favorite classic so I've been wanting to read this one for sometime now. I'll definitely have to pick it up soon. I love spooky stories. Great review.

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