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inkandplasma 's review for:
The Haunting of Aveline Jones
by Phil Hickes
Full review on my blog, 1st July 2022: https://inkandplasma.com/2022/07/01/the-haunting-of-aveline-jones/
Character - 9
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.29 / 4 stars
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This middle-grade ghost story is incredibly atmospheric. It has the perfect gothic slow build, the story unfolding in pieces to pull the reader into the story. The way that Aveline and Primrose’s stories are tangled together were incredibly engaging and made for a rapid page-turner of a book. The setting matched the atmosphere perfectly, with a small seaside town abandoned by tourists and full of creepy figures ready for Halloween.
Aveline’s character voice is perfect, she sounds just like the 11 year old that she’s supposed to be, and I love reading middle-grade books about avid readers. Aveline’s interest in ghost stories fits any reader who picked up this book, and it made it even spookier. I could imagine being in Aveline’s place with The Lady looking for me. Honestly? She was braver than me. I liked the friendship between Aveline and Harold, developing from that awkward stage of being drawn together in a small town to being close friends, working together to save Aveline from the ghost searching for her.
The adults in this story weren’t just story dressing like I’m used to in middle grades, which was really nice. I liked that Aveline was able to lean on her aunt for help, and Mr. Lieberman made for a great addition to this group cast, even if sometimes I questioned the freedom he gave this young girl. They all worked together to solve this mystery and I loved that Aveline was trusted and believed easily. The mystery isn’t overly convoluted, but that’s what I expect for a middle grade, and the atmosphere more than made up for it, keeping me on the edge of my seat until the final page. About halfway through the book I added the sequel to my wishlist, already confident that I’d want to continue. And I absolutely do want to keep reading them, and can’t wait to get back to Aveline for the second story in this series.
Character - 9
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 8
Plot - 8
Intrigue - 8
Logic - 7
Enjoyment - 9
Rating: 8.29 / 4 stars
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This middle-grade ghost story is incredibly atmospheric. It has the perfect gothic slow build, the story unfolding in pieces to pull the reader into the story. The way that Aveline and Primrose’s stories are tangled together were incredibly engaging and made for a rapid page-turner of a book. The setting matched the atmosphere perfectly, with a small seaside town abandoned by tourists and full of creepy figures ready for Halloween.
Aveline’s character voice is perfect, she sounds just like the 11 year old that she’s supposed to be, and I love reading middle-grade books about avid readers. Aveline’s interest in ghost stories fits any reader who picked up this book, and it made it even spookier. I could imagine being in Aveline’s place with The Lady looking for me. Honestly? She was braver than me. I liked the friendship between Aveline and Harold, developing from that awkward stage of being drawn together in a small town to being close friends, working together to save Aveline from the ghost searching for her.
The adults in this story weren’t just story dressing like I’m used to in middle grades, which was really nice. I liked that Aveline was able to lean on her aunt for help, and Mr. Lieberman made for a great addition to this group cast, even if sometimes I questioned the freedom he gave this young girl. They all worked together to solve this mystery and I loved that Aveline was trusted and believed easily. The mystery isn’t overly convoluted, but that’s what I expect for a middle grade, and the atmosphere more than made up for it, keeping me on the edge of my seat until the final page. About halfway through the book I added the sequel to my wishlist, already confident that I’d want to continue. And I absolutely do want to keep reading them, and can’t wait to get back to Aveline for the second story in this series.