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The Haunting


By: Lindsey Duga
New York: Scholastic, 2020. Fiction

Twelve year-old Emily has lived in an orphanage her entire life and has only ever known loneliness. She thinks that she is to old and plain to be considered for adoption until a young couple comes to the orphanage and decides to adopt her. Emily can't believe her luck! She is about to start a new life at Blackthorn Manor with her new family. One day while she is exploring the grounds of her new home she meets a girl about her age who seems to know everything about the old house. As Emily and Kat start to explore strange things begin to happen, a bookcase in the library tips over and almost lands on Emily and fire from the fireplace erupts and almost burns her hand. As time goes on those strange things start to become more dangerous and Emily begins to wonder if these accidents are just a coincidence or if someone or something is trying to kill her.

The Haunting is a fast paced read that has just the right amount of creepy for young readers and is suspenseful enough to keep you turning pages. If you are a fan of ghost stories and enjoy books by Mary Downing Hahn then you will really like this new book by Lindsey Duga.

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