New Books for Missouri Students

2004

Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers selection —VOYA

2004

CCBC Choices

2004

New Books for Missouri Students

2004

Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers selection —VOYA

2004

CCBC Choices

2004

Books for the Teen Age —New York Public Library

2004

The Best Children's Books of the Year —Bank Street College of Education, NYC

2004

PSLA Young Adult Top Forty

2003

The Children's Book Committee's Monthly Pick —Bank Street College of Education, NYC

2003

Shortlisted for Patricia Wrightson Prize —Australia

2002

Publishers Weekly

"This tantalizing ghost story from Australia will keep readers on the edge of their seats. …With masterly skill, Clarke (Night Train; Wolf on the Fold) sprinkles in just enough clues to fan the audience's interest,. As pieces of the puzzle begin to fit into place, tension rises at a steady pitch before exploding in a dramatic climax. A spine-tingler with staying power."

Horn Book

"It's ten-year-old Jess who sees the ghost—at first as just a glimmer of blue skirt, later as a presence that grows more complete with each visitation. Just so does Clarke craft her story. Skillfully shifting point of view in a compelling third-person narrative, she depicts her characters' separate attempts to deny the past. Piece by piece, she reveals the event that has ruptured this family and continues to haunt them all. In Clarke's capable hands, the resolution, when it comes at last, is as satisfying as it is surprising."

Booklist

"Clarke has woven a fine tale of grief and mystery, in which a family tries to come to grips with a tragic death and struggles to heal. The deft plotting and effective buildup of suspense keep readers guessing about events and what drives Vida's fury and guilt and Mum's emotional collapse."

Publishers Weekly

"This tantalizing ghost story from Australia will keep readers on the edge of their seats. …With masterly skill, Clarke (Night Train; Wolf on the Fold) sprinkles in just enough clues to fan the audience's interest,. As pieces of the puzzle begin to fit into place, tension rises at a steady pitch before exploding in a dramatic climax. A spine-tingler with staying power."

Horn Book

"It's ten-year-old Jess who sees the ghost—at first as just a glimmer of blue skirt, later as a presence that grows more complete with each visitation. Just so does Clarke craft her story. Skillfully shifting point of view in a compelling third-person narrative, she depicts her characters' separate attempts to deny the past. Piece by piece, she reveals the event that has ruptured this family and continues to haunt them all. In Clarke's capable hands, the resolution, when it comes at last, is as satisfying as it is surprising."

Booklist

"Clarke has woven a fine tale of grief and mystery, in which a family tries to come to grips with a tragic death and struggles to heal. The deft plotting and effective buildup of suspense keep readers guessing about events and what drives Vida's fury and guilt and Mum's emotional collapse."

Kirkus Reviews

"Using a paradoxical combination of misdirection and broad hints to keep readers off-balance, the author conceals motives and springs surprises, but brings all 'round right in the end for both survivors and spectral characters. A touching tale for readers who prefer character-driven ghost stories with the merest dashes of eeriness."

Young Adult Reviewers of Southern California

"An interesting, mysterious, ghost story."

CCBC Choices (University of Wisconsin)

"In a story that moves back and forth from Jess's to Clem's to Amy's point of view, Judith Clarke slowly and skillfully reveals the deep disturbance beneath the surface of Jess's family. She delivers a tremendous twist at the climax for readers who haven't assembled the subtle clues, and a tremendous sense of satisfaction for those who stay one step ahead of the story teller's moment of revelation. This compelling novel is much more than a ghost story, offering a sensitive look at loss from perspectives both ordinary and unusual."

Riverbank Review

"Judith Clarke's carefully calibrated writing delves into the roiling relationship between two sisters as skillfully as it dispenses clues and twists … a very moving novel."