The Haunted Sand

by Hugh Scott | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0744514274 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingGoryDetailswing of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 3/18/2017
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingGoryDetailswing from Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, March 18, 2017
I got this slightly-battered paperback from Better World Books, tempted by the creepy cover art! It's about a girl named Frisby who lives with her mom, her new step-father, and his son Gerald on the East Anglia coast - and who opens the book in mid-flight from ghostly cries near the shore...

The writing style is rapid-paced, with lots of dialogue and with people interrupting each other - makes for a rather cinematic feel, though sometimes it left me a bit confused. The general idea is that Frisby is still trying to adjust to her new family - she likes Gerald and his father (also named Gerald) well enough, but hasn't quite got to calling Gerald Sr. "dad" yet. Gerald-the-younger has a friend, Darren, who's a bit... strange. Turns out he has the ability to sense things by touching ancient objects, and this (plus his general extreme-geek nature) makes him easily distracted.

Despite all this, the three kids get along well enough - and it's a joint project on their part that turns up an old grave, gradually being uncovered by the sea's toll on the beach. Their investigations lead to ancient tales of the Black Death, a cruel and greedy father and a terrified, doomed child - and the legend of a buried crown that protects the coast from plague. (Some bits of the story were clearly inspired by the Sutton Hoo burial; the buried-crown bit reminded me of M. R. James' "Warning to the Curious".)

The story has some truly terrifying moments, some involving the ghostly apparitions - which being to appear to the entire family, something of a relief to poor Frisby, who was afraid her mother wouldn't believe her. But there are real-world terrors, too, especially in the person of an increasingly-deranged man who wants to use the kids' discovery to boost his own prestige.

The story's written for young readers, and while it is atmospheric and creepy it also manages to pull out a reasonably upbeat ending.

Journal Entry 2 by wingGoryDetailswing at Little Free Library, Water St in Leominster, Massachusetts USA on Monday, March 20, 2017

Released 7 yrs ago (3/20/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library, Water St in Leominster, Massachusetts USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book in the Little Free Library (a re-purposed newspaper vending machine) in front of Bourbeau's Market on Water St. at around 3; hope the finder enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2017 4 Elements release challenge. ***

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