I have a real soft spot for middle-grade novels. Middle grade books are the books where you see readers actually coming into their own. There’s no more of the forced level reading like in grades one and two. It’s all the kids’ choice. And no one ever became a reader because they read War and Peace or Wuthering Heights. They became readers after reading The Phantom Tollbooth and Matilda. So, ignoring the suggestion of “middle grade” inherent in the title, I’ve been reading them to Tesfa since she was four because I don’t have the patience for picture books, which seems strange considering a picture book takes three minutes to read and to read a middle-grade novel aloud takes four or five hours. I like plot because, unlike, Alice, I do see the use of reading a story with no pictures in it. Hopefully I am forcing encouraging Tesfa to appreciate plot too.
So I read The Swallow: A Ghost Story aloud to Tesfa this week. It’s full of lots of little short chapters, with most chapters divided into two sub-chapters, one from each of the protagonists’ perspectives. It was Tesfa’s first experience with a book with more than one narrator and I had to explain that type of story-telling after the first chapter. But she caught on, although every now and then she would ask me to clarify whether Rose or Polly was telling the story at that point. The book has a cute Toronto setting in the 1960s, which made me think of my mum, who grew up in Toronto in the 1960s. I don’t know if it was a book really intended for reading out loud, since sometimes the sentences were repetitive when one said them (i.e. falling into step beside me as we went down the steps, emphasis mine) but if Tesfa had been old enough to read the story quietly to herself, I doubt she would have noticed. The twist at the end surprised Tesfa, but let’s just say that if you’re my age and have seen a certain movie (clicking on the link counts a spoiler), then the reveal wasn’t as shocking as it was for my six year old.
But, what is the point of reading a middle-grade novel to a middle-grade kid without getting her opinion on it? So yesterday, when we finished, I asked Tesfa a few questions and got her to tell me her thoughts on The Swallow: A Ghost Story. There are spoilers in the answers to her questions, so stop reading here if you don’t want to find out some of the plot.
What was the book about? Polly and Rose. Two girls become friends. Polly thinks Rose is the ghost at first. But Polly is actually the ghost!
Who do you think would like the book? Not Geoff! (Tesfa’s dad, who doesn’t like scary stories) People who like scary stories.
Was the book really scary? Not too scary.
What age is this book good for? Six or seven, like me.
Favourite character? Rose, because she could see ghosts.
Did you like the ending? I liked the whole story as it was.
Do you think there will be a sequel? I don’t know.
From one to five stars, how would you rank this book? One hundred stars, no one thousand!
So, it was a good book? YES!
The Swallow: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter went on sale September 9, 2014.
I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.