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bibliobrandie's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to this audio on my drive to Burlington (to hear Garth Stein speak!). A coming-of-age ghost story is not one I naturally gravitate towards, but I actually enjoyed the first 44 chapters. It's a great story and the narrator was really good. The ending though...I didn't care for at all.
karen_pug's review against another edition
2.0
Just didn't go anywhere, super slow and disappointing.
juliewheat1's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Book on CD performed by Seth Numrich.
I read and loved The Art of Racing in the Rain. This is a VERY different book.
Fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell wants nothing so much as for his parents to be reunited. His parents’ marriage is stressed by his father’s business failing; they’ve lost their home and his mother has gone to England to see her relatives. Meanwhile, Trevor accompanies his father to the home where Dad grew up – the extraordinary Pacific Northwest mansion, Riddell House – to help Grandpa Sam who is ill. What Trevor finds in the house, though cannot be readily explained by his grandfather’s apparent dementia.
This is a ghost story, an historical novel, a coming-of-age story, and a tale of dysfunctional families and long-held secrets that MUST COME OUT. I found it very atmospheric and liked the way Stein handled the paranormal elements.
I loved Trevor who is obviously curious, but definitely still clinging to a hope that somehow, he can fix what is wrong with his parents’ relationship. He’s a keen observer and while the adults are keeping secrets (and even sometimes purposefully misdirecting him), he continues his explorations of the many nooks, crannies, secret compartments, and locked cabinets in the mansion that has seen better days. What he discovers helps him piece together not only the answers to what happened in the past, but a clear understanding of what is really going on in the present.
There were some elements that I found rather unbelievable, but for the most part I was ready to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride.
Seth Numrich did a fine job narrating the audiobook. He set a good pace and has the skill as a voice artist to give the many characters sufficiently unique voices. His interpretation of Trevor’s Aunt Serena is downright chilling.
I read and loved The Art of Racing in the Rain. This is a VERY different book.
Fourteen-year-old Trevor Riddell wants nothing so much as for his parents to be reunited. His parents’ marriage is stressed by his father’s business failing; they’ve lost their home and his mother has gone to England to see her relatives. Meanwhile, Trevor accompanies his father to the home where Dad grew up – the extraordinary Pacific Northwest mansion, Riddell House – to help Grandpa Sam who is ill. What Trevor finds in the house, though cannot be readily explained by his grandfather’s apparent dementia.
This is a ghost story, an historical novel, a coming-of-age story, and a tale of dysfunctional families and long-held secrets that MUST COME OUT. I found it very atmospheric and liked the way Stein handled the paranormal elements.
I loved Trevor who is obviously curious, but definitely still clinging to a hope that somehow, he can fix what is wrong with his parents’ relationship. He’s a keen observer and while the adults are keeping secrets (and even sometimes purposefully misdirecting him), he continues his explorations of the many nooks, crannies, secret compartments, and locked cabinets in the mansion that has seen better days. What he discovers helps him piece together not only the answers to what happened in the past, but a clear understanding of what is really going on in the present.
There were some elements that I found rather unbelievable, but for the most part I was ready to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride.
Seth Numrich did a fine job narrating the audiobook. He set a good pace and has the skill as a voice artist to give the many characters sufficiently unique voices. His interpretation of Trevor’s Aunt Serena is downright chilling.
alidottie's review against another edition
3.0
3&1/2stars
I wasn't sure how I felt about this book, but I like the ending so I ended up liking this book.
I like books with a little otherworldliness/magic because I believe there is more than just this life we know, but I didn't especially love how this author portrayed it. It was okay. I did find myself annoyed however when he kept quoting John Muir "My peace I leave with you," when Muir was obvious quoting Jesus (one of my favorite scriptures John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I into you. ...")
I wasn't sure how I felt about this book, but I like the ending so I ended up liking this book.
I like books with a little otherworldliness/magic because I believe there is more than just this life we know, but I didn't especially love how this author portrayed it. It was okay. I did find myself annoyed however when he kept quoting John Muir "My peace I leave with you," when Muir was obvious quoting Jesus (one of my favorite scriptures John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I into you. ...")
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
Since I don't read too many ghost stories, this was a bit unusual for me but it was a decent read. Fourteen year old Trevor, also the narrator, is a likable guy trying to save his parent's marriage while spending the summer at the old homestead on Puget Sound. Part coming-of-age, part love story to the Pacific Northwest (the trees in particular) and part ghost-story, this was full of quirky human beings confused about love and legacies.
el_d17's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lucidstyle's review against another edition
4.0
A wildfire of family relationships, history... those things that mold and shape us, many of which we were never aware of until the moment that we take the opportunity to divulge the past and reveal its secrets.
This book is lyrical, stunning and sad, but gorgeous. Garth Stein paints the forest as beautifully as his characters, and performs and exquisite mise en scene. As lovely as it is heart-raking.
I also would love this book for the introduction alone. The drive, the view of the estate -- it's reminiscent of Poe's House of Usher or Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables. And equally tortured/torturous.
This book is lyrical, stunning and sad, but gorgeous. Garth Stein paints the forest as beautifully as his characters, and performs and exquisite mise en scene. As lovely as it is heart-raking.
I also would love this book for the introduction alone. The drive, the view of the estate -- it's reminiscent of Poe's House of Usher or Hawthorne's House of Seven Gables. And equally tortured/torturous.
rmarcin's review against another edition
3.0
A story told in retrospect by Trevor, who was 14 when he visited Riddell House with his dad. He becomes a conduit for the story of the house.