Review | Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn

It's Read Across America week so I'm dedicating the blog to horror novels for children this week! If you have anyone young in your life, please make sure they have access to fun, spooky reads, OK?

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

Wait Till Helen Comes is a middle grade horror novel by Mary Downing Hahn.

Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she's made Molly and Michael's life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that's not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can't get any worse.

I really can't explain what happened as a child. I was eight years old when Wait Till Helen Comes came out. That should have been the perfect age for me to have found and read and loved Wait Till Helen Comes. I spent my entire childhood – every single time I went to the library and every time I went to a book fair – searching for children's horror and specifically searching for ghost stories. How was Mary Downing Hahn not in my life? How was Wait Till Helen Comes not in my life? I can't explain it. Did I somehow forget it?

Regardless of this mystery, I have found Mary Downing Hahn as an adult, and I have made it a mission to catch up on reading all of her books. Wait Till Helen Comes is probably Mary Downing Hahn's most popular book, and I can see why.

One thing I have to confess is I find Mary Downing Hahn's characters (even the adults) to be generally annoying. But kids in real life are annoying, too, and I found myself loving everyone by the end of Wait Till Helen Comes.

This is a great ghost story, and I would have loved it as a kid. There is even some possible possession happening here which is amazing. I think this ghost story would absolutely hold up in 2023. The family in Wait Till Helen Comes is a blended family that has moved out into the country to live in a house that used to be a church. They are dealing with grief and trauma and learning how to be a family together while also having to deal with the haunted graveyard out back.

I've only read a couple of Mary Downing Hahn's books so far so I'm looking forward to continuing my way through the rest of her bibliography.

4/5 stars
⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Read more of my reviews of books by Mary Downing Hahn:

Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

If you like Mary Downing Hahn, check out these books by Lindsey Duga:

The Haunting by Lindsey Duga

Ghost in the Headlights by Lindsey Duga

Review | The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

Source: personal purchase. This is a review of my reading experience.

The Doll in the Garden is a middle grade horror book by Mary Downing Hahn.

From ghost story master Mary Downing Hahn, the haunting tale of a mysterious doll discovered in a young girl's garden, and its owner, a girl from seventy years in the past, who wants it back.

A suspenseful story of unexpected connections between present and past. Ashley and her mother need their new apartment to work out, but everything Ashley does seems to upset the irritable and unforgiving landlady. When Ashley makes friends with the girl next door, Kristi, they uncover a wooden box containing a well-loved turn-of-the-century doll. Ashley wants to keep the doll for herself, but Kristi has other ideas. So does the doll's original owner, a girl who died decades ago, but whom Ashley meets when she follows a mysterious white cat through a hedge. Can Ashley bring peace to the girl and resolve her own present-day challenges?

My journey through Mary Downing Hahn's books continues with The Doll in the Garden.

I adored The Doll in the Garden. It was emotional and wonderful and a ghost story I would have really loved as a kid. It's a ghost story I really loved as an adult.

One thing I am noticing about Mary Downing Hahn's books is the parents are present in her stories. I mentioned in my review of Wait Till Helen Comes that all of Hahn's characters are generally annoying – including the adults. But I loved the main character's mom in The Doll in the Garden. She was wonderful, and her relationship with the main character Ashley was wonderful.

Ashley's dad passed away from cancer, and she and her mom moved from Baltimore to Monkton Mills to rent the top floor of a grumpy old lady's house. After Ashley and her new friend Kristi discover a doll buried in the garden, a white cat takes Ashley on a journey to discover the original owner. I absolutely loved the magic that was used with the ghost elements. It was creepy and imaginative, and I can't get enough of that.

The Doll in the Garden packs a lot about death and grief and regret into this one little book. There are so many parallels between the ghost and Ashley's father. The Doll in the Garden really got me in the feels. It also has me excited to read more from Mary Downing Hahn.

I never see or hear anybody talking about The Doll in the Garden. If you or someone you know is a fan of Mary Downing Hahn, this is a great book to put on your radar. Honestly, the cover isn't that great, but the story is wonderful. Just be sure you prepare your heart for this one.

 

4/5 stars

⭐⭐⭐⭐★

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Book Review | Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

Deep and Dark and Dangerous is a middle grade horror book by Mary Downing Hahn.

A family secret is at the root of Mary Downing Hahn's story of supernatural events in Maine. Ali, 13, is eager to spend her vacation with Aunt Dulcie, helping to care for her little niece, Emma, in the lake house where Dulcie and Claire, Ali's mother, spent summers. Claire, who is phobic about water, is dead set against her going but is forced to agree. The vacation by the lake turns unpleasant when Ali and Emma meet a mean, spiteful kid named Sissy. Emma idolizes and imitates Sissy, becoming bratty and hostile and accepting Sissy's dangerous dares.

Sissy keeps talking about Teresa, a girl who drowned under mysterious circumstances when Claire and Dulcie were kids. At first Ali thinks Sissy is just trying to scare her with a ghost story, but soon she discovers the real reason why Sissy is so angry: she is the ghost of Teresa and blames Claire and Dulcie for her death.

What a perfect book to read on the heels of reading Violet by Scott Thomas {review}! This book could have easily been his inspiration behind writing Violet.

Deep and Dark and Dangerous is a middle grade ghost story. I really enjoyed the ghosty bits of this one. It's a great book for young horror lovers. I would have loved it back in my Lois Duncan days!

Unfortunately, the characters didn't always work well for me. The main character is Ali, and she often flipped from being mature to acting like a young child. This is probably true to life, but I think middle grade readers would appreciate spending time with her more than I did. I didn't find the 6 year old character to be very realistic either, but I'm not exactly the intended audience.

If you are looking for a spooky story set on the lake, Deep and Dark and Dangerous is a quick (and younger) ghostly tale.

⭐⭐⭐★★