cover image The Cellar

The Cellar

Ken Radford. Holiday House, $0 (171pp) ISBN 978-0-8234-0744-6

Sian, a lonely orphan, comes to work for the Howard family, the residents of a rambling old house called Crudyr-Awel. The Howards are kindly people who treat Sian more like a daughter than a maid. Although Sian finds great happiness in her new home, she knows that a restless spirit haunts the house. Rummaging in the attic, she discovers a diary containing a fragmented account of a young girl's mistreatment at the hands of a cruel man known only as the Devil. Sian travels back through time and becomes a helpless witness to the events that lead up to the girl's murder. Although she can do nothing to alter the past, when Sian returns she tries to set the murdered girl's ghost to rest. The author's lilting, repetitive prose gives this book the old-fashioned air of a tale that has been handed down and embellished from generation to generation. His style most suits readers who will appreciate the leisurely spinning of spine-tingling events; others may find the plotting slow and difficult to follow. Ages 9-12. (April)