The Boy at the Window

By Author / Illustrator

Lucy Strange, Rohan Eason

Genre

Supernatural

Age range(s)

Publisher

Barrington Stoke

ISBN

9780008712785

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

13-02-2025

Synopsis

A spine-tingling ghost story from bestselling author Lucy Strange.

Folk say the fog plays tricks - that it shapes itself into little hands and frightened faces that press at people's doors and windows, desperate to come inside. But Hugo is convinced the ghost he has seen at the window is no trick of the fog. The boy's hollow eyes are haunting him. What would happen if Hugo were to open the door and let him in? Brace yourselves for a chilling, wintery ghost story ...

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

View Extract

Reviews

Ruth

From the very first page this book had me hooked. As the story develops so does the sense of alarm until the final twist and…. No! I’m not going to spoil the ending for you! Suffice to say, The Boy At The Window is a nerve-jangling, page turning, ghost story.

We are introduced to the main character, Hugo, a young boy, sent home from boarding school to recover from illness to an isolated house, a withdrawn mother, and a father missing in the war. Hugo is lonely and mostly alone. When we begin the story, the house is surrounded by ever thickening fog which swirls round the gardens and plays tricks on the imagination. Suddenly, Hugo sees what he thinks is another boy appear and hopes finally for friendship and fun. But like the fog, all is not as it appears.

Lucy Strange, the author, manages to build tension to a climax in just 68 pages, making it an excellent horror story to share with pre-teen students from upper primary age and lower secondary school. The narrative is creepy with the menacing presence of the fog surrounding what should be Hugo's safe space and the house is also filled with a growing sadness as the family await news of the father's return from war. This chilling story is further enhanced by repetitive illustrations by Rohan Eason, especially the swirling fog creeping up from the bottom of each page and across the front cover, setting the scene for a blood chilling ghost story.

Barrington Stoke has published a great short story in The Boy In The Window as they add to their range of genres. It is printed in a dyslexia-friendly format and with the slim volume, easy to read font, use of pictures and blank space makes it easily accessible for those readers with print difficulties or those who are building up their reading stamina. This engaging story is appealing to all children, and in particular it would be make an excellent class read as it offers the opportunity to encourage students to predict the ending of the story or use their imaginations and create their own ghost story. Highly recommended for older children of 9+ years.

68 pages / Reviewed by Ruth Cornish, school librarian