The Haunting of Fortune Farm

It's always useful to have a few creepy books to recommend around Halloween - and through the year for those who like their reading spine-tingling. The Haunting of Fortune Farm is a good title to add to old favourites.

Edie and her younger brother, Pip, have been sent to stay with her grandmother in a remote farm in Ireland so her mother can attend a conference. Edie is reluctant; she has never come to terms with the death of her father, which she still deals with by suppressing all her memories of him. A visit to his childhood home, to a place she hasn't visited for years, cut off from all her friends, is the last thing she needs. Their arrival makes matters worse: her grandmother, Lolly, doesn't even seem pleased to see her, lavishing all her attention on Pip and answering questions evasively. Edie is sure she is lying - but why?

As Edie starts to investigate the Viking heritage of the area, she enters a web of mysteries, secrets, wildness and folk tales. Why does she always feel someone is watching her? What are these restless spirits whispering in the wind?

Powerful themes of secrets and memories are woven explicitly through the story, inviting challenging questions and conversations. Do some secrets need to be set free? Without memories, how can we know how to approach the future? Edie is an interesting main character. Her experiences highlight how older children in bereaved families often take on more responsibility at the expense of their own feelings and underline the useful point that there is no one right route to acceptance of grief.

As a story, The Haunting of Fortune Farm is imaginative and complex: different layers of supernatural activity distinguish it from many classic ghost stories. It is closely tied to the history and landscape of Ireland and would fit well with studying the Vikings, too. This is a rib-chilling but thoughtful read for upper primary and beyond.

336 pages / Reviewed by Louisa Farrow, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

In The Haunting of Fortune Farm, Edie and her brother Pip are being looked after by their grandmother, Lolly, in her cottage in Ireland. The landscape of Silent Valley is rugged and full of atmosphere, beautifully presented by the skilful writing of Sophie Kirtley. The reader will quickly be drawn into the setting and will sense the eeriness which swirls around the environment and the story itself.

Grieving for her father, Edie has taught herself to push away any thoughts of him. Whilst staying at Fortune Farm, Edie has an increasing feeling of being watched. She hears strange whisperings when she is outside and catches fleeting glimpses of a red coat dashing through the trees. The feeling of unease is compounded by strange sightings of runes and 'signs' in the environment. As the story progresses, more clues are scattered - a map, a diary, secret signs all keep the reader trying to decode the puzzles.

Each chapter begins with the 'voice' of another narrator who takes on a watchful role. This other presence is a link to the past and a connection to the present. Edie discovers Dad's diary and it becomes clear to her that Dad has also heard the whisperings and seen the signs. This drives Edie further in her desire to find answers. Finding a newspaper cutting which recounts the discovery of a Viking Story Sword on the land of Fortune Farm is a key piece to the puzzle and this is when the story quickens in pace.

Whilst much of this section of the story is action-packed and exciting, it is also poignant and quite sad. Edie not only has to face immediate danger, she also has to confront the pain of her past and has to acknowledge and move forwards with her grief. The reader will be drawn into the action and historical interest but there is so much more to this story than that. Sophie Kirtley weaves themes of family ties, love and loss into a gripping tale. Whilst this is a page turner, it is one to be treated with sensitivity as it does contain some issues including bereavement which may upset some readers.

336 pages / Reviewed by Jo Clarke, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+