by Anna Wilson
Summer is living with her best friend Jess and Jess's mum. Summer's mum was hit by a car and is in hospital. One night, just before midnight, Summer's mobile phone rings even though it is switched off. When Summer answers it, she hears her mum's faint voice "Bye love". The next morning comes the news that everyone was dreading - Summer's mum died - at just before midnight.At her mum's request in her will, Summer is sent to live with a distant uncle, who lives in Penzance in Cornwall with his wife and son. Summer has never met this uncle, in fact it is the first she has ever heard about an uncle in Penzance. When she arrives, she gets a frosty reception from the son, and the wife does not even make an appearance. Why has Summer's arrival met with such anger? What are the strange noises she hears in their large and draughty house near the shore? Is it true that the house is haunted?
Summer takes comfort by seeking out the small private beach nearby, where she meets and befriends Zach. But although he offers a friendly face and time away from her hostile cousin, he is not able to provide answers to her questions about what is going on in the house and why she keeps seeing the ghost of her mother. She must seek out the truth on her own.
I quite enjoyed this book, even though I was very frustrated with the uncle - he never wanted to answer any of Summer's questions, and Summer never seemed to push the matter. She was also always quite rude to Zach and he seemed to put with it - any normal person would've just walked away.
Apart from these small matters, the book has lovely descriptions of the small nearby cove, and you can just imagine the large, dusty mansion with its unused rooms and dark attic. The kind of place I'd love to live in!
Because of the small mention of a swear word, I would recommend this for children 12+.
