Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the super spooky Black Gables. I am delighted to share a guest post from author, Eibhlis Carcione along with my review.
My Favourite Villain
It has to be the lake ghoul of Black Gables. She is omnipresent from the very beginning of the book. She is also captured in an oil painting hanging in Ms Bugly’s classroom.
She is always lurking by the bulrushes at the edge of the lake. Her stare is cold, unforgettable and penetrating. Her gaze is sharper then blades. Her interest in the students of Black Gables and especially the protagonist Rosella Frawley is sinister. To make matters worse she has a mysterious bond with the teachers.
“The old lake ghoul wears a long slime-green dress and a mossy shawl. Her skin is like a piece of wrinkled green plastic. Her eyes are lake beetles, floating in the white pools of her eyes. She clambers onto the bank with her ghoulish hands. I know those hands, those rotten courgette hand. The ghoul’s hair is as thick as the bulrushes and her eyes are bulging. I’m overwhelmed by a stench like sour milk.”
My Review
The book cover promises the “world’s creepiest school” and it is not lying!
The children are taught by a strange mix of old, unwashed and pungent teachers but teaching may be a stretch as YouTube seems to do most of the work.
It is a strange blend of modern and almost Victorian schooling, as our heroine, Rosella seems to find herself in trouble for not knowing the foxtrot and her punishment for not doing her homework is to copy names, address and phone numbers from an ancient phone directory.
Rosella is now living in Black Gables as doctors thought this might help her to recover her memory after an accident.
While her mum recovers in the nearby hospital, Rosella and her dad have moved to her childhood home. Dad is working long hours and Rosella seems to land in daily trouble with the teachers and principal, Mr Edge.
This gripping, atmospheric story is perfect for chilly autumn evenings and the approach of the spooky season.
I found it terrifying and incredible in equally balanced measure as I do love a creepy tale!
My Shelves Are Full 