One for Sorrow: The new heart-stopping, page-turning crime thriller for 2022 (Di Callanach, 7)

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The other characters weren’t very fleshed out and there were a lot of holes here. Did Elsie really was abused? What’s the story with other girls? Why the adults all ignore the extreme bullying happened there?? The story flowed really well at first, but then the whole haunting thing happened and it became very choppy. The Magpies. Many have already stated their distaste of how clichéd it is to make corvids evil, and I share that sentiment. But, it could’ve worked in the right author’s hands. The thing I found most interesting about this book was that it was inspired by a story from the author's mothers own experience of living during the Spanish influenza and surviving it. The part in the book when the girls go to the different homes to pay their respects to and view the dead, mainly so they can get free cake, candy, and punch was something her mother and her mother's friends actually did, and they really did end up at a house that belonged to one of their classmates that they had no idea had died until they saw her in the coffin.

One for sorrow : a ghost story : Hahn, Mary Downing : Free One for sorrow : a ghost story : Hahn, Mary Downing : Free

Great, great, great book. I've read it twice, and was *THIS* close to crying both times. I read it three years ago, in fourth grade, and again this year. stars. I've read a few of Mary Downing Hahn's books and liked them quite a bit. I don't read a lot of middle grade, but her books are usually fun, creepy reads. This one I did not like as much as the others I've read. Despite there being a ghost, this was not a creepy book, and that disappointed me. Most of this book was not pleasant to read. There is a lot of bullying done among school girls and although I wanted to feel badly for the girl that was being bullied, and I did at times, it was hard to because she was just as mean as the bullies. For most of the book none of the girls were really likable because of all of the meanness, but in the end the girls all do change. But it does take a vengeful ghost to get them to that point.The setting was vivid allowing you to feel like you’re living in 1918. The hearses were horse-drawn and it was a luxury for people to have cars. There’s a strong sense of the political climate, especially when the characters talk about the war and government action. Wakes were common, complete with coffins in the living room. I could feel the ambiance as the guests paid their respects.

One for sorrow : a ghost story : Hahn, Mary Downing : Free

stars. A really good book in the vein of Watership Down mixed with the perilous journey of The Lord of the Rings, One for Sorrow, Two for Joy is an interesting fantasy novel. The world is set up beautifully, and the characters all are great. The endings of each book are a little anti-climactic, since the protagonists seem to fail, only for a Deus Ex Machina to save the day. In the first three lines of this nursery rhyme, the speaker mentions what one, two, and three magpies mean. If a person sees one magpie, they should interpret that as meaning that sorrow is on the horizon. Something bad is soon to happen to them. Two mean that something joyful is about to happen to them. Then, three means that if someone in their life is about to give birth, it’s going to be a girl. Now, i do not want to say anything else about this ghost story as I want you to be thoroughly entertained and spooked as I was, but there is a school sing-song rhyme that girls tease and torment Elsie with that you will NEVER forget:For a middle grade book, this is quite scary!! I know I read some of Hahn's other novels when I was in elementary school/early middle school, but that was a long time ago. I only remember thinking that her novels weren't scary, but by 7th grade I was reading Stephen King. I stand corrected! "One for Sorrow" isn't Stephen King-esque horror, but it is a well nuanced ghost story. I expected a creepy horror story that gave me chills up my spine. What I got was a shallow read that tried to be way too deep. *sigh* Calm yourself Katherine. Stay calm. I know that this was a middle grade read, and obviously won't have as much depth as young adult or adult, but it was as flat as the salt flats in Utah. Repetition: occurs when the poet repeats a specific element of a poem. This could be a word, image, structure, or more. In this case, the poet repeats the same structure as the note how many magpies there are and what they mean.

One for Sorrow | Helen Fields | 9780008379346 | NetGalley One for Sorrow | Helen Fields | 9780008379346 | NetGalley

Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for giving me a copy of this book. I think the weird combination of simplistic writing/ at times horrific content worked on me because I'm essentially a young adult with the mental maturity of a three year old. But I can totally understand why others found it unbearable. Borrowed this from the library because I like animal POV when it's done well. This wasn't done well.

My main issue I have with it though, is why they are so evil. Why are they evil? And stupid? Why are they killing these bird species? I sure don’t know why, and apparently the author didn’t know, either!