Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2016
272 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
In this spine-tingling tale, a girl fights to save her home and her life from a mysterious stranger.
Daisy Fitzjohn knows there are two worlds: the outside world and the world of her home, a secluded mansion called Brightwood Hall. But only Brightwood is real for Daisy - she's never once set foot outside its grounds. Daisy and her mother have everything they need within Brightwood's magnificent, half-ruined walls, including Daisy's best friends: a talking rat named Tar and the ghost of a long-ago explorer who calls herself Frank.
When Daisy's mother leaves one morning, a peculiar visitor, James Gritting, arrives on the estate, claiming to be a distant cousin. But as the days tick by and Daisy's mother doesn't return, Gritting becomes more and more menacing. He wants Brightwood for himself, and he will do anything to get it.
Tania Unsworth takes readers on a twisting, heart-pounding journey through dark corridors and wild woods to a place where the line between imagination and madness is sometimes hard to find.
"A nice read-alike for fans of Jonathan Auxier's The Night Gardener or Neil Gaiman's Coraline ... A solid purchase for middle grade students who enjoy creepy stories with elements of magical realism." - School Library Journal
"Subtle and thought-provoking, the novel is entertaining and heartfelt as well as a gentle introduction to the world of mental illness." - Kirkus
"Beautiful, evocative writing brings Daisy's world to life, and readers will empathize with Daisy and admire her courage and resourcefulness. Grades 4-7." - Booklist
"A proper page-turning thriller." - The Guardian
This information about Brightwood was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The daughter of the late novelist Barry Unsworth, Tania Unsworth spent her childhood in Cambridge, UK, before moving to America in her early twenties. She currently lives in Boston, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons. She's the author of The One Safe Place. Her website is www.taniaunsworth.com.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
