Sanctuary

June 15, 2015
The ghostly pull of the past is inescapable for a Depression-era teenage girl drawn back to her remote island home off the coast of Maine. Even though repeatedly told by her aunt never to go back to Sanctuary, the old sprawling mansion in which she grew up, 17-year-old Cecilia Cross is compelled to return from boarding school to face this epicenter of tragedy. Her grandmother and sister had died in a fire there, and her mother is now in an asylum. Meanwhile the ghosts of earlier settlers, including Capt. Winship and his wife, Amoret, the mid-18th-century master and mistress of Sanctuary when it was first built, hauntingly resurface. Eli Bauer, ostensibly a bookish professor, becomes a love interest who is more helpful than Cecilia could ever have hoped. Debut author McKissack is earnest in her ambitious efforts to create a multilayered tale with interesting historical elements, and she uses journal entries to good effect. Yet the story often feels "told" rather than experienced, with repetitious exposition and uninspired dialogue. Although tonally reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, it lacks the deft plotting, character development, and narrative fluency of that earlier classic. (Gothic romance. 14-18)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-A debut novel with gothic romance leanings, complete with an isolated island setting, a tragedy shrouded in mystery, and a young heroine questioning her own and the sanity of those around her. At the death of her aunt, Cecilia returns from her boarding school to Sanctuary, the island estate off the Maine coast where she was born and where she lived until her mother's grief over the accident that killed Cecilia's sister and grandmother resulted in severe mental health issues. There, she seeks to make sense of her memories and to understand Sanctuary's compelling power over her. Despite the many changes to her home and the frosty welcome from her uncle, the teen finds friendship with a young professor staying at the estate. Should she trust Eli Bauer? As her recollections of her past come swelling back, Cecilia begins to experience ghostly and fantastic phenomena that drive her search for the truth behind her mother's incarceration in a Bangor insane asylum. The heroine ultimately discovers her own family history of loss, grief, and retribution. The many narrative threads come together in a climactic confrontation between Cecilia and her vicious uncle. Despite some sluggish pacing at the start, McKissack's tale draws readers with an alluring mystery. The protagonist is strong, capable, and vibrant, with shades of moodiness, anger, and impulsivity. VERDICT Teens who enjoy a ghostly chill in their coming-of-age stories will particularly enjoy this work in the tradition of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.-Kelly Kingrey-Edwards, Mirus Academy Library, TX

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2015
Grades 7-10 After the death of her aunt, Cecilia heads to the island of Sanctuary, the remote home where she was raised and where bad things have happened: Cecilia's mother sent to an asylum and Cecilia's sister and grandmother killed in a fire. Now she finds herself drawn to a young professor, Eli, even as the spirit of Amoret, the wife of the captain who built Sanctuary, begins to haunt her. As her relationship with Eli builds, Cecilia discovers more about Sanctuary's secrets and tries to make peace with her past so that she might have a future. Although the book is saddled with a bit of a slow start, the brooding, mysterious Sanctuary and its ghosts are creepy enough to keep readers locked in. McKissack successfully incorporates Sanctuary's past through journals and flashbacks, in the process creating a captivating setting and history. Reminiscent of du Maurier's Rebecca, this gothic novel with a hint of romance is sure to give readers a thrill and a chill.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)