The Swallow

Starred review from August 1, 2014
Spooky tension, friendship and compassion permeate this exquisitely plotted middle-grade ghost story. Polly wants to see ghosts, and Rose can't stop seeing them. When the two 12-year-olds first meet, hearing each other through the adjoining wall in the attics of their adjacent row houses, Polly is convinced Rose is a ghost-until they meet in person, and even then she's not sure. Rose certainly looks ghostly, with her pale face, shadowed eyes, and dark, wild hair, and Polly's twin brothers, Matthew and Mark, are concerned enough to warn Polly away from Rose, afraid she will steal Polly's soul. But the girls continue their secret friendship, trying to uncover the mystery of Rose's aunt Winnifred, who, they discover, died at 13 and who, they think, is haunting Rose's attic. As related in first-person narration that switches from Polly to Rose and back again, even within chapters, the story structure weaves its way in and out-riveting and tumbling with tension but never obvious, leaving readers wondering if anything is really as it seems. The protagonists are both spooky and delightfully down-to-earth, and readers will seesaw between chills and snorts of laughter. When Cotter delivers the final twist, it is a denouement that becomes a springboard for greater revelations that lead to even greater reader satisfaction. Middle-grade storytelling at its very best-extraordinary. (Fantasy. 9-13)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 5-7-Polly and Rose live side by side in a pair of old homes high above a cemetery. Polly, an excitable child, feels ignored by her large family, especially since the arrival of a new baby. Her parents no longer have time for her, and she is left with the company of a pestering set of younger twin brothers. Rose, an only child, spends a lot of time alone, often left in the care of a cantankerous nanny whose brusqueness leaves her feeling wispy and unattached. Polly's fascination with the legend of a "ghost girl" have her wishing more than anything to see one. Rose, on the other hand, is plagued by her ability to see ghosts. Haunted by their presence, in her house and out in the world, Rose retreats not only inside of herself but inside the depths of her home, only to discover a secret passageway that leads to the attic next door. In that space she meets Polly. As they explore their mutual interests in the supernatural, they discover family secrets, sorrows, and a tombstone in the cemetery with Rose's name on it. Could she be the ghost girl? Set in 1960s Toronto, this title evokes an era that seems timeless, but the absence of historical landmarks unmoors the overall sense of time and place. The alternative narratives of the two girls is dampened by their similar voices, but readers seeking a good chill won't mind. An additional purchase where middle grade ghost stories are popular.-Meg Allison, The Moretown School, VT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2014
Grades 4-7 An only child, lonely Rose has a secret that she cannot tell her rather distant parents: she sees ghosts. She fears that she is traveling the same path as her aunt Winnie, who died when she was Rose's age, 13, and lives on as a fierce, ghostly presence in the house. When Rose meets her next-door neighbor Polly through a passageway in their adjoining attics, she confides in her new friend, who feels ignored in her large family. Together, they investigate the past in hopes of discovering Winnie's hidden story and navigating a different course for Rose's future. Set in Toronto in 1963 and told through Rose's and Winnie's alternating first-person narratives, this involving story gradually builds suspense as the girls make some surprising discoveries, including, near the end, a real shocker. The girls' very different personalities and family circumstances offer contrasting views on events, while making their friendship more credible. An unusual ghost story with a revelation that readers will long remember.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)