invading her personal space, from grabbing her hand to going into her bedroom when Annie clearly does not want to do that but can't find way to say it nicely As an outsider looking in, my reflex was to expect the large birds such as the owls and the eagles to kill the Nazi dictator magpie, but they cannot for some...some reason. Apparently even though magpies are eaten by both owls and eagles, there is no bird-on-bird violence done by anyone but the magpie species. Likewise, birds don't eat birds. Also, magpies now outnumber all other birds for some...some reason. I don't know. Plot contrivance? Because for some reason magpies needed to out populate all other birds, even crows. Holy shitake mushrooms we have got to talk about how racist, sexist, classist, and awful this book is, and I'm not sure I can be the person to do that. Nazism and birds are not what I came into this book expecting, but it was what I got. Bird Hitler.

One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn | Goodreads

As this book stands, there are basically zero female characters which don't fit a stereotypical mould. Damsel in distress, pure and innocent victim, etc. I was expecting that, so I didn't let it bother me. But I don’t know whether the author intended to make her characters unlikeable, but if she did, they are too much for me. The bullying in this book was so horrifying, with all the pushing, name calling and peer pressure. Not only that, they also showed no respect for the plague and its victim. They even showed no remorse after Elsie’s death, which in my opinion, is their fault.The 1918 Spanish Flu broke out and took Elsie's life. She became a ghost and haunted Annie and made her life a living hell. In high school, I kept a diary. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories and dreamed of being published in The New Yorker. Unfortunately, I didn't have the courage or the confidence to send anything there. Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for giving me a copy of this book.

One for Sorrow: The Wild Fens Murder Mystery Series, Book 2 One for Sorrow: The Wild Fens Murder Mystery Series, Book 2

Usually, I'm not into ghost stories, but in this one, the characters were very developped and very distinct. The narrating was awesome you almost belong to that period, I felt the urge to slap Annie in the first chapters and shoot Elsie in the last ones because man, that litte girl was seriously creepy. If you like reading books about mean girls or vengeful ghosts you might like this book, but for me it was just ok. Wow, I love this style of writing that Clive Woodall delivers. I am looking forward to read another one of his books. I realized I forgot alot about Kirrik and Portia's life together, and the fate that ended Kirrik's life. Traska...devil. He was just...evil. I hated him the whole way through, since I saw his name. His idea to support his leader was just...brutal. He had no reason to destroy Birddom's life. Especially by killing Kirrik the way he did...Ugh.Annie Browne has just moved to a new town with her mother and father. She's a bit timid and she's nervous about making friends at her new school, the Pearce Academy for Girls. The first girl she meets is Elsie, and Elsie doesn't waste any time filling her in on how horrible the girls at Pearce are. None of the girls like Elsie and she convinces Annie that they won't like her either. Every day, Annie can't seem to get away from Elsie as she's consistently holding her hand and inviting herself over to her house. She tells everyone that Annie is her best friend and because of this, nobody else wants anything to do with Annie. They begin making fun of her too and Annie becomes miserable. Elsie is bossy, pushy, and just not fun to be around. Annie can't even seem to convince her parents that there's something not right about Elsie. She has to find away to get away from her. I'm not really a spook type reader, but this book was about families in 1918 during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918. Appearently the author sold the film rights to Disney in the hopes of it getting adapted to the silver screen. Fortunately, that was over two decades ago and I have heard nothing since. I can certainly say they dodged a bullet here. Mediocre books do not deserve such an honor while superior books never get the recognition they deserve. I am relieved nothing has been discussed further regarding a future film of this travesty. I hope it stays forgotten in the dust forever. 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. 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:

One for Sorrow by Helen Fields | Waterstones

I don't want to spoil too much, but this is a solid story. Young readers who like a little bit of spookyness (without over the top supernatural nonsense) or stories about drama among friends will really enjoy this. I would say this would be best for late elementary school or middle school. If you like any of Hahn's other books, you won't be disappointed here. he is wrought with guilt at his failure to save his kin, which weighs heavily on his shoulders. It gives him some depth and a greater reason for him to make these three journeys. What if he doesn't want to join the fight, once the plan of the magpies finally becomes known (and it doesn't unfold until much later on, with it being mostly kept a mystery)? He has to find his courage, and right his wrongs through those journeys. I dont know...There are better ways to handle this setup and the author did it poorly.I loved this book immensely when I was younger! Given the option, I did as many book reports as possible on this one piece of literature. In elementary school, I was known as the class artist. I loved to read and draw but I hated writing reports. Requirements such as outlines, perfect penmanship, and following directions killed my interest in putting words on paper. All those facts -- who cared what the principal products of Chile were? To me, writing reports was almost as boring as math. It is the winter and the girls are having a great afternoon in the soon to be winter cold, with their mittens and scarves on and buying penny candy at the store, when one of the girls brings up the fact that they should all read the obit's in the local paper, and go to the wakes at the homes of the newly dead whether they know them or not, just to get 'Free Sweets, cake and candy' and will be able to save their allowances for other things. Well, they go from house to house and then one of the last ones for the day is a house in 'the bad and poor part of the town' and they go in, and find Elsie dead in her coffin in the family parlor! Yes, Elsie has passed from the Influenza epidemic of 1918! What happens when a young girl trying to fit in makes fun of the wrong person who then dies? Not anything good that's for sure. But Annie isn't given a choice by Elsie, who the minute she saw the new comer, decided they were going to be best friends.