In The Stone Circle - Softcover

Grade 5-9?Cristyn, 14, is horrified at the prospect of spending the summer in Wales while her professor father does research in medieval studies. Even when he reveals that her mother, who died when she was three, was born in Wales and that her own name is Welsh, Cristyn doesn't want to face an entire summer away from home. In spite of her misgivings, she feels an affinity for the centuries-old cottage they rent along with her father's colleague, Erica Dunham, and her two children, Miranda and Dennis. Miranda is angry and hurt over her parents' divorce and her absent father's lack of attention. The children become involved in trying to make sense of strange happenings around the cottage?coins dropping out of the air, pieces being moved around on a Scrabble board, etc.?and are drawn into Welsh history and legend. Interwoven into the ghost story are the issues and conflicts being worked out in both families. The characters are well developed and the plot has plenty of twists to keep readers turning the pages. The easy, yet complex, relationship between Cristyn and her father is especially well drawn in contrast to Miranda's difficult relationship with her mother. Most importantly, this book is accessible to kids who read a lot of contemporary realistic stories, but it offers them much more than the usual problem novel because of its supernatural elements and its glimpse into the rich history of another part of the world.?Connie C. Rockman, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ghosts and a history lesson bring out an American teenager's long-suppressed grief in this engaging, but overstuffed, debut. Visiting Wales with her medievalist father Derek, Cristyn shares a bedroom with Miranda, daughter of another historian, Erica. Barely have the two families moved into their old cottage before the manifestations begin: dreams and noises; apparitions in the cellar; furniture, Scrabble tiles, and Cristyn's picture of her long-dead mother moving about; and more. The ghostly drama, however, competes with family drama for the front seat. Miranda, in the wake of her parents' divorce and unaware that her father had tried to kidnap younger brother, Dennis, is angry at the slightest provocation; meanwhile, Dennis has taken to playing pranks to get attention, as Erica struggles to keep both of her children in the dark about her ex-husband (he shows up later, just long enough to prove his worthlessness). Cristyn tries to make peace between Miranda and Dennis, puts the ghostly doings to rest, and sits down with her father for a healing talk about her mother. Kimmel shows promise with dialogue and characters; Cristyn's wry sense of humor, plus an occasional peer conversation in teenspeak, lighten the general tone. The problems: A ghost, daughter of a 13th-century rebel, is uncommonly able and rational (with a good command of modern English), and the various plot lines are so weakly joined that they're all but independent. (Fiction. 11-13) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.