Book Summary: Amy is a twelve year old girl who has to take care of her special needs sister Louann who seems to ruin everything for Amy. She runs away her friends and limits her ability to have fun. Amy gets so upset that she runs away to go visit her Aunt Clare who is living in her great-grandparents house. Her comes up with the idea for her to come live with her for a while to get a break from her sister. Her parents reluctantly allow her to go and Amy is thrilled. While living with her aunt she stumbles upon an old dollhouse in the attic that is an exact replica of the house they are living in. Her great-grandmother gave it to her aunt when she was young. Well strange things start to occur with the dollhouse. Amy finds out that her grandparents were killed and the doll that is her grandmother trying to tell her who did it! Her aunt Clare thought it was her fault all this time that they were killed, because of her relationship with an older guy. Well soon the answer is revealed when Amy and her sister Louaunn sneak up to the attic at night of her slumber party and realize the answer is in the parlor. When they go they search the room and Louann stumbles upon a note that was in a book. The note was written from the grandmother stating that it was the gardener. Aunt Clare and Amy's father can now rest easy knowing that they have answers. Amy is happy to return home and live with her annoying sister who is not so bad after all.
Reference: Wright, B. R. (2008). The dollhouse murders. New York, NY: Holiday House.
Impression: This book had me sitting on my couch turning the pages quickly with my eyes wide open. It had just the right amount of "scare" to it and the plot was written simple for the audience. It has a great lesson behind it with the relationship that Amy and her sister Louann had. It could appeal to a lot of tweens who may have to be their siblings keepers and would rather just be a kid. It also gives you an idea of how taking care of a specials needs person takes patience and sometimes parents feel guilty and put a lot of pressure on the siblings to look after them. This can be stressful for a child who just wants to be a child and have fun.
Professional Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly
Wright's taut, suspenseful novel proves a solid choice to kick off the Live Oak Mysteries audio series. The attic is always a great place to look for nuggets of one's family history, but when 12-year-old Amy explores her great-grandparents' attic, she uncovers clues to a chilling family secret. As Amy and her Aunt Claire sift through clothes, trinkets and other memorabilia, Amy comes across Aunt Claire's long-forgotten dollhouse, a finely crafted replica of the house they are in. Aunt Claire seems unusually distressed about the dollhouse and Amy is determined to find out why. The real fun begins when Amy learns that the dolls in the dollhouse move of their own will and that they seem to be trying to tell her something. After a little sleuthing at the local library, Amy learns that her great-grandparents were murdered years ago and that Aunt Claire's fiance? (who died in a car accident that same night) was the prime suspect in the unsolved case. Before long, Amy unravels the mystery, helping Aunt Claire to resolve her feelings about the past. A subplot about Amy's relationships with her parents, younger sister and best friend adds depth and warmth to this crisply paced tale. Stewart handles the narration with aplomb, using her voice to give listeners a hint of each character's personality. Her portrayal of Aunt Claire, who delivers a few chillingly snappish retorts to Amy, is particularly strong. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
References:Publisher's Weekly. (1999). [Review of the book The dollhouse murders, by B. R. Wright]. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-87499-523-7
Library Uses: This is book could be used as a good display during Halloween and also read to show children how we should treat everyone the same no matter their disability.
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