The Story: Emily Luccock, recently orphaned, goes to live with her Aunt and Uncle Twice in their mansion, Sugar Hill Hall, but when she gets there, she is shocked to find that the mansion has become a home for unwanted old people. The establishment is run by evil Mrs. Meeching and syrupy-sweet Mrs. Plumly (I sort of get a Delores Umbridge vibe), who lock the elderly in "the Remembrance Room" if they talk to each other, or look happy or (worst of all) steal a peppermint from the glass bowl in the parlor. Uncle Twice is nowhere to be found and Aunt Twice is the home's cook. Emily cannot understand why, because Aunt Twice is too afraid to tell her what is going on, but she becomes a servant in the house too. Emily is not easily broken, however. She makes friends with her fellow servant, Tilly, with Kipper, the fish delivery boy, and with the silent old people, as she tries to solve the mystery and restore her Aunt's home.
Why you will love it: This book is creepy and suspenseful and once you start it you won't put it down. Let's be honest, we've all been to an retirement home that just doesn't seem right. It smells weird and the lights are all dim and the hallways are too narrow. Now, take that memory and magnify it by ten! At Sugar Hill Hall, the elderly residents sit in chairs around the parlor and don't move or speak...all day. And if that's not creepy enough, throw in Mrs. Meeching and Mrs. Plumly, and Whoo! I'm freaking myself out. This is one of the best slightly-sinister reads out there.
Age Group: Any age really. I think I read it in elementary school, and it was creepy while I read it, but it didn't give me nightmares or anything, and it ends really happy. On the other end of the spectrum, I recently read it again, and loved it just as much as the first time.
There is a sequel: "The Perils of Peppermints", which I still need to read, but it is probably fantastic.
Oh, and p.s. if you were wondering, I'm think I'm going to be a Kyoshi warrior from "Avatar: The Last Airbender" for Halloween this year, so pictures to come on that.
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