Red-Eared Ghosts

ANNOTATION

Mary Frewin has seen "ghosts" since she was a baby and after learning about her great-great grandmother and stumbling through a time wreck near her home in London, she understands why.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

There was definitely something strange about Mary Frewin. With her bright orange hair and freckles, she looked like any other child. And she tried to act like other children too, scraping through life at home and at school without calling too much attention to herself. What really separated Mary from her classmates was that she could see ghosts - red-eared ghosts. Recently, two of those forms - a thin man and his large, wolflike dog - seemed particularly interested in young Mary Frewin. In a fast-paced, well-plotted novel that explores the concept of time, Vivian Alcock has brought Mary Frewin and her red-eared ghosts vividly to life.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Alcock's (Singer to the Sea God) flight of fancy about a preadolescent with "special" vision has plenty of memorable momentsbeginning with Mary Frewin's shocking proclamation that, since her days in a pram, she has been visited by red-eared ghosts: "Some of 'em look like they've worn away in patches, just leaving bits of 'em floating in space." Through a circuitous (and highly entertaining) chain of events involving an antique book, a misplaced wig, a rakish art teacher and a gang of ruffians, Mary learns she has inherited her supernatural powers from her great-great-grandmother Mary Crumb, who mysteriously disappeared over a century ago. Retracing her ancestor's steps through London, Mary falls through a time warp and lands in a parallel universe where she finally learns the identities of her ghosts. At this point, the novel's plot becomes somewhat convoluted with vague explanations of paranormal phenomena. Readers may well share the heroine's befuddlement as she struggles to understand her relationship to a clan of displaced aliens while trying to find a way home. The author's earthbound characters, including Mary's overly anxious teacher, her beautician mother and her proud-to-be-a-doorman father, prove to be more alluring than the ghosts, who even Mary admits "don't do nothing exciting." On the other hand, Mary's death-defying reentry home is spectacular enough to beguile most fantasy buffs. Ages 10-14. (Apr.)

VOYA - Lynn Evarts

Mary Frewin is plagued by red-eared ghosts. She sees them at the canal near her home and must choose between bumping into them or a gang of bullies. On top of all this, Mary's mother has a secret about Mary's past. With the help of a sympathetic teacher and a friend who has knowledge about the supernatural, Mary learns she closely resembles her great-great-grandmother, a woman who disappeared under very mysterious circumstances. With her new knowledge, Mary suddenly finds herself in another world-dealing with people she cannot understand and confusing situations-surrounded by red-eared ghosts. Slowly, Mary comes to learn that she has experienced a timequake, "a serious warp in the space-time and electronic fields" that causes this world to lose minutes, hours, and even days. Mary also finds out that she was enticed here because of her close resemblance to her great-great-grandmother. She now has to convince these people she is not their long-lost hero returned after many years, find the evil man who lured her here, and enlist his help to find her way through the crack between the universes so she can return to her "real" life, as unsafe as the journey might be. Mary is a sympathetic character whose adventures readers will enjoy. Particularly exciting is a passage where Mary is trying to find her way home; she must use her wits to discover the proper direction. If she chooses incorrectly, she could age into death or become so young she would not be able to walk. She demonstrates great moral character when faced with difficult decisions, and represents a strong, young female character. Readers could be surprised that this is science fiction instead of horror. The title and cover information suggest ghosts, and references to the supernatural and mysterious beings reinforce this idea. But only the first third of the book deals with the ghosts. Once Alcock enters the science fiction mode, there is no looking back. In addition to writing about the physics of timequakes, there is rather detailed information about the "ship" that is the boundary between the alternate worlds. This book would serve as a good introduction to the world of alternate lives and time warps. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Will appeal with pushing, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9).

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9Since infancy, Mary Frewin has seen ghosts with red ears but no one believes her. Things change when a couple of teachers take an interest in her. One of them is a believer in "alternate worlds" and thinks Mary may actually be seeing people from a parallel universe. He turns out to be right, as halfway through the novel she crosses over to this other world, where she is mistaken for her own great-grandmother who had journeyed there decades before. As she tries to find a way home and learns more about this new place, Mary's story bogs down a bit. The friendships she develops here are not as vividly realized as her relationships with two friends in England. The rather complicated details about the nature of the parallel universe detract from the initially intriguing plot. A much needed author's note is included to explain the relationship between the two worlds. Despite the actions of a menacing and manipulative "ghost," the novel never becomes suspenseful. However, Mary is a fascinating character and most readers will persist through the sluggish moments. She takes risks and places herself in danger because she is determined to convince others that the figures she sees are real. Her feisty personality carries the novel along, and her ultimate success in convincing her friends and parents is satisfying.Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR

Kirkus Reviews

Alcock (Singer to the Sea God, 1993, etc.) leavens this fantasy with generous doses of her usual sly wit, raising it a cut above other time-travel tales.

There's always been something odd about Mary Frewin, from the time she was in her pram. She sees ghosts—sometimes just a foot here, a shoulder there—and, among the full-bodied ones, they all have flaming red ears. No one believes Mary, not even her long-suffering parents. Her teacher's new boyfriend, who's interested in the paranormal, discovers that Mary's great-great-grandmother, Mary Coram, who disappeared long before the girl's birth, shared Mary's gift; in fact, she's not seeing ghosts at all but creatures from Izel, a parallel world plagued by timequakes that render space and time utterly chaotic. Mary Coram disappeared there, and Mary Frewin believes she must follow in her ancestor's footsteps. This clever story is full of unexpected developments and lively, unusual characters, including the Bad-Dog Boys, a gang of louts who torment Mary in the real world, and a motley crew of Izellians in the other. Grand fun.