In this book, Katie, a young teenage girl who has now lost her mother, and her father, is discovering new abilities in herself that she never knew before. Katie sees and draws ghosts. She draws horrible accidents, murders, and pretty much any other way a person can die, in gruesome detail. But one ghost really stands out, George. Her and her new friend Law must figure out how to help George move on and cross over. In my personal opinion, this book was amazing. It had very well described details of everything that was happening in the book. I really liked the theme of the book. It was very mysterious, and it kept you guessing about what would happen next. My personal favorite part in the book was when Katie was trapped in the cellar with all the ghosts screaming at her, and she had to figure out what each of them were saying to her. I felt like she was really scared, and it was a good way to start the ending of the book. I don't think the ending should have been much different. The only thing I would change is when Katie asks how to get rid of George, so she can stop seeing him. If you like Mystery books, and Murder Mystery type of books, I suggest you read this book. It's a little confusing at first, but it gets more interesting as you keep reading. If you like this book, you should read the book "Hit and Run' Ever since Katie’s mom died in a tragic car accident Katie has seen ghosts, obsessively drawing them in her sketch pad almost without her knowing. When she goes to the park one day she meets a kid named George who has Down syndrome and lives with his grandfather in the old house down the street. To her horror she realizes that George has been dead for over a hundred years and his house is scheduled to be demolished within a month.Law is interested in the old house, too. He is loves old houses and aspires to be an architect after high school. Law’s mom is the leader of a group that is trying to save the house and to preserve it as a museum. The house, named Pinebank, once belonged to one of Boston’s greatest merchant family and public benefiters, but Mr. Perkins (George’s grandfather) was guilty of unspeakable actions that would haunt the house and its history for ever. Because of that, Law’s dad, a professor at Harvard, decedent of slaves, and angry spokesperson, wants to see Pinebank demolished. So, he brings the dark history of Pinebank and the Perkin’s family to the public.In the cellar there’s a chest that George promised his grandfather he would protect, which ended up costing his life. Law and Katie hope that the chest will have something to save Pinebank from the scheduled demolition, but instead, the hunt for the chest takes them into a nightmare of loud ghosts that insist on Katie hearing them and take her into the true stories of the house, threatening her sanity. Sarah Smith has done an amazing job with this book. Her voice immeaditatly pulls you in and will make sure you stay up all night to finish the story. She has told this incredibly dark true story in a way that doesn’t sound like a history book and is very interesting and fun to read. I would recommend this book to really anyone.
What do You think about The Other Side Of Dark (2010)?
race, slavery, how we find our identities, brilliant writing--especially in the voice of Law.
—CLH
This was one scary book! Great writing. Topics for discussion abound.
—hayzel
