The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

While investigating the garden, she also meets Kristi, a little girl who lives next door. The first day at the house, Ashley sees a white cat in the hedges in the backyard, and follows it into an overgrown, old rose garden. Miss Cooper lets Ashley know from the beginning that she dislikes children, cats and just about everything else. They rent the upper floor of a house owned by Miss Cooper, a cranky, unfriendly old lady.

She hopes the move will help her mom become less sad, and that they can have a happy life again. Ashley misses her father, and is worried about her mother. ( )Īshley and her mom move to Monkton Mills to start a new life following the death of her father. It was a bit too young for me to love as an adult reader but it was also a book I would recommend to my kids. Overall, I would recommend this to child readers. It is mildly spooky because there is a ghost but I didn't think it was scary and I think all but the most sensitive middle-grade readers could read it without being scared. The mystery of why the doll was buried and who the doll belonged to was pretty predictable for an adult reader but I think this book would be well enjoyed by it's intended audience. This book had a ghost and she was wonderful. In some kids book the ghost that is suspected isn't real but is something very normal that is making people think there is a ghost. One of the things I loved about this book, and I think this is a slight spoiler, is that there really is a ghost. It tugged at my heart and I really appreciated the message it was trying to give while still being appropriate for the intended audience. I loved how grief was dealt with and the discussions about the complex feelings that don't just include loss but anger and guilt as well. Ashley and her mom grieving her dad as well as the grief surrounding the ghost character just were wonderfully done. My favorite thing about this book was the explorations of grief. Still, as an adult she was frustrating and an often annoying protagonist to follow. I think she was really well done as a middle-grade character and I found her authentic. She reminded me in places of my kids and the reasons they give for making bad choices and their thought processes. I found Ashley to be annoying but largely because she acted like a kid, which is exactly what she is. I ended up having a good time with this book though it was a middle-grade and clearly meant for a younger reader than I am. Circumstances soon lead her to believe that the doll is the property of a ghost that she sometimes hears crying in the night.

While exploring a garden nearby, she finds a doll buried in a box. Synopsis: Ashley and her mother have recently moved into a new home following the death of her father.

The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn