Halfed Baked Reviews: The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn

I recently noticed that a lot of reviews where the people didn't finish the book are very different from the reviews where people did finish the book. And, I read too many books at one time, and I feel like I don't finish books quickly enough. So, this is a way for me to update you on my reading.

Currently, I am reading The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn. I'm on page 67 of 153. It's a pretty stereotypical ghost story. Girl's parents are dead. Girl lives in a terrible orphanage. Girl finds out she has rich relatives and goes to live with them. The mean aunt hates the girl. The kind, fat uncle welcomes the girl. The servants are treated poorly and talk about how something strange is happening in the house. Girl hears whispering and laughter and says "No. Ghosts don't exist. Silly me."

I'm not giving away anything by saying that the girl, Florence, eventually comes in contact with the ghost. It doesn't outright say it on the back of the book, but it's no surprise. What really bothers me is that Florence is so spooked when she hears the whispering, but when the ghost actually shows herself to her, she's just like, "Okay. Cool."

I also hate that the author is withholding some information for some stupid reason. One of the characters in this book is sick, and the aunt says that Florence can't see him, even though he lives in the same house. You know. Because he's sick.
Really? Florence can't just pop in and say "Hello, nice to meet you. I'm your cousin" because this kid is sick? And from the way the author says it, it makes it sound like this kid has just become a major recluse.

Another thing that I hate: the cover. It looks stupid. What really bothers me, though, is that there's a description of the cover in the book. Apparently, it's a photograph. But the people on the cover and the description in the book do not match up. Come on, guys. We have photoshop. Step it up.

By picking up this book, I was expecting nothing high quality or anything. I was expecting for there to be no redeeming factors in this book. So far, I'm right.

Books to Read: All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn

It's been a while since I've read this book, but I remember just enough about it to know that I love this book.
It's about these two siblings who go to their grandmother's inn for the summer. Their grandmother is complaining about how some other hotel is getting tons of guests because ghosts have been reported there. So, to help business, the two kids pretend to be ghosts. I don't want to reveal too much, but let's just say that's not the entire plot.
I remember that this book was very entertaining, and that it had some scary and mysterious moments that I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending was kind of vague, but it was probably the creepiest part of the book. I also liked that it had interesting side characters, like these two bicyclists who ride over a hundred miles each day.
I recommend this book for children and young teens. I think that anyone older than that would just be rolling their eyes the entire time, which is a shame because it's a great book. It's pretty short, but it's really interesting.