Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. Ever since their parents got married, she’s made Molly and Michael’s life miserable. Now their parents have moved them all to the country to live in a house that used to be a church, with a cemetery in the backyard. If that’s not bad enough, Heather starts talking to a ghost … ghost named Helen and warning Molly and Michael that Helen is coming for them. Molly feels certain Heather is in some kind of danger, but every time she tries to help, Heather twists things around to get her into trouble. It seems as if things can’t get any worse.
But they do–when Helen comes.
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Truly frightening–and, yet, ok for middle grade readers
Wait Till Helen Comes is scary, well-written, and is an excellent portrayal of a step-family and the secrets motivating a young child’s cruel behavior.
Realistic and compassionate.
It’s wonderful to read
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn is a ghost story written for younger readers (MG). A creepy plot, moody scenery, and ridiculously self-absorbed parents make this interesting. My 9 year old found its scary bits titillating, while his older sister enjoyed the ideas of forgiveness and family.
The story follows a newly-blended family. Dave …
I love this book so much that it touch my heart and I want to share it with you
This book was cute. It is a kid’s book, so there’s that. And it was written in the 80’s, so it was funny to read the main character say “got out my walkman and listened to some music before bed”. (she also used cassette player – which Arlington had no idea what that was). It kept my attention, even though it was for the 8-10 year old range, …
it was really good to see Helen got to see her mom again Wait till Helen Comes
This was a favorite book of mine when I was a young girl, so much so that I kept my copy looking fairly nice and passed it on to my own daughter. I recently re-read this for a challenge, and while it is not a romance novel, it does fit my childhood theme for the challenge. It is a bit of a vengeful/tortured soul ghost story and was spooky when I …
eh.