Carol Beach York (1928–2013)

Young Hester Linden and her friend Isabel Abbott, living in a small Massachusetts town in 1892, come upon a little shop on Marley Street that they had never encountered before in this spine-tingling novel for young readers, and leave with a golden ring and china shepherdess. When Hester learns that a neighbor had an eerie experience with the music box purchased at the same shop, she begins to understand why she has been having bad dreams and why Isabel has fallen ill, since returning home show more with their own purchases. After the items are destroyed, health and good sleep return, and Hester is left with the realization that something is very wrong with the shop on Marley Street, and with its creepy, hunchbacked owner, Mr. Mordrian. But when Isabel goes away on a family trip, and her Aunt Sophie agrees that she should have a job, Hester finds herself working for Mr. Mordrian, growing ever more aware of the evil he is working through the items he sells to the locals. Can Hester break free of this evil, and finally put a stop to it...?

Published in 1977, Beware of This Shop is the first book I have read from author Carol Beach York, who appears to have written many other books for children, both novels and picture books. I had never heard of her, until a friend gifted me with a copy of this book, but I am glad I am now aware of her work! Although I wouldn't describe this one as great literature for children, I found the story gripping and very enjoyable, racing through it in one evening. I think that, had I encountered it as a girl, I would have been charmed by the period setting and detail, and would have been caught up in the suspenseful story. York succeeds in creating a real sense of menace in her story, both with the setting and with her antagonist. The colophon lists "Demonology — Fiction" as one of the book's subjects, and the manuscripts Hester discovers in the shop's back room, with their odd language and images, seem in line with that idea. I do wish York had explored that a little more, that the reader had the chance to learn what Mr. Mordrian was up to, specifically, but perhaps the vagueness of it—that he was putting spells on the objects being sold—was in keeping with the suspense. In any case, this is one I would recommend to middle grade readers who enjoy scary and/or suspenseful stories. For my part, I will be tracking down other titles by the author. show less

Julie had lived her life at 912 Linton Street. But the things she was telling me now had nothing to do with Linton Street. She dragged a sled up a snowy hill behind her house...but there was no hill on Linton Street. She scratched patterns with her fingernails on frosty windowpanes that looked out on a brick courtyard that was not on Linton Street. People came and went around her with the rustle of long skirts. Pleasant memories of some childhood that the Julie Wintcomb I knew had never show more known. But not all memories were pleasant... show less

A slim upper middle grade mystery, with surprisingly dark subject matter. It was a 2.5 star read most of the way through. While I appreciated some of the cozy moments in this, I felt like the plot was too simple and repetitive to really be enjoyable (similar to the way that Nancy Drew books are). The ending, however, took me entirely by surprise, so that bumped it up to a 3! I’d suggest this to younger readers who are looking for a Nancy Drew sort of mystery with a little more bite.

This was a cute story. It's about a family who moves out in the country and the kids are seeing strange things around their new treehouse. The illustrations throughout were great. The only annoying thing was the girl chanting everything... it got old really quick. I figured out the mystery and it had a nice ending.