Jim Whiting

‘’Men drowned by the score for over three hundred years. Winter storms drove them there, that’s where the name comes from. Winterbay. Cold,desolate place.’’

This is such a striking quote that perfectly describes not only the setting but the heart of the story. Cold, isolation and death…

I was immediately won by the title and the cover and it didn’t take me long to start reading. I confess I initially thought that this wasn’t going to be anything original, but I didn’t show more mind.After all, the majority of ghost stories are awfully similar to each other and still they manage to frighten us even though we tell them time and time again.My impression was correct. The premise isn’t original but I found the novel to be a rather pleasing Gothic experience.

Will is an architect with a whole load of problems on his back, both work-related and marital. He struggles to please all and meet expectations, while Emily, his expecting wife,is still trying to recover from past traumas.The renovation of Winterbay Abbey presents a good opportunity for Will to establish himself as a professional. On his first day, he sees a nun walking into the water. (There is probably a reason why I've always been a little bit afraid of nuns…)

The story takes place after Halloween and I can definitely say that it is a great read for the spookiest time of the year. Winterbay Abbey certainly lives up to its name. The word ‘’Abbey’’ always brings certain images to mind and abbeys have been consistent staples in Gothic Fiction for a long time. Here, there are many Gothic elements and familiar tropes of Horror Fiction, like birds, faces in dusty windows, rocking chairs and sudden cracks. They are skillfully used to create the necessary mood and with respect to the genre. However, there are many similarities to Susan Hill’s [b:The Woman in Black|37034|The Woman in Black|Susan Hill|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327869942s/37034.jpg|2127172]. In fact, it seemed to me that the heart of the whole plot echoes the much-loved novella directly. As a result, the story becomes a little too predictable and unoriginal. After all, there can only be one Jeanette Humphrey and one Arthur Kipps, right?

The characters are what make the story suffer a bit, though.Will and Emily are nothing to write home about. It seemed to me that Will isn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer and although he must be talented, he has a knack of running away from responsibilities, deadlines and obligations. Emily is overreacting, self-centered, full of self-pity, borderline dramatic and frankly, I think that the writers created an inconsistent character in her. She doesn’t really know what she wants either of herself or of Will. But, I guess that in a horror story characters are not the focal point…

The impact of the story is based on psychology and the fear of the unknown and there is no violence or bloody spectacles just for the sake of shock value. The atmosphere is built page by page and this is how a well-written mystery is made.
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The Life and Times of Augustus Caesar provides color-popping and informational pictures; the text is presented in a large font, accompanied maps, and other visuals. The visual aspects of the book is useful to its users, allowing them to compare read information with graphics. Though this book contains much information, it is presented in a way which grasps the attention of elementary students. This book could serve as a great research tool for students; allowing them a break from traditional show more text filled pages. show less

Medieval Knights is a short, little read for K-2 students providing basic facts and establishing background knowledge about medieval times and knights. For this review, I'd like to focus on format and access features because the book has some interesting features and formatting. The cover is a catching, midnight blue with a photograph of a knight on a horse. The font has some "medieval flavor" to it! The end pages are plain white and do not provide any additional information or pictures. The show more table of contents lay on a really neat, burnt edge paper graphic, and it demonstrates that the book is organized as topical. The chapter titles are catching, including "Knightly Dreams", "Who Were Knights?", and "I Dub Thee Sir Knight". There is a space between the chapter titles and a separate organization for added information and the index and glossary. I love the graphics and font of the book. There are catching side bars on pages, and also terms used in the main text defined as inserted information. Most of the pictures are sketches or illustrations, with a few photographs of armor and knights. I would have liked to see more photographs. All of the photographs and illustrations coincide effectively with the text on each page, and they are exciting and draw the reader in. The glossary provides a pronunciation guide and there is a page providing books and websites for the reader to further research. The bibliography is in tiny print on the first page, adjacent to the table of contents. I would have preferred a more distinguished bibliography at the end of the book as a way to teach bibliography and citation.

I read this book to my Kindergarten boys during a study on Fairy Tales. They absolutely loved it, and made "wow sounds" as I read new information! The middle ages and history was a little over their head and the book didn't provide a whole lot of information. Overall, it was a great little read and the boys selected it to read during their independent and buddy-reading time. show less

Fluffy, not bad. Some repetition, and of course it's all very old themes; the art is simple but reasonably clear. Most of them are black and white, a few in color or with spot color. Nothing exciting, but fun to read once.