How scary it must be to live in a haunted house.  Hannah and her twin sister Anna (and their family) have moved into a house that is purported to be haunted by a ghost with green eyes.  But ghosts aren’t real, right?  But what if the house you live in seems to have random gusts of wind…inside? And a tree branch (just one) that waves at you? And what if the longer you live there, the more you start to feel anger and hatred and suspicion of everyone around you?  And is that a voice I hear?  Why is the ghost still there, and what does she want everyone (especially Hannah) to know?

The point of view of this story is so interesting.  It is all told from the eyes of the ghost who haunts the house.  How often do we get the ghosts’ side of the story?  The tone is dark and foreboding, and while it gives you chills and makes you want to turn up the lights, it also keeps your attention and is difficult to put down!  The Girl Behind the Glass is not only a great ghost story for a younger audience, it is also full of the importance of family—especially sisters!—and of understanding and forgiveness.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Random House Children’s Books

Content Analysis:

There was one crude reference to a girl’s large behind, but there was no profanity.

There is some mild violence.  The narrator is a ghost and alludes often to her murder (death) and that of small creatures.  A character almost drowns in a swamp.  A character is hit over the head by a somewhat crazy person and drowns in a pond.  Bats fly around and seem to attack people (they really don’t).  A character dies of a heart attack after seeing something scary in a window.

There were two instances where two teenagers kiss—once in a car and once in a bedroom.  The descriptions were things like they stayed inside the car “doing things that teenagers did in dark cars”, and the bed creaking while in the bedroom.

Mature Subject Matter:

The themes were more moderate as it dealt with ghosts and the supernatural, death and murder, overwhelming hate and anger, mean thoughts/feelings, bullying, feeling left out, sisters, friendship, and ultimately forgiveness. The parents of one character consider taking her to a psychiatrist because she can hear ghosts.  A character tries to have a séance.  The overall tone is very tense and maintains a chillingly spooky ambiance, but it is well done and stays clean!

Alcohol / Drug Use:

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