The Haunting of Lindy Pennyworth by S.M. Pope

 I remember reading books such as Goosebumps and Point Horror when I was younger, liking the idea of being scared (but not too much). 

As I've got older my tastes in stories has evolved and I'll admit that I don't tend to opt for spooky novels anymore.

However...

When I heard about The Haunting of Lindy Pennyworth, I was more than a little intrigued.

Nobody believes Lindy when she says she doesn’t pull her out on purpose. Nobody believes Lindy when she says she hears voices in the night. Nobody believes Lindy when she says her dead ancestors are haunting her dreams. Nobody believes Lindy 

This is one of the latest YA releases from Uclan Publishing and after reading other books from them including the fabulous Mina and the Undead, I knew to expect the unexpected.

As you might have guessed from the title of the novel, this story revolves around Lindy and what is (or isn't) haunting her.

It begins with Lindy being sent to a psychiatric ward, essentially starting at the end - this started the story off in a brilliant way, an instant shock and questions already forming in my head. And then the rewind button is hit and we get an insight into why Lindy has I guess gone mad.

Lindy wasn't always crazy. She was a typical teen, that was until her dad died in a car accident. Unfortunately in an angry outburst, the last words she ever said to him were "I hate you". The poor girl can't let go of how things were left between them, she needs closure. 

How she chooses to work through this is to try and contact him - speak to the dead. She tries to contact him through things like Ouija boards but best laid plans . . .

Instead of speaking to her dad. another spirit makes herself known, seventeen-year-old Esmerelda, who tells Lindy that she is in fact her ancestor and puts her on a journey to break a curse that was cast over the Pennyworth family years ago.

A spooktastic ghost story.

I'm not ashamed to say that I was a little bit scared.

The Haunting of Lindy Pennyworth is what I'd describe as a paranormal mystery. Filled with hair-raising twists, there is an eerie atmosphere across the whole story. 

What made it stand out for me was the fact that it wasn't just about the ghostly goings on, there was real detail to the back-story and the character of Lindy herself. With talk of grief and mental illness included, the author has been sensitive in their delivery of it all.

And those last sentences, terrifying!

This is a story that I think would work well on the big screen, plenty of jump scares lurk within.

Highly readable.