Publisher: HarperTeen
Date of Publication: September 2012
A dark house.
An isolated island.
Strange dreams
and even stranger
visions . . .
The Turning is being touted as a unique take on The Turning of the Screw. I was looking forward to a good ghost story. In truth, I'm still not sure what I read. In the end, I couldn't decide if it was a ghost story or the ravings of a delusional teen. The book is told through letters. The majority of which are written by Jack to his girlfriend. I'm not sure this really worked for me as the letters didn't feel real. Who recounts entire conversations the writer and reader had with each other? It just doesn't happen.
Jack has taken a summer job on a remote island to babysit for 2 children. The kids are a bit odd, but I could understand why. Not being exposed to the internet or television or even regular society, would make any child strange. The one thing that was never further explored was why the uncle refuses to have anything to do with his wards. As well as, why he would agree to hire a 16 YO boy with no child care experience. The ending was an attempt to leave the reader guessing "did it happen or not?", but it really just was a big let down. Throughout the entire book, I kept waiting for a good ghost story but it never came
I'd say this was OK for the over 14 crowd. But honestly, there is better fare out there for them to spend their time on.
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