Prepare yourself for a rant, because there will be no prisoners taken, nor will I be using any spoiler warnings in this review…Įdition: Scholastic Inc. If you miss, the flu has got you and you are dead.This book begins with a run-on sentence. In the classroom: Ghost stories allow creative writing to occur while also allowing Common Core to be met and all in the month of October! Read aloud passages from the text: especially the part where Rosie has made up a jump rope chant rhyming “In flew Enza” into the art of jumping between the ropes. One for Sorrow is both a chilling ghost story and a useful history lesson. This tragic time in our country is not often taught, as it was overshadowed by the coming of World War I. A simple black wreath would adorn the front door of the deceased telling neighbors the house was in mourning. Within twenty-four hours of the flu’s first symptoms, its victims were dead. The flu epidemic of 1918 was a reality for the United States and, thanks to flu vaccines, is more history than reality for today’s young readers.

Annie is sent to an insane asylum hoping to remove Elsie from her life, but poor Annie’s torment is just beginning. It isn’t until they go to the wake of Elsie that Annie discovers she is being haunted by Elsie’s lost soul. School is soon cancelled due to the outbreak of influenza and the girls take advantage of this by attending wakes of those who have passed, enjoying the free cakes and cookies. After that, Annie joins the other girls in their taunting and cruelty toward Elsie. Elsie is mean to Annie, but Annie is afraid to leave Elsie despite her mean spirit until the week Elsie goes missing from school. At first Annie is appreciative of the friendship until she realizes Elsie is a social outcast. Annie is immediately greeted by Elsie who demands instant friendship. One for Sorrow gives us Annie, an only child who has recently moved to a small town. Her newest book, One for Sorrow: A Ghost Story, can easily be classified as fantasy with a some useful crossover into historical fiction. I never hesitate, and she has never disappointed. America’s Review: Mary Downing Hahn is an author I quickly give to any middle school student asking for a ghost story. The mean girls who chanted this discover that they can’t cheat death as quickly as they can wish it upon others. Bookshelf Blurb: “In flew Enza” was a playground chant, but influenza was a real epidemic in 1918.

One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn