This Carnegie award-winning book is a gripping read with wonderfully humorous touches. A young boy is rescued from guilt
within a caring family – a family that hides its magic and mystery. In a psychological process, the hauntings set up events that enable the characters to accept they are who they are, whether this is ordinary or extraordinary.
With a sense of unease, the reader learns that eight-year-old Barney has had ghosts as his playmates in his lonely past – the family had been in mourning for many years for the
death of Dove, Barney’s mother. Now Barney and his older sisters have a loving stepmother who is bringing the family back to life.
Yet Barney still blames himself for Dove’s death. The situation is heightened as Claire, his stepmother, is pregnant and he is afraid that if he tells her about the new, scary ghost in his life, this knowledge will harm her. Then, to his horror, the ghost announces the death of Barney’s namesake, the great-uncle who he was named after.
Help is at hand. Tabitha, his next older sister, is a wonderfully drawn wannabe writer. She insists on knowing what is wrong. Her too-much-to-say style, which drives everyone crazy, hides a deeply sensitive personality and it is she who unravels the family mysteries. There is Great-Uncle Cole, the trickster, the acid Great-grandmother, who punished any hint of magic, and Troy, Barney’s
elder sister who is the new family magician.
At last, Barney’s father, a kind but up until now, distant man, makes Barney understand that he was not responsible for Dove’s death. The caring family circle which Claire has introduced envelopes them all, even the reprehensible elder members.
The book leaves us with a feeling of this warmth and acceptance, as Barney shows that it is all right to be ordinary.