The Boy at the Window
Published on 13. February 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
80 pages
978-0-00-871278-5 (ISBN)
Description
A spine-tingling ghost story from bestselling author Lucy Strange
Folk say the fog plays tricks - that it shapes itself into little hands and frightened faces that press at people's doors and windows, desperate to come inside. But Hugo is convinced the ghost he has seen at the window is no trick of the fog. The boy's hollow eyes are haunting him. What would happen if Hugo were to open the door and let him in? Brace yourselves for a chilling, wintery ghost story ...
Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
Folk say the fog plays tricks - that it shapes itself into little hands and frightened faces that press at people's doors and windows, desperate to come inside. But Hugo is convinced the ghost he has seen at the window is no trick of the fog. The boy's hollow eyes are haunting him. What would happen if Hugo were to open the door and let him in? Brace yourselves for a chilling, wintery ghost story ...
Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.
Reviews / Votes
"A ghost-story masterclass" - Jennifer Killick"Deliciously spooky" - Dan Smith
"A classic ghost story from a master of the craft" - Phil Hickes
"A truly haunting and beautifully written Gothic ghost story" - Tamsin Winter
"Probably best read outside on a hot sunny day in easy reach of a defibrillator ... Absolutely superb" - Hilary McKay
"Strange unleashes her powerful imagination on this haunting, harrowing story which explores grief and loneliness with subtlety, insight and immense compassion. Brought to life by Eason's stunning artwork and with a heart-thumping and heartbreaking twist that remains long in the memory, this wintry, wonderful story is destined to be a gothic classic." - Lancashire Evening Post
"Filled with a deep melancholy and a sense of shifting realities that make it truly haunting ... Uncanny, sparely written, this is the kind of story that seeps into your consciousness to leave you feeling thoroughly unsettled." - LoveReading4Kids
"Thoroughly unsettling and eerie ... Lucy Strange's use of sound and silence is superb, sharpening the sense of claustrophobia and confinement. A story to haunt readers long after the final page." - Books for Keeps
"A punchy historical supernatural page-turner which will give you all the chills, and give readers insight into what it was like to live in our not so distant past when a family experiences the death of a parent during wartime." - Happy Reading Children's Bookshop
"This book stylishly ticks many of the boxes of the gothic genre: a creepy old house, sinister swirling fog, secrets, concealment, ghosts, doubles, a deliciously spooky atmosphere, and a narrative that unfolds slowly and with dread ... an excellent introduction to the Gothic for readers in Upper KS2 and KS3." - CLPE
"The tension and sense of dread build slowly in this creepy and unsettling ghost story. With its roots firmly in the classic gothic genre, this is a tale that gets right under your skin and lingers long after the last page." - BookTrust
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Target group
Children/juvenile
Young adult
Reading Age: 8 years, Interest Age: From 9 years
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
10 b/w, illus, (4 x half page internal Illustrations in black and white, 6 x vignette internal Illustrations in black and white)
Dimensions
Height: 192 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
144 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-871278-5 (9780008712785)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Lucy Strange is the best-selling children's author of titles including The Secret of Nightingale Wood, a Waterstones Children's Book of the Month, and Our Castle by the Sea, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal, shortlisted for the Waterstones Book Prize 2020, and was the first Independent Booksellers' Children's Book of the Month.