Promises to the Dead

This is not a typical Hahn book and so, at first, I was a little disappointed. When I pick up a Hahn, I have been programmed to expect chills, thrills and goosebumps. Well, actually, some of that was true in this book, too, but not because of a scary ghost. The chills came from the living--which was......more

Review 5/5! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Feeling very happy starting off the year right (a book with a 5 star review!) I was very surprised at the fantastic and high-quality writing of this book. I had never heard of it (or this author) before, but I could see this book as classic that should be read in schools. Taking......more

This bool took place right before the civil war, a time not really considered but Mary Downing Hahn describes well. All 12 year Jesse wanted to do was get a turtle for his Philemon so they could have turtle soup to help his rheumatism. But things don't always go right like in Jesse's situation. He r......more

A departure from Hahn's creepy fantasy this is purely historical fiction. Set at the beginning of the Civil War, Jesse lives in Maryland, a state that has mixed loyalties. While hunting turtle in the swamp near his uncle's house, Jesse finds a pregnant runaway slave and her son. Lydia is dying and s......more

This book is very well crafted. There is so much action and commotion going on in every second of this story. The author used great text, making it much more interesting than most books. One thing that was kind of hard to follow is all of the characters. There were so many of them that it was hard......more