In 1918 the influenza epidemic is raging. Annie Browne was once friend with Elise Schneider. Well, not exactly. Before Annie could meet the other girls in school, Elise claimed her as her own. Soon enough, Annie begins to dislike Elise for the same reasons most of her classmates do, most importantly because she's clingy. Even after death it appears. When Elise dies from the 'flu, she begins haunting Annie, claiming her in death as she did in life. Spooky and scary like only Mary Downing Hahn can write, this will please ghost story fans.

One for Sorrow was an interesting read. Although the main character isn't the most likable, I think she is one most middle grade readers will identify. Reading it post COVID pandemic made it a scary read that my students will love.

One I was a young girl and first discovered that I enjoyed reading, I found a copy of Wait til Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn tucked into the bookshelf of my second grade classroom. I still remember the first time I read it--it scared the bejesus out of me--and I absolutely loved it. I credit Hahn for starting a love of ghost stories and horror fiction that is still with me today. I will always have a soft spot for Hahn because of that book! When I came across this one on NetGalley I had to give it a go and it did not disappoint. Chilling and exciting, this story is about a young girl who gets revenge on those who tormented her when was living. Who doesn't love a good revenge story? This was a haunting and easy read that is perfect for curling up and reading on an October evening. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

It’s 1918 and the war is burning Europe. Troops from the USA have been sent over the Atlantic to fight with the allies, while back home the influenza epidemic breaks out.

Annie Brown has just moved to Mount Pleasant. She is the new girl at this school and all she wants is to make some friends and have a happy school year. Alas, the one girl that has no other friend in her class decides that Annie will be her best friend. And that’s because Elsie Schneider has no friends, even though she’s been going to the same school for a while now. Her classmates want nothing to do with her because she is mean, a liar and a thief. Her last name, which is German, is a reason for the rest of the girls to make fun at her. The Germans are not good people, they are the ones that started this war, where many fathers and uncles have gone to fight.

The decision for the girls to be best friends is Elsie’s alone. Annie is not comfortable with that, but what can she do? What could she possibly say? She didn’t know this girl before and she didn’t know that Elsie has no other friends. When Elsie invites herself at Annie’s home after school, Annie doesn’t feel easy, but she guesses that at some point, Elsie will have to go back to her place. But Elsie seems to envy her for her home, her parents, her room and her toys. This doesn’t end well and Annie tries to find a way to not be friends with Elsie any more, but Elsie doesn’t take it. One day, Elsie doesn’t come to school, so Annie get’s the chance to actually meet her other classmates and hang out and play with them. Soon she becomes part of their gang, and she is no longer an outcast.

In the midst of the epidemic, people start wearing masks and take precautions but they are not always fruitful. Soon, Mount Pleasant and the whole Baltimore is mourning their dead. Young and old people, men and women, even children are not spared. One of the influenza victims is Elsie Schneider and now Annie and the rest of the girls feel so bad about themselves for being mean and tormenting the last time they saw Elsie. Even so, life goes on for the living. Sometimes, also for the dead. Because Elsie refuses to stay dead. She comes back as ghost and is making Annie’s life a living hell.

In this book we see many different themes that are present in middle grade ages. Apart from the influenza epidemic that added another level to the story, it talks a lot about bullying, envy between children and the blur that those years would have with respect to treating injuries and so on. It’s pretty clear that Elsie had issues. She didn’t just woke up one day and decided to be mean with everyone. She felt that she lacked in many aspects of life, being not that wealthy and having a step mother instead of her own. We don’t see much about this relationship, but after Elsie’s death we see a bit more of her stepmother and it seems that this was all in Elsie’s imagination.

It is a story that can keep the reader engaged, which means it must have something good. It is also a ghost story, a spooky read perfect for young readers that like this genre, without any fear of ugly nightmares. Nothing gore or unsuitable can be found in the story. It would be nice to have more background information so as to understand Elsie’s behavior, but since the story was being told from Annie’s point of view, we didn’t have that chance.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.

A haunting ghost story about modern times and the influenza epidemic of 1918. It's fascinating to contemplate how the actions of a few girls in a time of illness and death could affect one of them throughout her life and her descendants thereafter. This story is deliciously creepy, an excellent chilling read for a hot summer's day.

A young girl, spiteful and mean, dies from illness, and her classmates think they won’t have to worry about her anymore. When she returns as a ghost to haunt one of them, however, they realize she may never truly leave them alone. Author Mary Downing Hahn tries to infuse a story of bullying with a sense of intrigue in the dismal World War I novel One for Sorrow.
It’s 1918, and Annie Browne has just moved to the Baltimore suburb of Mount Pleasant. When she arrives at Pearce Academy for Girls, Annie wonders what the other girls will think of her. Will she fit in? Will she make friends?
The answer to the last question is a decided yes, although Annie isn’t the one doing the deciding. Elsie Schneider declares that Annie is her new best friend, and but Elsie makes Annie feel uneasy. She creates situations so that others get in trouble, and she expresses her spite in a loud voice for popular girl Rosie O’Malley. The fact that Rosie returns Elsie’s disdain tenfold only makes things worse.
Elsie tries to force the friendship, but Annie isn’t one to be cowed. She agrees with Rosie and the other girls that Elsie is a liar and a tattletale. Soon enough, Annie goes from being an outcast by association with Elsie to being a part of the “in” crowd by taunting and bullying her.
At the same time, the dreaded Spanish influenza begins circulating through the small town. When Elsie falls victim to the disease, Annie, Rosie, and their other friends feel guilty. A week earlier, they had sought her out for the sole purpose of teasing and tormenting her; now she lies dead in a coffin.
Only a person with Elsie’s stubbornness can defy death itself, however. She comes back as a ghost and chooses Annie as her main target. Forcing Annie to act and speak in outlandish ways, Elsie manages to get Annie sent to a home for convalescents and says the next stop is the insane asylum. Annie is determined to gain freedom from Elsie, but it may require the one thing she doesn’t want to do: become Elsie’s friend after all.
Author Mary Downing Hahn rolls back the years for her novel about bullying with a wartime backdrop, but the story feels disjointed. The outbreak of Spanish influenza may indicate a World War I story, but it could have easily been replaced with any sort of tragedy. The taunting Annie and the others inflict on Elsie could have happened during any time period.
In many ways, the book doesn’t seem to know what it should be about. Is it a story about the Spanish influenza? Is it about bullying? Is it about peer pressure? Is it a ghost story? Is it to highlight the fact that some patients went to a convalescent home instead of the insane asylum? The novel tries to tackle all of these subjects and ends up doing justice to none of them.
Because readers hear from Annie in first-person point of view, they get to know her best. Everyone else, from Rosie to Elsie and even Annie’s parents, don’t get their due in character development. While popular girl Rosie’s behavior toward Elsie is reprehensible, Elsie is no more innocent than she is. Unfortunately, readers don’t ever get to find out why both girls behave the way they do. The only character who has a distinct voice is Annie.
As such, the motivation for Elsie’s revenge remains unclear. She says on Annie’s first day at the academy that Rosie has been tormenting her for a long time. Why, then, does Elsie choose to haunt Annie instead of Rosie? Wouldn’t it make more sense to target the person who has targeted her for a longer duration of time?
Also, while Elsie’s vengeance is clear-eyed, her objective isn’t. She wants to torture Annie, yes, but to what end? As a ghost, she has nothing to lose or gain by making Annie miserable. Hahn tries to create some tender moments between the girls where Elsie shares background information, but they only create more confusion. One minute Elsie is confiding in Annie; the next she’s possessing her body and making her perform horrible deeds.
The book may make parents shake their heads at its lengthy displays of bullying and zero consequences for it. There is a hint at the end that Rosie may have suffered slightly for her behavior, but none of the other friends complicit in the action receive any sort of reprimand. The adults are largely absent in the story, with the exception of a special friend Annie makes in the convalescent home, and the book’s ending seems forced and almost bizarre. For those reasons, I believe readers should Bypass One for Sorrow.

The 1918-19 influenza epidemic was frightening all on its own, but add a girl attending a new school, a girl who is abused by family and classmates, a cemetery, a turn of the century psychiatric hospital, and lots of period detail, and you have a the perfect ghost story. Middle grades will devour this one.

I really enjoyed reading the book and seeing the dynamics of girls at the turn of the century. When it comes right down to it, drama between girls and jockeying for social position never really changes. This is a very creepy book for middle readers that scared my nine year old daughter.

I have recommended this to many, many young readers...and they have loved it. A gripping ghost story that keeps the reader invested until the very last page. An insightful method to sharing bullying and how harmful it is to all involved. Another great story by Mary Downing Hahn!

This is a great book if you are looking for a spooky read for the middle school student. There is enough of a ghost story with a creepy factor to appeal to this age range, without it resulting in sleepless nights due to nightmares. There is no gore or extreme violence, although there is a lot of psychological stuff going on here and some pretty extreme bullying that is never really dealt with in a satisfying way.

I liked the historical aspect of the story (set in the final days of WWI in Baltimore during the Spanish Flu epidemic) and I liked the author's backstory involving her mother, which was incorporated. I thought it added another dimension to the story that upped the spookiness factor.

SO AWESOMELY DARK!

Don’t get fooled by the fact this is a Middle Grade book!

This story is DARK. The perfect wintry read, dark, melancholic, Gothic and scary!

The writing style and the blend of paranormal and historical diction is perfect for young readers! And even though the pace may be slow at times the underlining tension of people dying from influenza, and school bullying will keep you turning the pages and then the ghost story is really a goose·bumps inducing!

Towards the end, as it reaches it climax, you will be more than ready for that nasty ghost to go away!

One For Sorrow is a middle grade, chilling ghost story. It takes place around 1918 during the deadliest influenza pandemic that killed millions of people.

Annie Browne has just moved to a new town with her mother and father. She's a bit timid and she's nervous about making friends at her new school, the Pearce Academy for Girls. The first girl she meets is Elsie, and Elsie doesn't waste any time filling her in on how horrible the girls at Pearce are. None of the girls like Elsie and she convinces Annie that they won't like her either. Every day, Annie can't seem to get away from Elsie as she's consistently holding her hand and inviting herself over to her house. She tells everyone that Annie is her best friend and because of this, nobody else wants anything to do with Annie. They begin making fun of her too and Annie becomes miserable. Elsie is bossy, pushy, and just not fun to be around. Annie can't even seem to convince her parents that there's something not right about Elsie. She has to find away to get away from her.

One day, Elsie doesn't show up for school and Annie finally gets a chance to gain the friendship of some of the other girls, especially Rosie, the most popular. She becomes friends with the very group of girls that hate Elsie, including Rosie. A few more days pass and Annie wonders how Elsie will take the news when she returns. Will she be mad at Annie or will they stay friends? Will Annie take on the same bullying behaviors her classmates have bestowed on Elsie?

I just have to say--I couldn't put this book down. From start to finish, the narrative had me completely enthralled. I had to know how this story would end and what would come of Annie. The characters are well developed and the book is written well with perfect pacing. There's just enough to keep you turning page after page. I also loved the mention of multiple classic books by Charles Dickens and Lucy Maud Montgomery to name a few.

With that said, I was disturbed and uncomfortable at times. I found this middle grade book a bit scary and Elsie pretty much drove me crazy from the start. It's known that Elsie has demons from her past, some that she hasn't been able to exterminate, which makes her very unstable and evil at times. It was almost more than I could bear. Rosie was also difficult to deal with. She's very cruel and tends to cause problems by calling names and bullying others by chasing them. She's pretty wound up, yet interesting. Some of the girls realize that what Rosie's doing is wrong, but many of them keep their mouths shut because they don't want to deal with the repercussions from her and they want her to remain their friend. They feel pressured to join in and all the while, the teacher doesn't seem to be on top of things and doesn't do anything to put a stop to the behaviors besides making simple commands like, "I won't tolerate this behavior." It's really annoying. While all of this is happening, the flu of 1918 is making rounds. People are dying left and right. Everyone fears that they'll be taken next, but who will it be?

Overall, I think this is a 5-star read that I highly recommend. It kept me interested from start to finish and I was really pleased with the ending. The Afterword was such a nice addition because the author explains where she got some of the ideas for the story which are inspired by true events. I'm excited to check out some other books by Mary Downing Hahn as this was my first.

Thanks for Netgalley for sharing a copy of One For Sorrow in exchange for a review.

5*****

One of my favorite authors of ghost stories is Mary Downing Hahn. This one is one of her best and one that is making its way through all the new grade sevens in our school. Happen to have quite a number of them who love a good ghost story and that always makes me happy.

What I particularly am impressed with is the intricate weaving of several plots and themes that highlighted historical events and times seamlessly.

This story is set in 1918. The time when the outbreak of Influenza was wrecking havoc in the US. Annie, a new girl in school was claimed as a best friend by Elsie, a girl who was teased by the other girls, an outcast. Her classmates call her a tattletale, a liar and a thief. Annie was forced to befriend Elsie, even though it seems like she's the last girl she wants to be friends with. Then, Elsie got stricken with the flu and died. She then started to haunt Annie as revenge for the cruelties she had suffered while she was alive.

This is a story about bullying but in this story it was not so clear who's who--the bullies and the bullied. It seemed that Elsie, who claimed to be bullied by everyone, in a way, deserved it because she was a bully herself. Elsie was a very lonely child, one who was unloved and in need of attention. Only, her way of getting those was forcing it out from someone. Annie was a victim and she was right not to stick with Elsie because she was just a thorn in the side and a force of negative energy no one needs. In the end, all Elsie needed was a friend and a little kindness.

I feel sorry for Annie for having the misfortune of meeting Elsie. If I was in Annie's place, I too would avoid her, but Elsie was just a force all on her own. There was no avoiding her and her wrath, even after death.

I am not sure if I liked Annie at all. In some way, she and her friends have it coming for them because they tormented Elsie to no end. Yes, Elsie had it coming also because she was no model character at all but then, the taunts and teasing should have stopped somewhere. I think it went too much that Elsie also was pushed to the wall and her only way of getting even is to take her revenge, after death. Life was so unkind to her and she should have been kinder but out of depravity, she somehow thought that she was owed something that she must collect.

This is a scary enough ghost story which was written from the author's mom's story. A story fit for children to scare them and teach them of kindness. Whether this story is true or not, it is a good tool to teach kids how important it is to be kind to others. I would definitely pass this on to my nephews, nieces and kids to be. Not to scare them but more to do with what damage bullying can cause.

I give this 3/5 angel statues. The moral of the story is to be kind to everyone. Everyone has her own battles, more so with the bullies. Jealousy is never a good thing. The more you feed it, the more it will control you. Elsie was a deprived and jealous kid that she somehow demanded from Annie attention, friendship and kindness, which in some way, should have been given freely if she were just open to it. I pity Elsie and I hope that no child is as deprived, sad, desperate, jealous and vengeful as her. That somehow, she will find comfort and kindness in life, unlike Elsie.


One Crow for sorrow,
Two Crows for mirth;
Three Crows for a wedding,
Four Crows for a birth;
Five Crows for silver,
Six Crows for gold;
Seven Crows for a secret, not to be told;
Eight Crows for heaven,
Nine Crows for hell;
And ten Crows for the devil's own self.

- Counting Rhyme (from The Folklore of Birds, by Laura C. Martin, 1993) -


Thank you Netgalley for the copy.

I read a lot of Hahn’s books while growing up and I still remember my creepy, spooky feelings as I would lay awake in bed, buried and (hopefully) safe under the covers, thinking about ghosts. One For Sorrow was distinctly less creepy than Hahn’s other books that I read, and creepiness is typically something I want if I’m going to read a ghost story.

One For Sorrow is incredibly well written, which is just what I expected from a veteran author like Hahn. The book is well paced and the characters are vivid.
Hahn certainly knows what 12 year old girls are like: sugar, spice, and everything nice; but also wild, grumpy, mean, and selfish. Theses girls have many faces, they behave (and misbehave) very realistically. I REALLY appreciated that the main character, Annie, isn’t faultlessly good. But she tries... most of the time, which is better than most people in the real world manage to do.

Now, I don’t want to discount the bullying and generally awful behavior in this book. Hopefully young readers will be able to pick up on all the remorselessly nasty things Rosie and her aptly named gang do to terrorize Elsie and her family. Speaking of Elsie, she’s a piece of work. It was agonizing to read chapters in which she was a prominent character, my stress levels rose tangibly, I almost stopped reading the book altogether because I didn’t want to read another chapter full of her pushing Annie around. As a reader I was grateful that Annie got the chance to move on to new friends. Hahn’s ability to control my emotions was impressive, and it was part of the point. Elsie was unbearable and a bully in her own right. It was incredibly hard to pity her or empathize with her, and that’s the mark this book misses. The only character who truly empathizes with Elsie is Mrs Jameson. In the end none of the girls learned much from the events, Annie and Rosie have some regret, but it’s more that they regret that they made themselves targets rather than regret for their deplorable behavior and how it damaged another person. Elsie didn’t learn anything either, up to the end she was a nasty, untrusting brat, but at least her sadness and vulnerability began to show through in addition to her ever present rage. It would have been nice to see the characters reflect on their actions and face their accountability.

Overall, One for Sorrow was well written and quick to read. Young people reading this book would benefit from having a discussion forum of some sort in order to make sense and analyze the characters and their behavior.

This books is a bit too scary for a middle grade reading, although I've loved every single detail about it. I read the book in one sit and I couldn't leave it until I have finished it. I liked the way the author presented all the characterers and the way she lead the story. Everything seemed so real that I even questioned myself. Anyway, great book!

I have not read this yet, and probably won't, because pdf files are a lousy way to try to read books for me. I wish netgalley indicated the available formats before a request is made.

A great read! A mix between different genres that blend perfectly together and with a style of writing that got me hooked from the beginning.

Arriving in a new school, Annie feels out of place. When she meets Elsie, she is forced to become her best friend. Her new friend soon begins to reveal that her character isn’t at all pleasant: she is controlling, spiteful and demanding, but at the same, she is violently bullied. When Annie ends her relationship with Elsie and joins the opposition, things take a turn for the worse: Elsie dies of influenza… and she comes back to haunt Annie. How do you release a vengeful ghost when its anger is aimed at you?

This suspenseful novel is a page-turner with brilliant descriptions and amazing characters.

The setting was very well picked; the reader is taken back to 1918 during the World War I where political tension runs high, the talk of war is current and the Germans are considered the enemy. The descriptions allow the reader to live the story instead of just reading it. The storyline is solid and its depth reveals a few brutal events and behaviours that took place during that time. There is a mix of genres that is perfectly balanced and they all come together to create a historical ghost story.

The novel is fast-paced; I couldn’t find a moment it slowed down even for a moment, one of the reasons the book was so hard to put down.

The characters are the best element in the novel for me. They are very well developed and defined not only in behaviour but also in dialogue and their actions. I must admit I found it impressing that the author managed to do this with so many characters and not once lose track or diminish their presence in the story. Elsie is a character that I couldn’t help but sympathize with. For me, her actions and behaviour show that her lack of attention and acceptance and her loneliness. If she never got anything positive out of human interaction, she wouldn’t know how to actually establish contact in a friendly way in the first place. She has a difficult character, but she was also a victim. Annie is a good main character and she struggles to fit in. In the end, she chooses to be part of the bullies group and it becomes her downfall. She does learn from it though, which was a satisfying point for me. Annie and Elsie are the pole opposites of each other both in personality and behaviour, like good and evil. However, I think the point of the author is that none is really good and no one is really evil, at least not without good reason.

A great read, one that I recommend to all the fans of a good ghost story with historical highlights.

Annie is the new girl at school, she just moved and is a bit stressed about making friends.
But Annie isn't given a choice by Elsie, who the minute she saw the new comer, decided they were going to be best friends.
What Annie didn't know is that her new friend is mean, bossy, highly umbareble and would get her in a lot of trouble. None of the other girls liked Elsie, so, they didn't like Annie either.
It is 1918, and the an influenza epidemic is reaping people, old young, babies and Elsie was one of its victims.
Elsie is dead, and only Annie can see and hear her.. It's just the begining of her worst nightmare.

Usually, I'm not into ghost stories, but in this one, the characters were very developped and very distinct. The narrating was awesome you almost belong to that period, I felt the urge to slap Annie in the first chapters and shoot Elsie in the last ones because man, that litte girl was seriously creepy.

Great read, thanks Netgalley for the copy!

One for Sorrow is certainly an appropriate title for this book--if you are expecting a happy ghost story, this isn't it. I really liked it though. The feeling of dark and macabre never leaves from the first page on.

This book is kind of like a cautionary tale for bullies in some ways. I found it a bit difficult to feel too sorry for Elsie, since she was just as much of a brat as the girls that were treating her like an outcast. Still, I liked the message behind this story and thought it was quite the page turner. I was always excited to see what was going to happen next. I definitely think this book will send chills up the spine of the younger reader that grabs it, it did me.

I liked the way the author portrayed Annie, as a victim in some ways both before and after Elsie began her haunting. In the beginning she wanted to badly to fit in that she would do things that were outside her comfort zone, something all of us have probably done when we were younger at some point. Although book was set in the early part of the 1900's, I still thought the characters were very easy to relate to and I also liked the way it ended.

Overall I thought this was an excellent book and would recommend it to younger readers and older ones, too.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.