Annie is the new girl in town. On her first day at school she is befriended by a girl who seems desperate for a friend and who, it's quickly obvious, does not get along with any of the other girls. Finding it hard to tolerate Elsie's over the top, forceful invasion into her life and the negative attention hanging around with her gets, Annie is desperate to find a way to get out from beneath her shadow and make friends with whom she wants.

When Annie finally drops Elsie to become friends with Rosie and her best girls, Elsie is none too happy. To make matters worse, Annie's new friends love to tease and torment Elsie. As a new member of the group she too finds herself joining in on the bullying. Annie feels guilty, but at the same time righteous indignation after the way Elsie has tried to worm her way into her life. Then the Spanish Influenza starts claiming victims and soon, Annie finds herself haunted by a vindictive and spiteful ghost who won't leave her alone.

One for Sorrow was a good, fast paced ghost story for young readers. Set in 1918 it's a different time and place from today, but the comradery and hateful school yard antics are not unfamiliar. Sadly, this concept of bullying is timeless which is why I think young readers will find the theme easily relatable. Hahn has a great way of portraying her characters so that you can see both the good and bad in them simultaneously. This makes it easy to believe they're real because they're all flawed, and while this is a spooky ghost story it's nothing too scary.

As an adult I really enjoyed this book. I liked that the author used her own mother's background as inspiration to start this story because, while I believe the ghost aspect was purely made up for the purposes of this story, it readied the stage for a fun read set in a time I'd not previously spent much time investigating. It seems maybe just this simple historical base will encourage young readers to invest in discovering a little more about the days gone by and therefore open up a whole new world to them beyond the one they see outside their own front doors.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me this review opportunity.

I really enjoyed the historical setting of this ghost story. Elsie was throughly unlikeable and I really felt sorry for Annie, even if she was mean to Elsie. I think my older students will enjoy this spooky read.

This book was download only, and I find it difficult to have the time to read books on my desk top. I did not notice that in the description. I'm very sorry that I will not have the time to read it in that format.

Mary Downing Hahn is an author I quickly give to any Middle School student asking for a ghost story or wanting to be scared by a wicked (evil) story. I never hesitate as she has never disappointed. Her newest book, One for Sorrow: A Ghost Story, can fall onto the genre of Fantasy as well as dabble in the area of Historical Fiction. The flu epidemic of 1918 was a reality for the United States and, thanks to flu vaccines, one our young readers are not well acquainted. Within 24 hours of flu symptoms, its victims were dead. A simple black wreath would adorn the front door of the deceased allowing neighbors to know the house was in mourning. A tragic time in our country and one not taught often as it was shadowed by the oncoming of World War II.
One for Sorrow gives us Annie, an only child who has recently moved to a small town. Annie is immediately greeted by Elsie who demands instant friendship. At first Annie is appreciative of the friendship until she realizes Elsie is a social outcast and not liked by anyone. Elsie is mean to Annie, but has instilled the fear of God in Annie if she vacates the friendship. The other girls, lead by Rosie, play the games Annie likes and seem to be having fun, but Annie knows better than to leave Elsie despite her mean spirit until the week Elsie is missing from school. Annie flees the friendship, joining the other girls performing an alliance in the taunting and cruelty towards Elise.
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. It isn't until theygo to the wake of Elsie when Annie discovers she is being haunted by Elsie's lost soul. Annie is taken away to an insane asylum in hopes of removing Elsie from her life, but instead she does mean and cruel things to poor Annie.

I just couldn't connect with this story. I didn't find it realistic for the time period. The characters were hard to like. This one just wasn't for me.

In the mood for a good ghost story… the kind told around a blazing camp fire? A ghost story that will keep you looking in corners and jumping at every noise for a couple of days? “One for Sorrow” is just that! This book is set in the midst of the influenza epidemic in 1918 and is written for ages 10 – 12/grades 5 – 7.

Annie moves to a new school and is immediately befriended by an outcast, Elsie. Things take a turn quickly when Annie realizes there is a reason that Elsie does not have friends and the other girls taunt her. Annie soon dumps Elsie and joins the “cool” girls who taunt Elsie. Elsie contracts influenza and subsequently dies as a result of the other girls’ actions. Elsie does not “move on” and decides that Annie owes it to her to be her best friend forever!

I had a couple of issues with this book, but 10-12 year olds won’t even think about them. First, Annie had been to Elsie’s house before. She would have known it was her house and not been surprised when approaching her coffin to see her in her home. Second, Elsie alluded to the fact the thri vamily was poor, but they owned the town butcher shop. Perhaps times were tough because of the war… And, why, when Annie is being taunted by a ghost, would she be reading “The Woman in White”?

Remember, this is a children’s book ages 10-12. Should not be super scary. For that age group, it is a perfect read.

Release/Publication Date: July 18, 2017

Genre: Children’s Books (Age Level: 10 - 12 Grade Level: 5 - 7 )

Cover: Perfect!

Source: I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thanks you!

Rating: 4 stars

First Line: Although I didn’t realize it, my troubles began when we moved to Portman Street, and I became a student in the Pearce Academy for Girls, the finest school in the town of Mount Pleasant, according to Father.
Summary: Annie is a young girl in 1918. World War I is still raging in Europe and the Spanish Flu is spreading across the United States. When Annie starts at a new school she meets a strange girl, Elsie, who instantly claims her as her friend. Annie discovers that Elsie is not liked by the other girls in the class. She is picked on and teased by others which make Annie a target now too. But when Annie befriends the other girls in the school and drops Elsie things get worse. The flu finally hits Mount Pleasant Annie’s new friends decide to pretend to be mourners and attend funerals in order to receive free treats. When they attend one funeral they are shocked to see that it is Elsie’s. She had succumbed to the flu after the girls had teased her and taken away her flu mask. All the girls feel terrible about what happened but when Annie receives a concussion from a sled ride she starts to see Elsie’s ghost. And she is not happy.
Highlights: This is spooky. I read Mary Downing Hahn’s books when I was younger and remember them being scary. Even now as an adult I was a little creeped out by the character of Elsie. It was also a history lesson. I have read and seen many shows that depict the time of Spanish flu but this makes it more real and scary too. To think how many people died and how quickly it happened can be a little terrifying.
Lowlights: I got really annoyed with Elsie. The repetition of her obsession with Annie kept dragging on. This I am sure is what the author intended since she is the villain of the story.
FYI: May be too scary for younger readers.

3.75 Stars
A spooky middle grades ghost story that's set in America at the end of WWI. The plot reminds me of the older Scary Stories series and it's a page-turner. Think Twilight Series for a younger audience. An unhappy girl who was bullied dies during the influenza epidemic and one of her surviving classmates is the MC. Does she see her ghost or is she going crazy? A thrilling historical ghost story for kids.

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Cannot review as I cannot find an app to open the file, and I've tried many.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

It reminded me a great deal of Susan Hill's "Woman In Black" - skilfully creepy and suspenseful.

I found my character loyalties and sympathies changed throughout, which made for an interesting experience. That isn't to say the characters aren't well developed... quite the opposite. They are complicated, woven fabrics showing different intricate patterns under different lighting. Like real people.

The language and setting were also well handled. As was the context which didn't feel like a bolt on or a history lesson.

Why not 5 stars then? Well, I like my horror stories to be left open at the end so you finish them still terrified. That said, for this age range, perhaps it's best that it isn't.

One for Sorrow is an old school horror story with a ghostly theme. The story opens with cruel children, and by that I mean tinged with Shirley Jackson-levels of meanness, taunting Elsie, a German-American girl during WWI, just before the infamous Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. The meanness of these little girls, which is quite heavy-handed, spurs Elsie's lingering ghost status, after she succumbs to the flu due to misadventure, because of the mean girls. The protagonist of our story, Annie, is eventually quite remorseful, due to her being haunted and her recognition of her former status as a decent, kind little girl. I'd have to say that there were not many likeable characters here. Even Jane, a sweet child, was all too easily peer-pressured into cruelty.

This book felt oddly written in terms of language and style for the period. While the author clearly anchored the time period with WWI and Woodrow Wilson, I felt the language and manners were not very typical of the period. People simply didn't speak this way, especially not children to adults, in this era. Little girls wandering on their own or in groups, out in public, without an older child, seems very out of character for the time, unless the town was very small. Likewise, the rather sketchy attention to dress, interiors, and even Annie's father's car was peculiar. (Cars were still an unaffordable novelty for many in 1917. Why no model, color, description?) There was a pronounced lack of detail. I'm not sure whether the author was worried that descriptive information would weary middle grade readers, whether she was exclusively focused on the child's perspective, ignoring pertinent details, or whether she simply didn't research the period in depth. Given the dialogue, I wonder if it was more of the latter.

It isn't a bad ghost story. But I wish it had been a richer one.

Annie gets a friend as soon as she enters her new school. At first, she is relieved to have a friend (Elsie) so quickly but then realizes that it might be a mistake. Why? She is asked by the popular girl, Rosie why she is friends with Elsie? She doesn't know what say. When Elsie is absent from school, she becomes friends with Rosie and her group of friends. Elsie comes back to school and is angry when Annie isn't her friend anymore. When the flu hits the town, everyone is afraid of catching it as many die when they get sick from the flu. Elsie catches the flu and dies. Elsie haunts Annie. She makes Annie do things and say things she doesn't want to. Annie doesn't know what to do, no one believes that Elsie is tormenting her. Will Annie be able to stop Elsie?

This novel talks about the historic time of the Spanish influenza and how it affected people. It also brings up the subject of bullying indirectly besides a girl feeling unloved because her mother died giving her life. Her father blamed the girl for her mother's death. It is not an easy book to read in that the terror Elsie did to Annie was awful. The author did an excellent job of writing this historical novel. It is a book to start a conversation about the time period and what the Spanish influenza did to the country.

Unfortunately, I am unable to read the book in the format that is provided for download. I read on a kindle paperwhite which doesn't support Protected PDF files. Would it be possible to get a mobi copy via either the send to kindle option being made available or by email?

In my world, a book by Mary Downing Hahn gets an automatic pass to the top of the TBR pile. When I was a teacher I read Wait Til Helen Comes to almost every class of 4th and 5th graders that I had. The Old Willis Place is another of my favorites as is Took. I have found some in recent years to be not as good but there still have to be read.

So... this one. The beginning was very much like some of the others. You have Elsie who is not very nice trying to befriend Annie a new girl. Annie is able to "escape" Elsie's clutches and makes friends with some other girls. The other girls are not nice to Elsie at all - in fact they are downright bullies. The book takes place in 1918 / 1919 during the Spanish Flu epidemic and Elsie catches it and dies.

But wait - that's only the 1st third of the book. Soon Elsie's ghost is back haunting Annie and making her do terrible things. How can Annie get rid of Elsie and can Elsie ever find what she is looking for?

I did like the ending and the plot picked up and separated itself from some others in short order. I anticipated the ending but it was good and offered a promise of healing and redemption. I kind of wish it had been more like the ending of Wait Til Helen Comes with a bit more closure but then it would have been too similar.

I did have a few small issues. The Pledge of Allegiance was mentioned several times. While the original pledge was introduced in 1892 it has changed wording several times since then and was not formally adopted til much later. I think it would have been good to add that historical context or the wording at least once in the book.

I did enjoy the book overall and its creepiness will ensure that students will like it too.

One for Sorrow is either an expertly written book or a very bad book. I have waffled back-and-forth on whether the author, Mary Downing Hahn, intended to make the characters so unlikeable the reader would find them abhorrent. If this was the author's intention, she has done a fine job of creating characters that are mean, nasty and spoiled. That includes the character Elsie who received a pretty bad rap in life and was forceful in creating a friendship with Annie Browne. I found the characters so off-putting I really wanted to quit reading the story. I slugged it out and finished the book.

As ghost stories go it was a mildly creepy tale.

The positive things I can write about One for Sorrow is the ending is a bit better than the beginning. The historical research is excellent and the book covers a subject not often written about the influenza pandemic that took place at the end of World War I.

The intended reading audience is for ages 10 to 12. I don't think I'd want my children reading this book at that age.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

Thanks for granting my wish, you can't imagine how excited I was when I got the mail.

I love Mary Downing Hahn's books, and so I was looking forward to this one. But sadly.... I just can't finish it. Elsie is just the worst character. She is mean, rude, a leech, and sorry, am I supposed to feel sorry for her or something? Because frankly I just wanted her be erased from the story. What a pest. :|

Yes, what Annie did wasn't nice, she should have been honest, but then again, I feel that Elsie might have murdered Annie for that. :|

So yeah, this book and I didn't work. Sorry. :(

'One for Sorrow' is a deliciously creepy, old-fashioned ghost story for middle-grade readers. I loved the historical setting, and the fear of the influenza of 1918 lent the story a nice, frightening atmosphere. The characters were surprisingly complex, and one can't help but be both sympathetic and horrified by Annie and her friends. I think many of my students who often request 'scary' books would appreciate this one; it would make a nice addition to our school's library.

Annie has been "claimed" by Elsie a telltale and liar. But Annie wants to be friends with Rosie the popular girl so she breaks away and starts a journey she may not like.

Set against the backdrop of a influenza outbreak this ghost story is brilliantly written. It uses classic elements, bullying, death, and switches them to make something new and creepy.
A great read for both adults and young adults.

Thank you netgalley for letting me read this.

I have ADORED Mary Downing Hahn's books since I stumbled upon Wait Til Helen Comes in my elementary school's library. My friends and I checked it out over and over, shivering with fear every time the main character ended up haunted. I continued reading the rest of Hahn's oeuvre that was available in the library, and fell in love with her historical fiction and coming of age stories like Stepping on the Cracks and Tallahassee Higgins. Hahn has always been a treasured writer of mine and I am thrilled to say she is still writing and her new book is fantastic.

One for Sorrow is a good combination of Hahn's various book styles - it is a ghost story, coming of age story, and historical fiction novel all rolled up into one. It is set during WWI and the Spanish Influenza epidemic in America, but the setting/era and characters (especially Annie, the main protagonist) are very approachable for readers. I did not find it "old-fashioned" or "outdated", though it had an appropriate number of historic touches. I especially liked the inclusion of jump rope songs, which morph eerily into a haunting refrain that appears again and again throughout the book.

I don't want to spoil too much, but this is a solid story. Young readers who like a little bit of spookyness (without over the top supernatural nonsense) or stories about drama among friends will really enjoy this. I would say this would be best for late elementary school or middle school. If you like any of Hahn's other books, you won't be disappointed here.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Thanks for granting my wish!!)

What happens when the girl you've made fun of dies of influenza? Why she comes back to haunt and punish her tormentors, of course! A cautionary, ghostly tale indeed.