Thank you to Barrington Stoke for an Advance Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

From the author of historical children’s novels The Skylarks’ War and the Swallows’ Flight, Hilary McKay’s new children’s book Jodie follows a quiet, displaced girl on a residential field trip to a haunted salt marsh. Aside from the grey landscape and eeriness of the setting, another thing puts her on edge: the little dog barking, that nobody else seems to hear.

This book is so good at showing rather than telling – nothing is ever spoonfed to the reader. McKay doesn’t waste time with bundles of exposition, the repetitive chapters common to some children’s books about the character’s friends and family and ‘normal’ life. Instead the reader is thrust straight into the mystery within the first couple of pages. The author has achieved that rare thing of leaving readers on an early cliffhanger and then contextualising it without making you too impatient in the meantime.

The scene-setting of this book is also magnificent. Jodie describes ‘Watery mud, reflecting the sky. Ancient mud. Mud split into jigsaw-puzzle pieces by creeks filled with water.’ There are lines like this throughout, so visual and evocative that one can’t help but feel as if they’re there with her. A chill goes up the spine at the image of this cold, grey, mirror landscape, part saltwater and part mud. You can hear the barking across the marsh, feel the whipping of the wind and the songs of the marsh birds. You instinctively want to get out and yet never want to leave. This is all brought further to life by Keith Robinson’s lush illustrations – even in greyscale they help even more to picture the scenes.

Speaking of grey, another strength of this book is that the characters all occupy a grey area – nobody is fully good or bad. Sometimes those you thought were bad turn out to be good – sometimes those who think they’re being helpful aren’t. Many of the grownups in Jodie mean well but are ignoring what Jodie needs – and many of the other girls seem unwelcoming, but in fact all have their own quirks. Rather than falling into the trap of making Jodie’s peers perfect and popular in comparison to her, they’re all unique and are not villainised needlessly. This book portrays its friendship dynamics well – it feels realistic to the social landscape of a girl Jodie’s age, who isn’t sure how to navigate people and who often just wants to be left alone, even by too-helpful grownups.

It is a difficult thing to write a ghost story for an audience of this age without being underwhelming or overly frightening, but McKay has definitely hit the sweet spot here. Jodie is published by Barrington Stoke in digital format (4 May) and print (18 May). As with their other titles, it is printed in a dyslexia-friendly font with visually accessible layouts.

I loved this! Beautifully written in short, accessible sentences, the story moves at a great pace, just right for the target audience. Hillary McKay has created a thoroughly believable character in Jodie, enabling us to feel her loneliness and fear of interacting with her classmates. I liked the fact that Hillary has avoided making the other girls mean and spiteful. Instead, they are a group who are ready to make space for Jodie, and willing to wait until she is ready too. There are kind children around, and it is refreshing to see this reflected in the story, rather than the all too familiar trope of unkind girls eventually getting their comeuppance. Hilary McKay has crafted a setting that is richly described and contains her trusted blend of history and mystery. I think the school residential setting will really appeal to and reassure the reader, and the upbeat ending is lovely. I’m left wanting to know more about this group of friends, and hoping for a sequel!

Jodie is a spine-tinglingly haunting and eerie ghost story that kept me enthralled throughout. Utterly compelling, and so beautifully written.

Jodie is on a residential trip to a field centre with others from her school, but she does not want to be there. She has been through a lot, and is a loner at school, so spending time with others on the residential is the last thing she wants. Against the rules, she goes out alone to find a little dog who has been constantly barking and finds herself trapped in an old pickup truck which has been stuck in the cold, thick mud of the saltmarsh – and the tide is coming in! Will anyone hear her screams?

The story then goes back in time to Jodie’s arrival at the field centre and shares how she has found herself in her current situation. What has led to her running from the centre? Can she find a way to save herself, and free both herself and a trapped soul?

This is not only a hauntingly poignant ghost story, but also the story of a young girl struggling to find her voice again after so much difficult change in her life including her brother being sent to prison, losing her home, and having to move to a place where she does not know anyone. She feels like she doesn’t belong and seeks places where she can be on her own, away from having to interact with others. Can she find her voice – and friendship- with the girls she has to share a room with? I really liked the friendships between the other girls which felt natural and real, and was really hoping that Josie would open herself to the possibility of finding friendship with them.

The structure of this story, with its use of different timelines, really drew me in, and I loved the slow reveal of clues, the building of tension and the revelations which really added to the haunting atmosphere.

The illustrations are absolutely stunning, and complement the haunting, isolated atmosphere of this novella perfectly. The images of Josie are heart-breaking and really show her loneliness and pain, her feeling of being apart from others. This contrasts with the joy and closeness shown in the illustrations of the friends she is sharing a room with. And the final illustration – just perfect!

Jodie is a masterfully written ghost story that is both poignant and hopeful, a story of finding your voice … a powerful and stunning read for 9+.

I am a huge fan of both publisher Barrington Stoke and author Hilary McKay, who does not normally write ghost stories, so I just had to read Jodie and was not disappointed. Barrington Stoke specialise in ‘High/lo’ books which are a combination of dyslexia friendly and have high interest plots but are aimed at children with slightly lower reading ages. In recent times they have published some outstanding novels and two of their novels got to the later stages of the 2023 Carnegie Medal and even won it a couple of years ago with Anthony McGowan. Jodie is a ghost story with a very light touch and is more of a character study or a young girl who has a lot of personal (and family) problems and is very isolated at school and is supported by a very kind teacher. As the whole story is set on an overnight school trip, any genuine child reader would quickly tap into the nervousness and anxieties Jodie feels, especially when she realises the supportive teacher will not be there.

Once the class arrive at the field centre Jodie immediately isolates herself from the rest of the group, feeling trapped and alone she wanders around on the salt marshes. Whilst avoiding the girls’ dormitory, her idea of a nightmare, she hears a dog barking but is unable to pinpoint where it is coming from and sees nobody apart from a strange old woman. This was an eerily atmospheric ghost story, with Jodie unaware of the dangers of the tide and sucking mud as she tries to locate the obviously scared dog. I really enjoyed how the resolution of this played out on both levels, both supernatural and Jodie coming out of her shell. It’s amazing how a book which can be read in an hour can be so satisfying, but that is exactly what Jodie does. AGE RANGE 8/9+

'Jodie' is a brilliantly atmospheric ghost story for older primary and younger secondary readers. Jodie begins the story by telling us that she is on her own in an abandoned pick-up truck in the middle of a saltmarsh creek. She is on a residential field trip and has gone off by herself, and is now trapped. We then learn more about how Jodie has ended up in this predicament - feeling isolated in her new school, meeting a mysterious old lady and hearing a dog barking - but McKay keeps us guessing to see if Jodie will be rescued and how.

Like all Barrington Stoke books, this a short but compelling read, designed to be accessible to less confident readers but engaging for all. As well as giving us a suspenseful ghost story, McKay explores young people's experiences and insecurities in a sensitive and nuanced way: for instance, Jodie's brother has been sent to prison and her family have had to use food banks, and another girl in her dormitory still wets the bed but this is something that is accepted and understood by her friends. I really liked Jodie's narrative voice as it gives us a perspective that is not often heard - a child who doesn't talk much but listens a lot. The conclusion is sweet and quietly moving without being overly sentimental, showing how children can move from thoughtlessness to kindness.

Keith Robinson's deceptively simple and eerily evocative illustrations also deserve recognition as they reinforce the haunting feel of this story. This is a great addition to Barrington Stoke's catalogue and will be enjoyed by lots of young - and older - readers. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an ARC to review.

Not yet used to her new school, Jodie feels excluded and miserable when her class goes on a field strip and she's forced to share a dormitory with other girls.
The pull of being alone on the salt marshes is strong. And where is the little dog that keeps barking so mournfully…? But the marshes are dangerous. Would anyone notice if Jodie got into trouble?

'Jodie' is a gentle and beautiful story about feeling alone and having the courage to speak (Jodie is a listener) to connect with others. The setting of the eerie salt marshes is perfect for the spooky feel of the story and breathtakingly illustrated by Keith Robinson.

Thank you so much to Barrington Stoke and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Jodie is on a school field trip, feeling really alone she ventures out to find the barking dog she keeps hearing, but as the tide around her rises she finds she get stuck with no way to get out.

This was so good, it had a slight eeriness to it and the setting was so dense and the perfect setting. The salt marsh was really Interesting and with the lost truck stuck out there made the story that much more enthralling as you want to know how it got there, how Jodie is stuck there at the start and is trapped in it got me hooked on the story instantly.

Jodie was such a captivating protagonist to me, the quite but serious ones always get to me the most. She was such a quiet and forgotten character, but she was there just listening knowing everything, observing more of what was happening. She didn’t want to feel alone but her loneliness lead to something more unique and an eerie adventure for her and only her happens.

I loved the illustrations Keith Robinson is always one of my favourite illustrators he has such a unique design, one that always stands out, especially in an eerie haunted book, they are just so stunning and perfectly encaptures the setting, making it even more eerie as you go through the pages.

I absolutely loved this book, it was such an incredible eerie read, the characters were all so fascinating, so realistic, I really loved the progression of the story and the setting just made it even more perfect. I highly recommend this book, it will grip you, you’ll be so intrigued and so hooked and wanting to know more.

Sometimes it is what is not said in a story that has the most impact and poignancy. Hilary McKay tells the story of Jodie who having moved to a town and new school now finds herself at a residential school centre by some field marshes. Jodie prefers to be alone and goes walking; she meets a curious elderly lady who appears to be searching for her dog. Not long after Jodie hears the dog and sets off to track it down but soon discovers it is trapped within half sunken pickup truck in the marshes. Her attempt to rescue the dog reveals to her that all is not as it seems but also unaware to her, some of her school friends - who she doesn’t feel connected to- realise that Jodie is in danger, This is a story of loneliness, listening and trying to find a place to fit in with…. And ultimately friendship can appear when least expected. This is a short novel but Hilary McKay takes into Jodie’s world and reveals a depth. Keith Robinson’s illustrations provide heightened awareness, sensitivity and beauty. This is a perfect independent read for 9-12 or a wonderful short class read that will open up lots of discussion. Another winning book from Hilary McKay