The Ghost in the Glass House by Carey Wallace (review)

In the three years since her father’s death, twelve-year-old Clare has been forced to tag along behind her high-society mother, flitting from resort to resort as her mother uses her wealth and freedom to fully enjoy the height of the Roaring Twenties. At their latest temporary home, Clare finds comfort with Jack, a ghostly boy who haunts a mysterious locked glass house behind the estate. Unfortunately, even Jack’s kisses and tenderness can’t protect Clare from the cruelty of the town’s other privileged children, and Clare finds herself the target of Bridget, her former best friend, when she attracts the attention of not one, but two, well-off boys. The mystery behind Jack’s death and his haunting isn’t nearly as engrossing as the emotional warfare waged here by Clare’s other friends; basically abandoned by their wealthy parents, Bridget and her cohort mimic the selfishness and greed they’ve seen and give kudos to those who can be the most hurtful, all while playing the game with manners and postured civility. Their amorality throws Clare’s innocence into sharp relief, making her even more appealing as she attempts to negotiate the shark-infested waters between childhood and adulthood. The plot rambles quite a bit, however, with an ambiguously violent episode serving as the climax and a sudden, completely unmotivated turnaround by Clare’s mother providing an unexpected resolution. An odd but romantic ghost story, this might appeal to readers who were drawn to the darker undercurrents of The Secret Garden but who are not quite ready for the Brontë sisters.