Shadows on the Wall

Fans of ghosts, fantasy, history and haunting writing will find a gem in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's "Shadows on the Wall," the first book of the York trilogy. Dan Roberts is unexpectedly plucked from his everyday life for a vacation in York, with his parents. He's delighted by the vacation, but puzzled by how his parents are acting. One minute they are gushing and effusive, the next cold and silent. He soon discovers why: His father has found that their familiy has a hereditary nerve disease called Huntington's Disease, which his father might have -- and might have passed on to him.As Dan struggles with the knowledge that he might have a terrible disease, that might affect whether he can marry and have kids, he encounters a friendly cab driver named Joe Stanton, and a group of mysterious gypsies led by Ambrose Faw. The strange ways of the gypsies are intermingled with visions of Roman soldiers, and a mysterious feeling of dread that Dan gets every now and then. He is inclined to think the visions and dread are hallucinations -- but Joe sees them too...Haunting writing abounds in this novel. Without a single word of dialogue, Naylor can provoke feelings of dread, mystery, sadness, fear, and surreality. Her dialogue is unpretentious and thoroughly ordinar, as you would expect a teenage boy and his friends and parents to talk; yet the reader can detect the undercurrents of emotion underneath them. Atmosphere is expertly done, especially in scenes with the gypsies. Their differences are noted but not judged, and she does a good job with Dan's reactions to such things as the casual planning of a funeral before the person is dead.It's also interesting that she wove together two different kinds of "haunting." Dan is haunted by his fear of having Huntington's Disease, a very realistic fear. At the same time, we view Joe and Dan both seeing visions of the past, such as a mute gypsy boy momentarily transforming into a lime-covered primitive tribesman, or the face of a Roman appearing in a pond.This book is the first of a trilogy, and it shows. Though it can be considered a standalone story in its own right, it nevertheless has a feeling of "to be continued" on the last pages. And there are threads left dangling that undoubtedly are picked up in the second and third book.Fans of ghost stories will undoubtedly enjoy this book, and race to read "Faces in the Water" and "Footprints at the Window."

The back of the book:fifteen-year old Dan Roberts is confused about alot of things. Why did his parents decide they must suddenly take a juoney to York, England and why have they been acting so stangely since they arrived?Beyond that, what is the sense of doom and draed Dan gets that Dan himself feels as he approches certain ancheint ruins in the City? Are the moving shadows he sees on the walls real, or just is he beginning to lose his mind?And what of his new friend, the cab driver Joe Stanton, And their enconters with the gypsies? When they're together a stange sensation takes hold of Dan as the distant past melds with the present and dreams become reality.If that doesnt intrige you what will?

You may never have heard of this book, but it's swell. It'sabout a boy named Dan who goes to York and goes through a mystery. Itjust kinda ends, but it's an awesome book!