Review: One for Sorrow

Oct 15, 2018

One for Sorrow One for Sorrow by Mary Downing Hahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was my first read by Mary Downing Hahn. It will not be my last. I loved her writing. It was very simple but she told the story very clearly. I could just see the world in my head.

The year is 1918.

We are met with a new girl, Annie, that moves to a new town and starts a new school. On day one, she meets a girl named Elsie. Elsie proclaims that she and Annie will be best of friends. She doesn't give Annie the chance to make her own choice. Elsie did not like the other girls and she did not want Annie to hang with them. The other group of girls begin to make fun Annie for hanging out with Elsie. Now to me personally, Elsie was a bully. She was rude and you just wanted her to go away but you see the scene where she is bullied at the swing set, you almost feel sorry for her. Elsie was very selfish with Annie and she did not want to share her friendship and she let Annie know that from day one.

When Elsie was out a for a few days sick from school, Annie made friends with the other group of girls and then the tables turned. Elsie was then being bullied by the girls. Things took a turn for Elsie one day one the park when she was bullied and they girls took her flu mask away from her.

There was an outbreak of the flu in the town the girls lived in and people began dying off due to the outbreak. This is not a spoiler, but Elsie later passes from the flu.

Just when the girls thought they were free of Elsie, Annie crashes in to her grave while playing with the other girls and it wakes Elsie up. She has come back to proclaim her friendship with Annie that she first wanted the day Annie arrived in town.

The story continues on with Elsie tormenting Annie's life and she is out to get her and the other girls for what they did to her that day in the park.

This is a middle grade/children's book but is somewhat dark. I do recommend this as a read. I really enjoyed the child like aspects of the book.

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