Rating: 
Summary: Creepish
Review: All she knows is that she's a ghost, one of four oddball sisters. She doesn't know which one, or what's wrong with her.
I though this story was rather good, although when the ghosts identity switches it gets rather confusing. I don't recommend this book to you if you get sqeamish from blood-- at one point in the story is describe in (too) great detail how the boys intentionally give themselves nosebleeds. I found that the story took a very long time to work up to the climax, and there was a very undeveloped conclusion, as though the author just wanted to end the book. If you could rate the books with half points, I would rate it 3.5
Rating: 
Summary: One of her "experimental" books
Review: Although I usually LOVE this author, I thought that this book was sort of weak. The plot could be confusing, and required me to go back and read previous bits all the time. In addition, I found the characters to be a little strange. The sisters act like nasty old adults at the beginning, and I was pretty far into the book before I realized that they were supposed to be kids. By the time I figured it out, I had to go back and re-read the whole thing in order to understand what was going on. Then, suddenly, they WERE adults. The sudden appearance of the occult stuff was a little jarring, too.If you want a challenging book and like stories that mess with the space-time continuum, then maybe this book is worth a read. Unlike her Chrestomanci series, this is NOT a kids book. It contains domestic violence and occult practices, as well as a few other things that might be questionable. However, they are appropriately done, so the book is fine for YA.
Rating:
Summary: One of her "experimental" books
Review: Although I usually LOVE this author, I thought that this book was sort of weak. The plot could be confusing, and required me to go back and read previous bits all the time. In addition, I found the characters to be a little strange. The sisters act like nasty old adults at the beginning, and I was pretty far into the book before I realized that they were supposed to be kids. By the time I figured it out, I had to go back and re-read the whole thing in order to understand what was going on. Then, suddenly, they WERE adults. The sudden appearance of the occult stuff was a little jarring, too. If you want a challenging book and like stories that mess with the space-time continuum, then maybe this book is worth a read. Unlike her Chrestomanci series, this is NOT a kids book. It contains domestic violence and occult practices, as well as a few other things that might be questionable. However, they are appropriately done, so the book is fine for YA.
Rating: 
Summary: complex, compelling read
Review: Anyone who's ever read one of Jones' books knows that she doesn't talk down to kids. This is perhaps the darkest book she's written (though some of the others are nearly as dark, notably _Aunt Maria_, _Fire and Hemlock_, and _Eight Days of Luke_). The ghost-protagonist is by turns amused and frightened by the strange family she encounters; that she knows it is her own family only compounds her confusion.
The four sisters who make up the main cast are richly drawn and complex characters. Neglected by their parents (who ironically spend all their time caring for the pupils of the boys boarding school in which they all live), the girls spend their days in rough-and-tumble squabbles and eerie, spooky, game-playing. In addition to the sisters, the story is enlivened by secondary characters: the boys from the school and the neighbor kid who thinks they're all pretty strange.
The plot twists come thick and fast, enough that it may be a bit much for younger kids or less-than-enthusiastic readers. Still, the payoff is good, as the story comes to a satisfying (but by no means "storybook") conclusion. Warnings to the squeamish: the kids really are _not_ cared for by any of the adults around them - the neglect borders on abuse. There are some fairly explicit depictions of nosebleeds, sibling-on-sibling violence (intentional and unintentional), scary "witchcraft" and rituals, and the manipulative and sometimes cruel boy-girl relations of the kids (and in some of the time shifting sequences, young adults) in the group. I recommend this (and all of Jones' books) highly.
Rating:
Summary: complex, compelling read
Review: Anyone who's ever read one of Jones' books knows that she doesn't talk down to kids. This is perhaps the darkest book she's written (though some of the others are nearly as dark, notably _Aunt Maria_, _Fire and Hemlock_, and _Eight Days of Luke_). The ghost-protagonist is by turns amused and frightened by the strange family she encounters; that she knows it is her own family only compounds her confusion.
The four sisters who make up the main cast are richly drawn and complex characters. Neglected by their parents (who ironically spend all their time caring for the pupils of the boys boarding school in which they all live), the girls spend their days in rough-and-tumble squabbles and eerie, spooky, game-playing. In addition to the sisters, the story is enlivened by secondary characters: the boys from the school and the neighbor kid who thinks they're all pretty strange.
The plot twists come thick and fast, enough that it may be a bit much for younger kids or less-than-enthusiastic readers. Still, the payoff is good, as the story comes to a satisfying (but by no means "storybook") conclusion. Warnings to the squeamish: the kids really are _not_ cared for by any of the adults around them - the neglect borders on abuse. There are some fairly explicit depictions of nosebleeds, sibling-on-sibling violence (intentional and unintentional), scary "witchcraft" and rituals, and the manipulative and sometimes cruel boy-girl relations of the kids (and in some of the time shifting sequences, young adults) in the group. I recommend this (and all of Jones' books) highly.
Rating:
Summary: Scary Read
Review: Charlotte (Cart), Selina (Sally), Imogen and Fenella Melford had a tugging contest over a rag doll. The doll lost and was ripped into quarters. Cart felt guilty and sewed the doll back together. Then to make it up to Monigan she invented the Worship of Monigan and awakened an ancient goddess whose out for blood.
Sally's spirit travels back into the past after her boyfriend Julian Addiman, also a Monigan worshipper, throws her out of his speeding car. Sally, possibly due to the trauma of this incident, can't remember who she is. As things start to come back to her, she tries to influence her sisters to fight Monigan or the goddess will claim Sally's life on July 17th, as promised 7 years earlier.
This is a very dark story that deals with mature subjects like domestic violence, parental neglect, dark occult worship etc. I thought the plot was very original but a bit confusing when Sally didn't know who she was yet I kept reading because Jones peaked my curiosity. I wanted to know what was really going on. This book starts out rather slow but it just draws the reader into the story.
Rating:
Summary: A Combination of Laughter and Fear
Review: I didn't find the book confusing, it does make you dizzy but no more so than any of her books. I think the book is very very funny in many ways, from the bowl of blood with all the boys queueing up for 50p with nose bleeds etc. The girls' father is also an amusing factor, not unlike the ogre in "The Ogre Downstairs" without the humour, and the way he constantly forgets their names, "Sally, Fenella er, Ingrid." and has to speak at least three before he gets the right one is entertaining. The book does have the underlying menace that Wynne Jones is famous for, and Monaghan is a creepy force. The end of the book is also slightly daunting, and one feels sorry for the 'sacrifice' in some ways. I enjoyed the book, it is a change from some DWJ's usual stuff and that may surprise readers and leave them disatisfied if that is what they expect, but if you keep an open mind I think you'll enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Confusing, but it gets better
Review: I found this book very hard to start as it was very mysterious and hard to keep track of the characters, and the ghost, who at first has no name. Once I got about halfway through I enjoyed it a lot more as the story became more exciting and the ghost's mission became clear. I thought the four sisters were very intresting characters and in parts the book was quite sinister and chilling. It's not my favourite book, and you have to be quite a good reader to keep on with it but it does improve as you go on.
Rating:
Summary: a good book, but not her best
Review: I have come to expect a consistently terrific story from Diana Wynne Jones, and this story is no exception. In it she sets a creepy mood and immediately jumps into the story, tossing the reader puzzle pieces so the reader can figure out what is going on even as the characters do (something she does incredibly well.) Not a scene is wasted. The story is tight and without the 200 pages of material which should have been edited out that you'll find in many fantasy novels nowadays. Although the reader may be confused at times, it's because the situation is confusing to everyone involved and not because it's poorly written, not at all. My quibbles would be that the story is rather dark at times in theme and tone, and that the characters other than the narrator are difficult to like at first. The parents have no redeeming features, although it seems like she tries to give them some toward the end. It's not lighthearted at the end, and readers of some of Diana Wynne Jones' other titles may be startled by this. The ending is very satisfactory, but again, it's a bit dark. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fantasy set in the modern world, or who likes to solve mysteries along with the characters. But I would also recommend not looking at the cover, as that hideous face kept me from actually reading the book for about six months.
Rating:
Summary: Complex yet confusing
Review: I love DWJ book,s but I find this one somewhat disappointing. It is more sinister than her others and lacks their light charm. The plot is extremely complex and the first time I read the book I did not understand what happened at all. After a second read it becomes somewhat clearer, but it still remains rather foggy and hazy. And the characters are simply bizarre.
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