Synopses & Reviews
American millionaire Hiram C. Hopgood will stop at nothing to make his daughter, Helen, happy—even if it means buying her an ancient Scottish castle and shipping it back to Texas. Assembling the castle isn’t a problem for the oil tycoon . . . it’s the ghosts that worry him. Hopgood has made up his mind: the ghouls have got to go. But these spirits don’t spook so easily. Instead, they make their way to America, where they meet up with a magical severed hand and three fiendish, cross-dressing kidnappers for a Texassized adventure with a ghostly Scottish flair.
Review
"Combine a quintet of homesick Scottish ghosts, a Texas millionaire and his sickly daughter, the impoverished last scion of the Clan MacBuff, and trio of fascistically inclined malefactors, and you get a terrifically tongue-in-cheek outing!"—
Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
American millionaire Hiram C. Hopgood will spare no expense to make his daughter Helen happy, even if it means importing a castle from Scotland. Alex MacBuff, the twelve-year-old former owner of the castle, accompanies Mr. Hopgood to Texas to oversee the rebuilding of his beloved Carra, and he befriends Helen in the process. Little do the children know that Carra's ghosts have followed Alex and are living in the movie theater next door! Colorful characters&150both dead and alive&150will be found around every corner in this madcap adventure with a plot as twisty as a castle's corridors.
About the Author
Eva Ibbotson, born Maria Charlotte Michelle Wiesner (21 January 1925 - 20 October 2010), was an Austrian-born British novelist, known for her children's books. Some of her novels for adults have been successfully reissued for the young adult market in recent years. For the historical novel Journey to the River Sea (Macmillan, 2001), she won the Smarties Prize in category 9-11 years, garnered unusual commendation as runner up for the Guardian Prize, and made the Carnegie, Whitbread, and Blue Peter shortlists. She was a finalist for the 2010 Guardian Prize at the time of her death. Her last book, The Abominables, was one of eight books on the longlist for the same award in 2012.