Beware of Long Lankin, that lives in the moss. . . .When Cora and her younger sister, Mimi, are sent to stay with their elderly aunt in the isolate...
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reviews
Feb 02, 2012
Bonnie
rated it: 
Date Posted: 1/4/2012
Expected Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Long Lankin was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Candlewick Press.
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
'Everything was all right until they came.'
The Storyline
When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to live with their Great-Aunt Ida, it is clear from the start that they are neither wanted nor welcome in her house. For the time being the children must sta More...
Expected Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Long Lankin was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Candlewick Press.
Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!
'Everything was all right until they came.'
The Storyline
When Cora and her little sister Mimi are sent to live with their Great-Aunt Ida, it is clear from the start that they are neither wanted nor welcome in her house. For the time being the children must sta More...
6 comments
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(9 people liked it)
Jan 31, 2012
Jo
rated it:
"I look over at the bed. I should lie down for a nap, get rid of this thick headache, but I hear things when I'm half asleep and they give me goose pimples. You're supposed to be able to die from fright from a nightmare, but I don't think these things are nightmares. I think they're real."
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Um… yeah, just going to make sure my window is closed properly. And double glazed. And bolted… twice. But I can’t help feeling a tad underwhelmed but I’m More...
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Um… yeah, just going to make sure my window is closed properly. And double glazed. And bolted… twice. But I can’t help feeling a tad underwhelmed but I’m More...
2 comments
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(7 people liked it)
Sep 22, 2011
Book Chick City
rated it: 
7/10 on the blog
"Long Lankin" is a really good debut novel from new author Lindsey Barraclough and is based on an old traditional poem that's actually quite gruesome. However, I'll just give you a snippet...
The novel certainl More...
"Long Lankin" is a really good debut novel from new author Lindsey Barraclough and is based on an old traditional poem that's actually quite gruesome. However, I'll just give you a snippet...
Let the doors be all bolted and the windows all pinned,
And leave not a hole for a mouse to creep in.
The doors were all bolted and the windows all pinned,
except one little window where Long Lankin crept in.
The novel certainl More...
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(2 people liked it)
Feb 04, 2012
Kirsty (overflowing library)
rated it: 
Long Lankin was a uniquely creepy read and one of the most original YA novels I have ever read. It is a stunning debut novel.
Long Lankin is a story about two sisters who are sent to their Great Aunt's to live. At first it seems like a story which is quite sad a bit of a comment on th social situation the children have found themselves to be in, in the 1950s but as the story develops it becomes so much more. It is told in first person and the person narrating chops and changes through More...
Long Lankin is a story about two sisters who are sent to their Great Aunt's to live. At first it seems like a story which is quite sad a bit of a comment on th social situation the children have found themselves to be in, in the 1950s but as the story develops it becomes so much more. It is told in first person and the person narrating chops and changes through More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jan 03, 2012
Carole
rated it:
Wow! It's quite some time since I read a book that kept me reading so intensely. I quite literally didn't want to put it down - it was compulsive reading AND it had me so creeped out I didn't dare stop.
Playing on childish fears that you had forgotten about - movements in the shadows, the whisper of voices in the wind, the fear of strange places and old houses with locked doors - and mixing them with the chilling eeriness of witchcraft and folk legends, Long Lankin scares you in a subtl More...
Playing on childish fears that you had forgotten about - movements in the shadows, the whisper of voices in the wind, the fear of strange places and old houses with locked doors - and mixing them with the chilling eeriness of witchcraft and folk legends, Long Lankin scares you in a subtl More...
Feb 10, 2012
Chelsea
rated it:
Wow what a wonderful book this was! It had me reading well into the night. The story is set in 1958 and Cora and Mimi have been dumped with a great aunt. The house is falling apart around them and Aunt Ida wants nothing more than to send them packing back to London. The small isolated village is full of history and dark legends, particuarly regarding a certain terrifying man named Long Lankin who has been around since the mid 1500s. The adults are rather tight-lipped and fearful about the past a
More...
May 25, 2011
Kara-karina
rated it:
What a scary and beautiful children story. My God, last twenty pages I was tense, I felt sick in the stomach and I couldn't stop reading this nightmare. Wow!
The book starts very slow. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not from the start, but give it at least 50 pages and you won't be able to get away.
Linsey Barraclough shows poor England of 1950s, where 2 little girls' dad had to send them away to the countryside to their great auntie Ida, because he just couldn't look after them More...
The book starts very slow. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not from the start, but give it at least 50 pages and you won't be able to get away.
Linsey Barraclough shows poor England of 1950s, where 2 little girls' dad had to send them away to the countryside to their great auntie Ida, because he just couldn't look after them More...
Oct 22, 2011
Tanja
rated it:
4.5*. This is a wonderfully creepy horror story which exceeded my expectations. I wasn't sure what it was the first 100 pages or so. Cora and her little sister Mimi are unceremoniously dumped on the great aunt Ida in the countryside. Their mother is gone - we find out were, eventually - and their father has to work and doesn't have anyone who can take care of them. Aunt Ida is vehemently against the children staying with her and the restrictions on what they can do have no end.
Cora i More...
Cora i More...
Nov 24, 2011
Skyla (Happy Go Lucky and Lost in Books)
rated it:
The folk song that "Long Lankin" is based upon is what that used to scare the living daylights out of me as a child. There was this old cave in the woods near where I grew up and the children used to say that was where Long Lankin lived and even to this day I can't go to close to that cave. Every time I go home I step a little bit closer to the cave but I have yet to get any closer than maybe 10 - 15 feet away the memory of all those terrifying stories I was told still make me want to
More...
Jan 15, 2012
Lindsay
rated it:
Wow, I really enjoyed this book.
The story was creepy. The setting was well-realized. And more than anything else, the voice of the children rang true. I loved Cora and Roger, I loved the way they spoke and thought, and I think Barraclough created entirely realistic young children. The Long Lankin story was scary and gross and really well explored, with the insight of various characters from different time periods.
I think writing from a child's point of view has to be one of t More...
The story was creepy. The setting was well-realized. And more than anything else, the voice of the children rang true. I loved Cora and Roger, I loved the way they spoke and thought, and I think Barraclough created entirely realistic young children. The Long Lankin story was scary and gross and really well explored, with the insight of various characters from different time periods.
I think writing from a child's point of view has to be one of t More...
May 01, 2011
Natframpton
rated it:
Long Lankin is a great read. A real spooky story.
Cora and Mimi are sent to stay with their Aunt Ida and it doesn't take long to realise she doesn't want them there. Though it's not clear yet quite why she doesn't want them there.
The story is written from 3 characters POV, Cora, her new friend Roger and partly Aunt Ida which is great to be able to read each ones versions of events.
I instantly liked Cora and Roger and took a dislike to Ida for reasons which are obvious if you More...
Jan 22, 2012
Robin
rated it:
Fans of gothic horror will find a lot to like in Long Lankin. Told on three voices, the story starts at creepy and ratchets up the tension with every chapter. Set in rural, post-war England, Cora and her little sister, Mimi, are sent to live with Aunt Ida in the decaying family manse, Guerdon Hall. They soon make friends with two brothers from the village, and the mystery as to why every window in the house is nailed shut, begins to build.
Ghostly children, tidal swamps, long dead priests, c More...
Ghostly children, tidal swamps, long dead priests, c More...
Jun 06, 2011
Caroline
rated it:
This book came out of nowhere and took me completely by surprise. Rich, eerie and thrilling, the story overtakes your senses... and makes you regularly turn around to check if your window is still closed.
Cora and Mimi are being sent to live with their Auntie Ida after their mother leaves home and their father can't take care of them by himself. They arrive in the very isolated village of Bryers Guerdon and on one side make friends with local boys Roger and Pete but on the other receive More...
Cora and Mimi are being sent to live with their Auntie Ida after their mother leaves home and their father can't take care of them by himself. They arrive in the very isolated village of Bryers Guerdon and on one side make friends with local boys Roger and Pete but on the other receive More...
Dec 11, 2011
Brett
rated it:
I absolutely loved Long Lankin. Right from the word go you're sucked in to a well woven tale, told beautifully from t he perspective of the main characters Cora and Roger. When the scary bits come along, you're so wound up in the story that you've hardly noticed the time passing. The story is pretty scary, and you may find yourself double checking the windows before you go to sleep. The young adult component of the story doesn't trouble much (I'm not a YA fan) so don't let that dissuade you from
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Sep 03, 2011
Stevie
rated it:
The story was slow to get going, and I may have missed a couple of clues that were referred to later. Although flicking back I couldn't find the references either, so perhaps the characters found information 'off screen' in spite of the depth of detail covered for each day of the story. There were a couple of points where I got confused over location details too, so perhaps a map would have been useful (I've mentioned elsewhere about loving books that include maps).
I'm not feeling insp More...
I'm not feeling insp More...
Feb 12, 2012
Valentina
rated it:
What an interesting read! This was definitely a different story, full of gothic atmosphere and frightening scenes to keep you reading long into the night…and then lying awake because your too scared to turn off the lights.
The story begins ominously, with two sisters who are left by a friend of their dad’s to live with their aunt, Ida. From the very beginning, we think there is something strange about the whole place where they’re sent to live, with a dilapidated, abandoned church nearby th More...
The story begins ominously, with two sisters who are left by a friend of their dad’s to live with their aunt, Ida. From the very beginning, we think there is something strange about the whole place where they’re sent to live, with a dilapidated, abandoned church nearby th More...
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May 13, 2011
Carly
rated it:
If you haven't heard me raving and raving about this book for MONTHS then, well, you probably don't follow me on Twitter. I am utterly obsessed with Long Lankin. You know how long I was waiting to read it? SIX MONTHS. I was first told about it at the first Random House Bloggers' Brunch and from that moment I was obsessed. OBSESSED. I pined for it daily until finally, in January of this year, the gorgeous ladies at Random House finally took pity on me and gave me a copy. VICTORY.
There More...
There More...
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Apr 12, 2011
Sammee
rated it:
Not only was Long Lankin one of those books I wanted to reread as soon as I'd finished it but I also wanted to thrust a copy into the hands of everyone I know and demand they read it. The story is as creepy and atmospheric as the cover suggests and I completely and utterly fell in love with it.
The story begins with Cora and her little sister Mimi arriving in Bryers Guerdon to stay with their Aunt Ada. It soon becomes apparent that their Aunt does not wish for them to stay with her, More...
The story begins with Cora and her little sister Mimi arriving in Bryers Guerdon to stay with their Aunt Ada. It soon becomes apparent that their Aunt does not wish for them to stay with her, More...
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Jul 06, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
When Cora and her sister Mimi are sent from their home in London to stay with their aunt in an isolated country village they aren't exactly welcomed with open arms. Their aunt makes it quite clear that she doesn't want them there and she is determined to send them back in London as quickly as possible. Although the girls make friends with local children Roger and Pete they are confused by their aunt's attitude towards them. The longer their visit lasts the more strange things they notice happ
More...
Feb 12, 2012
Aly
rated it:
Builds a great atmosphere, does Barraclough. In fact, this is the first book I've read in an awfully long time to bleed into my dreams... yep, I had a nightmare thanks to an evening spent in the world of Long Lankin.
It's well written, the settting and world of the novel meticulously and vividly drawn. The change in pov is paced and clear. There's a movie-like climax and ending - the whole novel would translate well into a movie, in fact. There are some genuinely creepy moments and eeri More...
It's well written, the settting and world of the novel meticulously and vividly drawn. The change in pov is paced and clear. There's a movie-like climax and ending - the whole novel would translate well into a movie, in fact. There are some genuinely creepy moments and eeri More...
Feb 05, 2012
Emma
rated it:
This was beautifully written, and highly evocative of a time not that long ago, but which seems distant and alien. Not a huge amount happens for much of the book, but I'm not complaining. In fact, the slow, nostalgic earlier sections were what I liked best. I felt that the final part, where things start to happen, wasn't quite as powerful as it could have been, or as what had gone before. I preferred the feeling of vague but creeping dread to the actual reveal of what's there.
Feb 07, 2012
Libby
rated it:
I thought It was soo interesting and spine chilling. It is so well written and the poem that it opens with is so entising and perfect for the book. I give kudos to Lindsey Barraclough good job!
Aug 22, 2011
TMJ
rated it:
Slow start but becomes so creepy that the hairs will stand up on the back of your neck. Beware of Long Lankin who lives in the marsh.
Jan 30, 2012
Jordyn{readingmonster}♥ Zombielicious♥
rated it:
Publication date: July 2012
Eh...this was a decent read, had its creepy moments. Review to come closer to release date
Eh...this was a decent read, had its creepy moments. Review to come closer to release date
Feb 22, 2012
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