The innocence of childhood,
the unknown of adulthood,
and the search for forgiveness . . .
Emily Stewart is the girl who ... read full description
the unknown of adulthood,
and the search for forgiveness . . .
Emily Stewart is the girl who ... read full description
reviews
Jul 20, 2011
karen
rated it: 
i seem to have a knack lately for choosing perfectly average books to read...
this is a book i failed to win as a firstreads giveaway (hhmph) but was still interested in. so i guess i'm not displeased that i didn't win, because i might have felt churlish giving a lukewarm review to something given to me for free, and had to live with the bad feeling that would have left in my soul. as it stands, i only have to feel a little bad. i can live with that.
so this is a historical no More...
this is a book i failed to win as a firstreads giveaway (hhmph) but was still interested in. so i guess i'm not displeased that i didn't win, because i might have felt churlish giving a lukewarm review to something given to me for free, and had to live with the bad feeling that would have left in my soul. as it stands, i only have to feel a little bad. i can live with that.
so this is a historical no More...
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Jul 23, 2011
Staci
rated it: 
First thoughts after finishing this book: Hmmm....that was interesting and creepy.
What I liked about the book:
the author really created a sinister, dark atmosphere. So if you're looking for that type of read this one is it.
I couldn't decide if I liked Michael or not. Part of me kept thinking he was an evil, twisted child!
Emily- she was born a wise, old soul. It was interesting to watch how she internalized and really thought about how her so-called " More...
What I liked about the book:
the author really created a sinister, dark atmosphere. So if you're looking for that type of read this one is it.
I couldn't decide if I liked Michael or not. Part of me kept thinking he was an evil, twisted child!
Emily- she was born a wise, old soul. It was interesting to watch how she internalized and really thought about how her so-called " More...
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Jan 08, 2012
Nora
rated it:
"The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead" by Paul Elwork was a very interesting historical fiction novel. This story takes place post World War I and ends in the beginning of World War II. The main character, Emily, whose father father was killed in World War I, discoveres a hidden talent, she can secretly crack her ankle so that it sounds like it is coming from another part of the room. Her twin brother, Michael, wants to use this talent to convince the neiborhood kids that they can co
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Jun 30, 2011
Heather
rated it:
The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead
This is not a ghost story; it's about lies and the living ...
Reviewed by Heather Stone
Author: Paul Elwork
Publisher: Murdoch Books
Published: April 2011
Price: AU$29.99
Format: Paperback 310 pp
Category: Fiction
Can you, or do you know anyone who can crack their knuckles, or perhaps their toes? I could once crack my big toe joints quite loudly. This question is relevant just i More...
This is not a ghost story; it's about lies and the living ...
Reviewed by Heather Stone
Author: Paul Elwork
Publisher: Murdoch Books
Published: April 2011
Price: AU$29.99
Format: Paperback 310 pp
Category: Fiction
Can you, or do you know anyone who can crack their knuckles, or perhaps their toes? I could once crack my big toe joints quite loudly. This question is relevant just i More...
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Jun 10, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
This was a fun read for the start of summer. Elwork did a good job of keeping the mood eery and giving the reader a sense of isolation, but the plot was engaging enough that I wanted to keep reading while I simultaneously dreaded finding out what would happen. I also appreciated the reflection of how complicated life and all of its relationships can be. As Mary says in the book, "Life is never as simple as everyone thinks it is." This might have been reinforced, though, if the chil
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Apr 05, 2011
Rachel
rated it:
One day in 1925, 13 year old Emily Stewart discovers that she has an unusual ability – she can secretly crack a joint in her ankle that sounds like a mysterious knocking sound. Emily and her twin brother Michael decide to put on little performances for the neighborhood children and convince them that these “spirit knockings” are coming from a teenage girl who drowned nearby several years before. Word of these spirit knockings spreads and soon adults wanting to connect with dead loved ones of the
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Apr 01, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by Paul Elwork
This was a rather creative idea put into writing, and turned into a fun and entertaining read! The book is about a scheme two precocious thirteen year old’s concoct to entertain, and spook the neighborhood children, by convincing them that the main character, Emily, can contact the dead. Like most childhood schemes, adults eventually find out, and Emily finds herself in predicaments deceiving adults and learning some of their deepe More...
This was a rather creative idea put into writing, and turned into a fun and entertaining read! The book is about a scheme two precocious thirteen year old’s concoct to entertain, and spook the neighborhood children, by convincing them that the main character, Emily, can contact the dead. Like most childhood schemes, adults eventually find out, and Emily finds herself in predicaments deceiving adults and learning some of their deepe More...
Mar 27, 2011
Felice
rated it:
~~Sigh~~ The Girl Who Would Speak For The Dead. Love the title. Love the cover. Love the book? No. Deep like yes, but love? No. I would have loved it at 14 but not at 14 + a couple decades.
The genesis of the storyline is compelling. It's summertime 1925 and thirteen year old twins Michael and Emily are b-o-r-e-d. They have the luxury of boredom. Their family is well off and they have acres of freedom to enjoy. During the course of their idleness Emily figures out that by bendi More...
The genesis of the storyline is compelling. It's summertime 1925 and thirteen year old twins Michael and Emily are b-o-r-e-d. They have the luxury of boredom. Their family is well off and they have acres of freedom to enjoy. During the course of their idleness Emily figures out that by bendi More...
Apr 23, 2011
Julie H.
rated it: 
Broadly speaking, The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead is a novel about wealth, social responsibility, privilege, family secrets, and guilt. But above all, it's about guilt--both the guilt we acknowledge and try to atone for and the guilt that is never owned. The bulk of the action spans the summer of 1925 into the following winter, but contains numerous forays into the Stewart family past--both through narrative flashbacks and through the results of 13-year old Emily's clandestine visits to
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Jan 05, 2012
Ellen
rated it:
This book is about a girl who can make a strange clicking sound with her ankle and pretends she is speaking to ghosts. While that is kind of the main story arc, it is also about her messed up family through the generations starting with her great-grandfather and down to her parents. Mostly they are a bunch of deeply unhappy people.
While I generally don't like to read about unhappy people, these ones didn't bother me too much. Maybe because we only check in with them and their lives in More...
While I generally don't like to read about unhappy people, these ones didn't bother me too much. Maybe because we only check in with them and their lives in More...
Jul 27, 2011
Lyndsey
rated it:
So I just won this one in the first reads giveaway and I can't wait to read it. I've really been into the ghost books here lately for some reason. Oh, also - the title reminds me' so much of Speaker for the Dead. I really miss Ender. Looking forward to this book! Full review to come.
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May 23, 2011
Brittany
rated it:
Michael and Emily are thirteen-year-old twins. When Emily shares with her brother that she can make a haunting knocking sound with her ankle without visibly moving it, he starts to think they could use this talent for something. So they start small "communing to the dead" in front of some of their friends; then to some older ladies who find them a complete delight. All too soon though, Emily sees that there may be repercussions for pretending to speak for the dead.
This book More...
This book More...
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Mar 31, 2011
Jessica at Book Sake
rated it:
This story focuses more on Emily than Michael, following her around most of the time. She is a charming character who wants to do the “nice” thing while aware that she is doing the wrong thing. Other characters in the book, the ladies that they show Emily’s “spirit knockings” to and their tutor to name a few, were featured and made bright spots to what could have been an overly dark story. I would have liked to have seen more of these characters as they seemed to have a lot of stories to tell.
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Mar 28, 2011
Grief is a tricky thing. It can cause someone to give up, to barricade oneself behind closed doors and remove oneself from the world as a way to compensate. Conversely, it can cause one to romanticize the past, to view a relationship through rose-colored glasses and consider past situations as better than they actually were. Yet, no matter how one reacts to grief, the one overarching issue that everyone has is the lack of closure. It is this need for closure in which the Stewart twins find thems
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Mar 16, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
Shortly after their thirteenth birthday (in 1925), Emily and Michael start holding seances (for lack of a better word) with the neighborhood children. Emily's found that she can crack her ankle in such a way that nobody can see it move and it sounds like a knock. They call them "spirit knockings" and the children all agree to not tell their respective parents or family members. But, of course, that ends up not being true.
I really enjoyed this story, which is a combinatio More...
I really enjoyed this story, which is a combinatio More...
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Apr 01, 2011
Rain
rated it:
Sometimes with little knowledge in a book can go a long way. I won this book off of GoodReads FirstReads and I was so excited and super pumped up because this was the first book I ever won off of GoodReads. When I read the synopsis, I knew that this book was going to be some ride. The premise of a girl who can make a cracking sound with her ankle and then start using that to fool other people into thinking that she can contact the dead was just a unique concept. I just had to read it. (I tried t
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Mar 31, 2011
Carol
rated it:
I love the opportunity to read debut fiction. I love the thrill of discovering a new and up and coming author ahead of the pack. When I was offered an ARC of The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by Paul Elwork, I jumped at the chance. That it was published by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, a publisher I respect, was the icing on the cake.
Do you believe in ghosts? At the heart of this book, there are certainly those that do. Emily Stewart and her brother, Michael, thirteen year old twins More...
Do you believe in ghosts? At the heart of this book, there are certainly those that do. Emily Stewart and her brother, Michael, thirteen year old twins More...
Nov 09, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 30, 2011
Imogen
rated it:
I really liked the concept for 'The Girl Who Would Speak For The Dead', and I enjoyed the era in which it was set. While mainly taking place in 1925, the novel did backtrack a bit to include stories from the early 1900's and well as the late 1890s. I did not however, enjoy Paul Elwork's novel as much as I thought I would. After all the hype that surrounded the book on it's release I was excited to see how the novel would turn out, but I was quite disappointed. The ending I found extremely unfin
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May 04, 2011
Jan
rated it:
This novel, based upon the Fox sisters of Upstate New York, who were instrumental to the spiritualism movement of the late 19th century. Thirteen-year-old Emily discovers that she can make a loud rapping noise with her ankle that appears to come from nowhere. Her brother Michael comes up with the idea to use that talent to as a trick to persuade others that she can communicate with the dead. Their plan, at first, amuses them, but when grief stricken neighbors start asking Emily for help in co
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Feb 03, 2012
Kim
rated it: 
Emily and Michael are 13 year old twins. They are rich and bored and Emily can make a popping sound in her ankle that they use to pretend to be talking to spirits. Adults get involved, mayhem ensues, everyone has a dark secret, blah blah blah.
I think this book was recommended to me as a good character driven novel. I did not find it to be that. It is character driven, but the characters are poorly developed. The peripheral characters are really poorly developed, so much so that it was More...
I think this book was recommended to me as a good character driven novel. I did not find it to be that. It is character driven, but the characters are poorly developed. The peripheral characters are really poorly developed, so much so that it was More...
Aug 26, 2011
Kandes
rated it:
Eh.. I'm not quite sure how I rate this. I'd say maybe 3 and a half. I thought it was an interesting story but the author kinda built up to this amazing ending and kind of left all these loose ends. That's how I felt anyways. I definetly fell in love with some of the characters though. I loved Emily & Mr. Holt & Mary. I thought Mrs. Stewart was a little annoying and Michael was a bit of an ass. And another thing I didn't like was the title and the synopsis were a bit misleading. It sort of makes
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Aug 25, 2011
Sara
rated it:
It sounded really great. But it put me off almost immediately. In a foreword, the author explains that he ripped the whole story off of a pair of sisters in upstate New York in the 1920s and apologizes that the story inspired him, but that he didn't quite do it justice and he begs the reader to forgive him. I really can't appreciate an author with no confidence.
The story is weak, and it is VERY based on the Fox sisters and relies on boredom and unexplained coincidence (a ridiculous an More...
The story is weak, and it is VERY based on the Fox sisters and relies on boredom and unexplained coincidence (a ridiculous an More...
Sep 08, 2011
iubookgirl
rated it:
So I think I'm hooked on Amy Einhorn Books. This is the third book from the imprint I've read, and I've yet to be disappointed. What I like most is that these book's aren't my typical fare. I like them not because of genre - and all three are very different on that count - but because they are so well-written and so personal. The stories they tell strike a chord with me. But enough about the imprint, let's get to The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead.
The Girl Who Would Speak for the De More...
The Girl Who Would Speak for the De More...
Feb 22, 2011
Lauren
rated it:
This felt like a book that couldn't decide what it was - the intergenerational saga of an unhappy family, the coming of age of a young girl, the isolated grand house, the ghost whispering, the wise and helpful Negro. It never felt like it quite gelled - maybe too many bits.
But I liked the way Elwork explored the transition of a young girl and the suggestion that with her adolescence came a senstivity to loss and death that reached beyond the parlor tricks she and her brother were en More...
But I liked the way Elwork explored the transition of a young girl and the suggestion that with her adolescence came a senstivity to loss and death that reached beyond the parlor tricks she and her brother were en More...
Jun 12, 2011
Sara
rated it:
I heard about this book through the FirstReads giveaways awhile back and put it on my to-read list. The title is great, the story sounded interesting, and now that I finally checked it out of the library to read... well, it was a little disappointing.
Emily and Michael are 13-year-old twins; after Emily discovers she can make a strange noise with her ankle, they decide to capitalize on this talent and put on shows in which they supposedly communicate with the dead, her invisible ankle More...
Emily and Michael are 13-year-old twins; after Emily discovers she can make a strange noise with her ankle, they decide to capitalize on this talent and put on shows in which they supposedly communicate with the dead, her invisible ankle More...
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Feb 06, 2012
Krista
rated it:
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads
I found myself pacing this read. I would put it down faster than any other reads, but also found myself picking it up again faster, wanting to know what happens. The book is split into sections and we learn about several different families and the way the war/death/sickness and daily lives have impacted them. The majority of the book we are following twins, Michael and Emily who have decided to spend their long summer days tricking t More...
I found myself pacing this read. I would put it down faster than any other reads, but also found myself picking it up again faster, wanting to know what happens. The book is split into sections and we learn about several different families and the way the war/death/sickness and daily lives have impacted them. The majority of the book we are following twins, Michael and Emily who have decided to spend their long summer days tricking t More...
Jul 05, 2011
Karen
rated it:
I loved the beginning ideas of spirit knocking. The lies that were told to adults and games children play not realizing they can do extensive damage. THe lead in kept me reading. But by the end it became very predictable and the writing was not as good as in the beginning it started strong and fizzled quick. I had to finish it to see if I was right sometimes it gets blahhhh in the middle of a story and picks up again. It was ok.Instead of...
"I see dead people" ... this is "C More...
"I see dead people" ... this is "C More...
Mar 27, 2011
Kimmie
rated it:
I won this book from the Goodreads "Giveaway". I was excited to be one of the winners. The short summary given for the book was very interesting.
Twins Emily and Michael have just turned 13. They live with their widowed mother in her family's generations old home with their maid Mary. Emily and Michael begin a show of spiritualist parlor tricks for their friends and it begins to spiral out of control. During this time, Emily begins to learn more of her mother's history More...
Twins Emily and Michael have just turned 13. They live with their widowed mother in her family's generations old home with their maid Mary. Emily and Michael begin a show of spiritualist parlor tricks for their friends and it begins to spiral out of control. During this time, Emily begins to learn more of her mother's history More...
Nov 21, 2011
Heidi
rated it:
This book has all the atmosphere of a good ghost story, without actually featuring any ghosts. Thirteen-year-old twins Emily and Michael invent a sort of game or performance in which they convince others that Emily can speak to ghosts, but the book ends up being much more about family, grief, death, forgiveness and memory. It was more touching than I expected. I found it interesting, too, that I could enjoy a book so much when I didn't really relate to any of the characters.
