The Final Nightmare

House on Cherry Street #3

by Rodman Philbrick, Lynn Harnett

The house on Cherry Street stood high on a hill, surrounded by shadows. It was a rambling old place, a decaying mansion - and it was watching us. Something was in the house, waiting. Something no longer alive...

Jason and Sally are all alone in the house on Cherry Street. All alone in a house that wants to hurt them - and which knows just how to do it.

Genres: Horror, Childrens, Middle Grade, Paranormal, Ghosts, Young Adult, Mystery

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Aka William R Dantz, Chris Jordan, W.R. Philbrick.

Rodman Philbrick grew up on the New England coast, where he worked as a longshoreman and boat builder. For many years he wrote mysteries and detective novels. The Private Eye Writers of America nominated two of his T.D.Stash series as best detective novel and then selected Philbrick's 'Brothers & Sinners' as Best Novel in 1993. Writing under the pen name 'William R. Dantz' he has explored the near-future worlds of genetic engineering and hi-tech brain control in books like 'Hunger', 'Pulse', 'The Seventh Sleeper'. And 'Nine Levels Down'.

Inspired by the life of a boy who lived a few blocks away, he wrote 'Freak The Mighty', the award-winning young-adult novel, which has been translated into numerous languages and is now read in schools throughout the world. The book was adapted to the screen in 1998 as 'The Mighty', starring Sharon Stone, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini, Kieran Culkin, and Elden Henson.

Philbrick, a screenwriter as well as a novelist, is the author of a number of novels for young readers, including 'The Fire Pony', 'Max the Mighty', 'REM World', 'The Last Book In The Universe', 'The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds' and 'The Young Man And The Sea'. His recent novels for adults include 'Dark Matter', 'Coffins', and 'Taken'. He and his wife divide their time between Maine and the Florida Keys.

Reviews

[BRANDON · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my first review of this series, The House on Cherry Street is one book, one haunting, one story that was chopped into three books to make it more approachable to pintsized readers. I have to say I was surprised by the plot twist in the final book. It elevated a fairly typical haunted house story into something quite unnerving and more than a little ghastly.
After I had time to sit and ruminate, I really found the ghostly element of this story to be absolutely perfect. Bobby's chase and death repeated each time the broken clock chimes in the night was poignant and undoubtedly horrifying to witness. The unfocused poltergeist activity and strange nighttime occurrences were a little confusing but they paid off in the end.
I'll admit, I found the witch's ghost storyline a little bit redundant and tacked on right up until the last moment when everything made sense.

[Mrs. Bolduc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a read aloud with my students - we had already read the first two, so we had to finish the trilogy. It's a decent read for middle schoolers, though it would work better for elementary. The story ends nicely and all the mysteries are solved.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not very good I didn't like the ending. The other two books were awesome but this one was the biggest let down ever! The ending was so crappy!

I like Rodman Philbrick, I really Like Freak The Mighty it's a good book but I think he should stick to the non-mystery instead of writing mystery books.

[Attila Benő · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final part of the trilogy, where everything is revealed. Can the children survive the summer? A great and exciting ending, and I feel kind of sad that it ended because I'm left with wanting more, more, more...

[Kayla Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

definitely scary :)

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spooky book series for kids, enjoyed when I was younger. Helped inspire a love for reading.

[Jeanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good series.