Thornhill

by Pam Smy (author)

Hardcover, 2017

Status

Checked out

Due 12-11-2022

Call number

813.6

Genres

Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels and Comics

Comics

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Accelerated Reader

Publication

David Fickling Books (2017)

Description

"Parallel plotlines set in different times, one told in text and one in art, inform each other as a young girl unravels the mystery of a ghost next door"--

User reviews

LibraryThing member PeggyDean

The disclaimer first: I am not a huge fan of either ghost stories or graphic novels. Even so, I found Thornhill to be compulsively readable. As a Youth Services Librarian I will be happy to have this to recommend to the scary story crowd. With a spooky orphanage as the setting, Smy uses alternating

narrators from different timelines. The 1982 story-line is written in text; the 2017 plot is told entirely with gray tone illustrations. This format would be perfect for reluctant readers, but the story has a much broader appeal with themes of bullying, loneliness, and friendship. I will be purchasing this for my library and recommend it for readers age 8 and up.

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14 more

LibraryThing member lilibrarian

In 1982, Mary lives in an orphanage that is being shut down. Slowly, all the girls are being re-homed. Her entire time there, she has been bullied by one popular girl, a story told in her diary which is left behind after she dies. In 2017, Ella moves into the house next door. Her story is told in

illustrations, as she searches the abandoned grounds and finds old dolls which she updates and returns for the girl she sometimes sees wandering the grounds.

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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco

Pretty creepy book! From the cover art to the end! There are two stories in here, one set in 1982: Mary is a lonely orphan at the Thornhill Institute For Children at the very moment that it's shutting its doors, and one set in 2016: Ella, who is a lonely child that lives near Thornhill.
Told in

alternating, interwoven plot lines Mary's through intimate diary entries and Ella's in bold, striking, creepy, art! Sort of in the style of "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick, but with a darker feel and story line. I mean, you have an emptying institute, creepy puppets, and two sad,lonely girls. Yeeshh... But I liked it, and the style and story work - creepily!

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LibraryThing member bibliovermis

This ghost story, told in pictures in the present mixed with epistolary journal flashbacks, is spooky and unsettling. It's about loneliness, and neglect. Like many ghost stories, and unlike many books for the middle-grade age bracket, it doesn't exactly have a happy ending. But it's perfect for a

reader who would rather have a creepy shiver down the spine.

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LibraryThing member seasonsoflove

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The words tell the story of Mary, an orphan who lived in Thornhill as a ward of the state before it was shut down. The pictures tell the story of Ella,

who finds herself alone in the house across from Thornhill after her mother passes away and her father loses himself in work.

The pictures were so striking, and really captured the eeriness of the story. The use of first person narration through Mary's diary made everything feel very immediate, just like it felt to both Mary and Ella. This book definitely grabbed me, and flew by.

I found not having any words with Ella's side of the story did make things a little confusing for me. I occasionally had trouble following what was going on.

This would be a great read with fall coming up, especially as Halloween draws near. It could scare younger readers, but it definitely has a captivating spooky tale to tell that can pull in adults as well.

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LibraryThing member Maydacat

Mary is an unhappy orphan, living at Thornhill in the 1982. Ella is a lonely teen, living in 2017. One story is told in prose, the other only in pictures. Ella has recently moved next door to the old abandoned Thornhill building, and she soon becomes fascinated by what happened there. Their lives

become intermingled and connected in an unexpected way. But the story doesn't end there. With a definite "Twilight Zone" aura about it, this tale is a unique combination of bittersweet happiness and tragedy. Masterfully written and illustrated, this book may be intended for young adults, but it will appeal to older adults as well. Don't miss it.

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LibraryThing member ad_astra

Honestly, I worry a little about kids reading this book. It centers on bullying, a timely topic that so many kids are dealing with today. I had high hopes for the ending but felt it was very problematic instead. I'm just fine with endings that are complex and make you think - everything does not

have to be neatly tied up for me to enjoy a story.

However, in this book the "bad guy" ends up winning and the "good guy" basically becomes a "bad guy" and turns into a most unlikable character. I didn't understand a lot of the character development of the caretakers and the storyline with Ella didn't always make sense either. It was definitely an unsatisfactory read for me.

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LibraryThing member AliceaP

Just to show how long I've had some of these books on the back burner, today's book was actually read around Halloween of this year. Thornhill by Pam Smy immediately caught my attention because of its stark black and white illustration on the cover (and the black edges of the pages). This is one of

those times that the cover was not misleading as to the artistic style found within the graphic novel. Reminiscent of Brian Selznick, the art was done with pen and pencil and was entirely black and white. That definitely helped to lend a creepy vibe to the text (although it didn't need much help). This is the story of Mary, an orphaned girl, who spends her time making dolls and writing diary entries about her miserable existence at Thornhill, an all-girls orphanage. The reader is introduced to Mary through her diary entries which are read by Ella, a lonely girl, who lives with her absentee father next to a desolate, run-down building with Thornhill written above its gate. At first, it's rather confusing as to which point-of-view we are seeing and which time period we are inhabiting but I think that's done on purpose by the author. Both girls are very similar especially in terms of their circumstances i.e. they're both very lonely. As mentioned before, the tone is quite eerie but at the same time I felt that it was very realistically written. Alienation, abandonment, bullying, and emotional and psychological abuse are explored in a very interesting way. If you like Gothic horror with a dash of realistic drama then this is the perfect book for you. I read it at Halloween for the ambiance but you wouldn't be wrong reading this on a dark, stormy night either. 9/10 (with a deduction because creepy dolls are creepy)

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LibraryThing member JLSlipak

Parallel stories set in different times, one told in prose and one in pictures, converge as Ella unravels the mystery of the girl next door.

1982: Mary is a lonely orphan at the Thornhill Institute For Children at the very moment that it’s shutting its doors. When her few friends are all adopted

or re-homed and she’s left to face a volatile bully alone, her revenge will have a lasting effect on the bully, on Mary, and on Thornhill itself.

2016: Ella has just moved to a new town where she knows no one. From her room on the top floor of her new home, she has a perfect view of the dilapidated, abandoned Thornhill Institute across the way, where she glimpses a girl in the window. Determined to befriend the girl, Ella resolves to unravel Thornhill’s shadowy past.

ISBN: 9781626726543
Out August 2017

MY THOUGHTS:
I love writing supernatural/paranormal thrillers, so when I saw this book, I knew I needed to request it for review purposes. In exchange, I agreed to provide my honest review.

The artwork in this graphic novel is amazing and creepy. It adds an edge of unease that you want to see in books like these. I loved the storyline too. A bully of the extreme measure torturing the girl from the past, a burned out building, a silhouette in the window of the building that shouldn’t be there, a lonely girl with nothing to do but get in to trouble… perfect set-up for a scary story. The entire format of this book is excellent and is aimed at middle-grade ages which is perfect considering the bullying problems seen all around today.

There are consequences to every action, and this book shows the darkest. The story comes from the diary pages of the girl bullied in the past. They are heart-wrenching and sad. It’s twisty and dark and creepy and chilling… and could actually be based on real events. Of course, it’s fiction…

…or, is it?

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LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan

I feel this book has been overhyped. For a while there every october people pulled it’s dark pages out and said it was the haunted house book middlergraders are craving. I heard everything from a middle grade version of House on Haunted HIll, to a shorter version of Rose Madder. Ummmmmm, I think

not. To me this feels more like Flowers in the Attic by way of Brian Selznic without the incest.

Ella is a modern day girl (in 2017). Her mom is not in the picture and we don’t know why. He dad is gone on business a lot. Her story is told though shades of grey and black illustrations. She has moved in next door to the abandoned Thornhill home for girls, but there is a light in the attic that comes on at night. And Ella sees a girl walking the property. She is determined to learn more and make friends.

Mary’s story is told through her journal in 1982. It is not a happy story, but a story of a lonely little girl who is tortured by the other kids in her school. She has selective mutism, and can not voice that she is being picked up, even when house workers try to get her to make friends.

This is not a happy go lucky story. It’s a dark tale. Mary’s tale is horrible, and you want to take this child away and give her a better life. But that will never happen. Not then, not now. This is a tale of how a how came to be haunted. The author leaves many things to the reader's imagination. Like how exactly does Mary die. It alludes to it, but never comes out and says it.

The story is quite typical of adult haunted house stories. Even the ending, it can be seen in hundreds of stories and moves like those mentioned above.

Over the story is okay, but nothing big, nothing worth me obsessively telling others to read it. The art work is nice, but I think Selznic does better art mixing illustrated pages with word pages to tell a full story. Overall, I don't think this book will stand the test of time. I think it will be trotted out every Halloween until it falls apart, never to be replaced.

#BNFantasyChallenge #paranormal
#MountTBR
#NancyDrewChallenge #PARANORMAL

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LibraryThing member lycomayflower

Two connected stories are told in tandem, one through journal entries and the other through illustrations. Both stories have to do with an old house called Thornhill. The black and white illustrations are compelling, but I found the story a little predictable.

LibraryThing member avanders

This was sweet, and sad, and haunting, and wonderful to hold in your hands. Half graphic novel and half diary-form story, half in the past, half in the present, it moves quickly and takes you mostly where you expect to go, with a small surprise or two along the way. I confess there were a few

points where I expected something different, but I found it all very satisfying in the end. A fun read on Halloween day!

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LibraryThing member Sabrina_Fox

I visited my local library to pick up some graphic novels to take a break from reading heavy books because I was feeling bogged down and not really enjoying any book I picked up. I have a bone to pick with this book, but I loved it at the same time.

Ella is a girl who moved into a house across from

an old orphanage called Thornhill. Her story is told in gorgeous black and white illustrations. Mary's story is set in 1982, and told through her diary entries.

Mary was left alone with her tormentor after the orphanage was about to close down. She didn't know who to turn to, or who she could talk to. Most of the time, Mary kept herself locked in her room in the company of the beautiful puppets she was so good at making.

I feel as if this book should be aimed for a teens in their later years, seeing as it made me sad throughout the whole book. It just seems like it's too heavy of a topic for children to be reading to me, since I had such an intense reaction to it.

Ella's story is equally sad considering her mother might be? dead, or absent, and her father spends most of his time out of the house working. She begins a relationship with the mysterious girl she sees next door in the abandoned orphanage.

I hated the ending. That is the only complaint I have. I won't give anything away because that's the big twist, but if you've read it, what are your ideas about WHY that had to happen and it couldn't happen any other way?

It's a quick read, but a large book so it looks daunting until you open it. It's beautifully written and I'll be re-reading it before I take it back to the library.

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LibraryThing member jennybeast

Whoa, creepy! and very, very effective storytelling. Some very graphic and horrible bullying by a character that escapes unharmed. Predatory ghost story, with doll obsession.

LibraryThing member thisisstephenbetts

Beautiful, dark tale of a lonely girl living in an unfriendly orphanage, called Thornhill. The prose part is the diary of the girl, Mary, in 1982, and is interspersed by sequences of full-page black&white illustrations, telling the story of another young girl, Ella, growing up in the shadow of

Thornhill in 2017, and learning of its dark past. So, not a cheery tale. But Smy pulls it off really well — it's very engaging, and the interplay of diary pages and illustrations works exceedingly well. Might have liked a slightly more nuanced, complex ending, but a very good book. Beautiful edition too.

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