From the moment she first steps off the school bus, 12-year-old Jess is enthralled by Point Ellice House. Although the other students on the tour are just happy to have a day off from school, shy Jess feels she knows what is around every corner and behind every door of the beautifully preserved Victorian home. It's as if she has lived in those rooms before. Her repeated visits and her interest impress the guide in charge, who offers Jess a volunteer summer job.
But although she loves sharing her growing knowledge of Point Ellice House, Jess finds herself drawn to lonely spots around the property. There, persistent visions of a girl named Rose take her into the past, to a terrible disaster involving an overcrowded streetcar on the Point Ellice Bridge.
Jess holds the key to a mystery that has persisted for more than a hundred years. And now it's up to her to solve it and to ease the troubled spirit who has haunted the area for so long.
Inspired by the history of Victoria's Point Ellice House and the worst streetcar disaster in North American history, Penny Chamberlain's novel will grab her audience from the first page. And her imaginative interpretation of strange sightings (sightings that persist to this day) will keep young readers absorbed throughout.
Awards and Nominations
Red Cedar Book Award
Chocolate Lily Award
Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Award
Our Choice Award