HOUSE IN THE STEEPLE

HOUSE IN THE STEEPLE by Jane Hollingsworth
Starlight Writer Publications – 2001
ISBN 1586972170

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, MyShelf.com

Pearlie June, or June, has been in and out of foster care for much of her young life. Desperate to find her a home, the social worker convinces the judge over her case to place her with Bedie, a young widow who his anxious to have a foster child. Each of them carries a secret. June is psychic, and her tormented visions drive her to destructive behavior. Bedie is seeking atonement in June for the child she aborted to punish her abusive husband who later killed himself. She also feels that he is haunting her, and bears bruises, allegedly inflicted by Doug's ghost, to prove her point.

When June sees the "olden" house Bedie has leased, she falls in love with it and is determined to stay forever. With Bedie's love and her own love of the house, the child begins to transform. A romantic element is introduced when June's older brother is released from prison and seeks to visit her. His parole officer is attracted to Bedie, but she has not recovered from her years of abuse. However, she is forced to allow the two men to come into their lives to help her and June battle a ghost from the turn of the century who is attacking June. With the help of a psychic and the house's owner, the ghost is defeated. A further problem is that a better placement is found for the child, but by this time, she and Bedie are bonded. Again, the psychic helps them to secure a happy future by uncovering a secret in the judge's life that has caused him to take a special interest in June.

At first, I thought this book would be a fictional version of one of Tory Hayden's abused child true-life accounts, but was pleasantly surprised to discover the paranormal element. Though there was little real fear incited by this novel, it was very enjoyable with the paranormal element not overshadowing or being overshadowed by the very human issues of emotional healing.