The Secret of Laurel Oaks

Description

A haunting historical mystery based on real life events, told in the alternating points of view of a contemporary girl and a 19th century slave accused of a horrible crime. When Lila and her family visit Laurel Oaks Plantation in Louisiana, her parents and brother scoff at the claim that the house is haunted. But secretly, Lila suspects there are ghostly presences willing to communicate with her, and her alone. One spirit eager to tell her story is Daphne, a slave girl at Laurel Oaks in the 1840s, who was blamed for the poisoning deaths of two girls and their mother. Daphne's spirit senses that Lila is the very person she's been waiting for, the one who can prove her innocence so her spirit can rest at long last. Shifting back and forth from Lila's world in the present to Daphne's world in the past, the true story of what really happened that fateful night finally comes to light. Laurel Oaks is a thinly disguised version of the legendary Myrtles Plantation in Louisiana, which is on the Smithsonian's list of the ten most haunted places in America. This middle grade novel was inspired by the author's visit to the plantation and her experiences there. Review: Spooky from beginning to end - The Secret of Laurel Oaks is a ghost story based on stories about The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana. The author’s main purpose for writing this novel is to entertain readers. It is suspenseful, mysterious, and spooky from the beginning to the end. The theme of this book is to not believe all the rumors you may hear. In the book, a young slave girl was accused of poisoning her master’s wife and two daughters. She was hanged for it despite any evidence proving she committed these crimes. This book was written using the rhetorical mode of narration. The narrators of the story alternate between chapters. One narrator is a rebellious teenage girl named Lila from the present day. The other narrator is a teenage girl named Daphne. Daphne was a slave who lived and died on the Laurel Oaks plantation two centuries ago. During Lila’s family vacation to the haunted plantation, Lila would see Daphne and other ghosts around the house. In the next chapter, Daphne describes seeing Lila to the reader. Using the style of narration is effective because it shows differences between modern times and the hard times of slavery. Alternating between narrators allowed the readers to experience a story through different perspectives. For instance, during a tour of the house, Lila looked in a mirror and saw Daphne. Then in the next chapter, Daphne describes how intently Lila was looking back at her in the mirror. Daphne knows she’s a ghost and only a few people have ever seen her. She hopes Lila is the one person she can trust to tell about the secret she’s been keeping for two hundred years. I loved this book and was very intrigued by the ghostly plot. The characters were interesting and even included a wise, talking tree! I did not dislike anything about this book. However, if I could change anything about this story, I would have Lila confide in her parents what she was seeing in the house. She didn't have a very good relationship with them. But all in all, I loved the book. Review: Perfection - I loved this book. It was awesome. My friend recommended it to me saying she loved it, so I bought it, read it, and loved it! The chapters change perspective from Daphne who is a slave in the 1800s to Lila a girl in the present trying to solve Daphne's mystery. This book is a mystery novel that is perfect.