SuitabookThe secret of Goldenrod
Jane O'Reilly
- Reading
- Read alongside the child if the eerie elements feel uncertain, pausing to discuss what may be genuinely supernatural and what belonging means to Trina. Revisit the ending to consider the secret’s impact.
- Themes
- Belonging and new beginnings: Trina moves with her father and hopes to settle and find a best friend, while facing mockery at school. The book?s stance on this remains unclear.
- Mystery and the supernatural: Goldenrod seems haunted, and Trina finds Augustine, a porcelain doll who talks and helps her realise that the house is trying to tell her an important secret. Supernatural-seeming elements drive the mystery, but their exact nature and the book’s attitude towards them remain unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The combination of school mockery, a neglected mansion and possible haunting may warrant attention for a reader sensitive to social embarrassment or eerie suspense; the intensity and resolution are unclear.