"Thornhill"

“Thornhill”

Written by Pam Smy

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

“Thornhill” is a startling literary feat. In this book, around 75 percent of the story is beautiful, monochromatic illustrations and 25 percent of the story is told through diary entries.

In the illustrations, we see the story follow Ella, a girl whose mother is sick, as she moves into her new home. She stares out of the window and observes a dark and decrepit home. She spies a ghost-like girl in the yard and begins to investigate. She finds dolls in the gated yard and begins to unravel the mystery, as she finds a hidden diary. In the diary entries, we hear from a selective mute orphan, Mary, who has been continuously bullied by another girl at the orphanage, Thornhill.

As we continue to read the horrors of life at Thornhill, we become suspiciously worried for Ella. Who has she been following the ghost of? Mary or the vicious bully? Is Ella in danger? Was Mary in danger, thirty years ago?

The story progresses drastically into a frightening and vengeful plot, written and drawn in a taut and emotional manner. This story evokes classic gothic stories, like those of Daphne du Marier, Edgar Allan Poe, and Shirley Jackson. Truth be told, if you have a haunted house, I often am intrigued.

I was very impressed by how interested I was in the story. “Thornhill” is one of those creative, illustrated books for children that absolutely should be read by other generations. I felt the themes of love, loss, anger, revenge, and betrayal to be themes understood and relative to adults as well. I would love to read and view more books and illustrations by Pam Smy. I think this book is severely underrated, and many people should know more about it.