Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel, by Helen Grant is described as a "charming horror novel" by Publishers Weekly (Amazon.com). Pia, a ten-year-old girl from a small town in Germany had a normal life until, one day, her grandmother accidentally catches fire and burned to death. Afterwards, Pia becomes an outcast; her only friend being the most unpopular boy in her town, StinkStefan. The two of them visit an elderly man who tells them ghost stories of the town in the hopes of solving old disappearances of young girls.

More information about the Author on her website.

Please post a comment about the book and whether it would be suitable for the SJSU Campus Reading Program. Thanks.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This book is a good mystery. The end is a bit of a surprise. I would recommend it for a fun read.

I don't recommend it as the book for the Campus Reading Program. The story line doesn't lend itself to tying into curriculum and campus life as well as some of the other choices for 2012.

Amanda Dohse said...

I thought this book had a great beginning and a great ending, but it was too slow through the whole middle. I loved reading about the German culture- the novel is set in small town Germany, but seen through the eyes of a young girl. Aside from that, there aren't very many strong themes to the book for discussion or connection to an academic curriculum. The main character is a young girl and I didn't relate to her at all and I don't think our students would relate to her because she is very young in every sense of the word. It's set in 1999-2000 but it reads like it's from much longer ago. I don't recommend it for the CRP. I think it would be good for a junior high reading book.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the book, but it may not lend well to campus discussions.