| Title | : | The Poe Estate (The Grimm Legacy, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle , Hardcover , Paperback , Audiobook & More |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
Sukie’s been lonely since the death of her big sister, Kitty—but Kitty’s ghost is still with her. At first that was comforting, but now Kitty’s terrifying anyone who gets too close. Things get even weirder when Sukie moves into her family’s ancestral home, and an older, less familiar ghost challenges her to find a treasure. Her classmate Cole is also experiencing apparitions. Fortunately, an antique broom’s at hand to fly Sukie and Cole to the New-York Circulating Material Repository’s spooky Poe Annex. As they search for clues and untangle ancient secrets, they discover their histories intertwine and are as full of stories of love, revenge, and pirate hijinks as some of the most famous fiction.
The Poe Estate (The Grimm Legacy, #3) Reviews
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This is an homage to Gothic fiction lovers aimed at younger readers. I loved that about this book. It's metafiction that takes it even deeper. There is story within a story within a story. I read
The Wells Bequest first, which is the science fiction volume of this series. I liked it, but I liked this more because I love Gothic/Classic horror. It's apparent that Shulman does as well. I made a note of all the books she alluded to. Many I had read, but I got ideas for others to look up and read.
The overall concept was well done, and some elements were quite serious for a MG level book. This book deals with death in a very matter-of-fact way. Suki's sister died and her ghost is her protector. Except Kitty is getting to be problematic in her protectiveness, leading to Suki's reputation as being weird, and Suki needs to let her go. Her parents have to move in with a great, great-aunt into a house that is part of her family's strange and tragic history. As Suki gets drawn into an adventure related to her ancestor's tie to the house and interacts with employees from the New York Circulating Repository, she learns that it's important to accept her sister's death and try to move on.
I couldn't give this book higher than 3.5 stars because it is written in too lightweight a fashion. Some serious topics are put out there and there are deeper levels that don't get delved into with this book. I feel that there was a longer book inside of this one that didn't get written. I understand that some things had to be pared down due to format, but I would have liked to see that other book that this book shows potential for turned out. On the good side, I love how multicultural it is, and the fact that all families aren't the same, and that hardworking people experience financial difficulties and lose their homes and jobs. Not because they are lazy, but because of things outside their control. Suki is a strong young girl to go through all of this and keep on going. I had mad respect for her and her family. I cried about her sister and some of the tragic events from her family's past.
I love the metafiction concept. I could read about that for days. I could have spent hours more delving into this interest world that Shulman created. I wish I had 100 more pages of this gem. I will always be a cheerleader for middle grade fiction. While I was somewhat disappointed with this book, I would still recommend it to readers who love classic and Gothic horror. -
The third in the Grimm Legacy series, this book is (appropriately?) the darkest by far, and the one the most removed from the New-York Circulating Material Repository, which is involved only peripherally for longer than than you might expect.
Sukie's family has fallen into hard times following the untimely passing of her older sister Kitty. To regroup and save money, the family takes up residence with her mother's elderly cousin Hepzibah in her dust-ridden mansion. With her sister's protective ghost in tow, Sukie soon finds herself at the heart of a family mystery and discovers a new talent after a chance encounter with the NYCMR's Elizabeth Rew at a flea market. In order to get to the bottom of her family's past, she will need Elizabeth and the Repository's help--but the key to the mystery may not provide the answers she expects.
Like the other books in the series, the concept is far more satisfying than the characters themselves. The artifacts are as intriguing as ever, and the ambience has a nice eerie quality reminiscent of the Graveyard Book in parts, but Sukie as a character is so wrapped up in her grief, so accustomed to living in the shadow of her sister, that she's almost unknowable as a character herself. Andre Merritt makes an appearance, serving his role as the obligatory callback to the Repository pages we've met in the earlier books, but he also can't seem to escape his brother's shadow, and feels like a retread. Sukie's nemesis-turned-ally's behavior is inexplicably arbitrary, working hard to establish chemistry that doesn't necessarily add up. It's a little problematic, but maybe something can be said for the mystery and adventure of this installment that I barely noticed that the Poe Estate is weirdly nearly devoid of artifacts that are actually from Poe. In a way, the fact that the Poe Estate seems to be more of an homage to Poe than a direct connection is kind of perfect for a book whose underlying mystery and ghost story is an homage to a tapestry of many gothic classics. If Shulman can create a bridge for someone to be motivated to explore Hawthorne, Hardy, or Poe somehow---that's pretty cool, and honestly...if she writes another, I would definitely read it. This is almost the closest thing kids have to the world of Thursday Next, even if this does take itself a bit *too* seriously for its own good at times. -
In this companion volume to
The Grimm Legacy and
The Wells Bequest, we return to the New-York Circulating Material Repository. The characters from the first two books have grown up and are working there now. This story focuses on items from gothic and supernatural stories. Sukie's sister died several years back, and while her ghost remains nearby it is not the same. Sukie's family fell on hard times after Kitty's death. They recently lost their house and have just moved in with 95-year-old cousin Hepzibah in the rundown family mansion. Here Sukie finds more ghosts and an old family legend about pirate treasure. With help from the librarians from the Repository and a new friend at school, Sukie goes in search of the treasure that will change her family's fortune. An exciting adventure through the world of classic horror books. It is not necessary to have read the first two, but it helps. Highly recommended for grades 5-8.
ARC provided by publisher -
This is the third book in the Grimm Legacy trilogy and I enjoyed it the most, but only because of the content. This again was about the repository, the lending library of objects, but this time we delve into the hiddle section of the library called the "Poe Estate" which holds all the fictional items from books, both fiction and non-fiction, resulting in fictional non-fiction, which was a unique and fun idea to wrap your head around. Being a literature fan myself, it was highly enjoyable to imagine a library filled with items from my favorite books from my favorite authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Edith Wharton. A little ghost story and some magic thrown in, made this book of the trilogy my definite favorite. I do feel the whole idea of a series centered around a repository lending library is an original idea and would be willing to read more about it if such books came out. It reminds me of the cemetery of forgotten books idea by Carlos Luis Zafon which I adore. Still not as much character depth as I'd like, but a unique enough idea to hold me captivated.
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I love this series! While chronological, it is not a series that creates cliffhangers or has some constant battle against the same unvanquishable enemy--they are self-contained stories that are connected by the New-York Circulating Material Repository and a handful of characters that are not always the central characters. Each story builds upon and explains more of the New-York Circulating Material Repository, while giving new voices to more characters in its expanding universe. While it is fantastical in its telling the characters are well drawn and believable and examine their lives. And characters age, it just doesn't pick up where the last one let off.
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I struggled with this book. It took me days to read it. It wasn't a bad read but I just wasn't pulled into this story. There were definitely parts that were better than others. I had to push thru some other parts. I did like that, although part of a series, this book could be read as a standalone. The lending library is the focal point of all 3 books but the stories all have different characters and objects. The objects in the library fascinate me. I love how they are fictional but yet real somehow. For some reason, I feel this book lacks something that the others had. It wasn't bad but just didn't capture my imagination like the others. Overall, an ok addition to the series.
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3.5 stars. This is much darker than the first 2 books in the series. And it also referenced much more obscure horror books and authors than the classics of fairy tales and sci fi. I had heard of and read a few of the books, but most I had never heard of. This story was also about haunted houses rather than smaller artifacts.
This book was still interesting, but not as good as the first two books IMO. I'm going to miss this series! -
I saw this title on our local library's Overdrive website and thought it looked very intriguing. I guess I wasn't paying close attention because I didn't realize it is the third book in the series until I went to post this review.
Still, I thought it was a very engaging story and I really enjoyed listening to
Jorjeana Marie narrating the story on audiobook.
interesting quotes (page numbers from edition with ISBN13):
"We're librarians. If we don't find what we're looking for, we keep looking." (p.)
"" (p.)
"" (p.)
"" (p.)
"" (p.)
"" (p.) -
Nearly put this one down and didn't pick it up again. But I tried again, putting aside my distaste for the choppy style (multiple scene breaks within each chapter, little narrative transitioning, lots of action, dialogue, and memories in lieu of narrative storytelling). I read the first two books and don't recall them being written in this way. It felt like big chunks had just been cut out and nothing put in their place. The ending also came on all at once in a rush and then again was undercut. I found myself asking, where's the love? I just didn't feel like this book had it the way the first did. Bizarre. But I finished it, and the story itself was imaginative at least. Then again, there were moments when I felt like I was getting an imagination info dump, when characters where just talking about the histories of all the fantastical objects and such, but it was all rather lost in me in the jumble and rush. Nothing to write home about I guess. Too bad.
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This is a fun ghost story. The main characters are likeable and the adventure and mystery aspects of the plot make it a fast paced read. I enjoyed how the ghost aspect was handled especially. I didn't like it quite as much as I have the other books in the series, but it was fun seeing the characters I loved from the previous two books and being back at the Repository. I fell like what separates this from the other two is that the writing wasn't quite as strong. The dialogue felt very forced. I do like the interesting twist the collecting took in this one and how it went beyond mere objects.
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This is book 3 in the series about the New-York Circulating Material Repository. This one is a bit dark due to the subject matter: ghosts. It's a spooky tale about ancestors and secrets. I enjoyed the overall story and the fact that many of the characters from the other books were in it. I was a little bit worried at first as the story didn't seem to blend with the others. It does take a different road than the others. I very much enjoyed the mention of other horror writers and their works. I found it cool (maybe a little freaky) to think that objects from these books could be real.
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I was hoping for a little more Poe in this novel, but I was pleasantly surprised with the inclusion of Hawthorne. Intriguing stuff. This story didn't grab me as tightly as the first in the series, but I liked it better than the second installment.
I loved all the references to famous and not-so-well-known stories. Makes me want to go back and read them all over again. I wish the made-up books existed, though. They sounded interesting and right up my alley. -
Oh where to begin? Let me start by saying the positives it was a fast read and an awesome book to get your mind thinking fictional vs real kind of real.
Now to the easy part the bads. This book lacked alot. I feel like an average reader was asumming a better ending then she came up with. A long start to lead to a so-so climax to a blah rushed ending. and that is just the plot problems.
Next to the writing style. Choppy, too much, too little, and just too. First the choppy. this book has multiple jumps in time in each chapter word choice is boring dialog blah, blah, blah. Too much. she would describe things like the air in so much detail you could put yourself there. Too little. She put a 3 word sentence about her dead sister being a ghost. leaving me saying wait I just got a whiff of the sweat on their backs but wait your sister dead sister just did a full marathon. cool? Just too. left out details some details went nowhere and where pointless just lost interest. not too mention the the theft of other authors work that if better which I am sure they where where smashed by this story.
All in all a good thought provoking story that held me to 2 stars but the writing style and the overall plot failed the original idea with trying to use helpful theft from other authors. -
A much quieter book than the previous two in the trilogy, The Poe Estate echoes the melancholy mystery of the gothic fiction it engages at the New-York Circulating Material Repository. The story is much more concerned with addressing how Sukie copes with the loss of her sister than defeating a nefarious villain, and as such, the adventuring is more recreational than urgent, and while we meet Sukie's family and new friends (and some ghosts, of course), they are held at a distance as Sukie takes her first steps toward connecting with the world without her sister as intermediary.
I can understand why some readers would find this the least engaging book in the series, but as someone who loves Shulman's New-York Circulating Material Repository—and gothic literature, to be honest—I found it a gentle, poignant visit with a much-missed world. I appreciated seeing Andre, Leo, and Dr. Rust again, and thought it fitting to close the series by meeting Elizabeth all grown up...and doing a fantastic job as an acquisitions repositorian. I'll miss the Repository, but I'm comforted to imagine it going on with its adventures without me just as all the best fictional places do. -
I love how this book still felt refreshing and new when it is the last in the trilogy. Actually, each book was different on their own, with their respective vibes, which I loved. This one tho, nothing much really happened, but! there was a lot of lore and informations about the world. The author really expended it and it was really nice. From the title, it feels like she only mentionned Poe but nope, there was many more references of gothic authors than I was expecting and I LUVed it. Especially the “King in Yellow” part, I knew about the book from a very long time ago and I was so excited that this book reminded me of its existence 🥹 This trilogy was a nice treat, I liked it a lot 🥰❤️
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I actually was incredibly let down by this book. I think the premise is great, but not enough time is spent making it accessible for kids. My 8 year old isn’t well acquainted with Lovecraft and Poe, so I expected more than just brief synopsis every time a work was mentioned. That being said, my kids really liked this anyway, even though I did occasionally need to explain things they would have completely missed if they had read it alone, so giving it four stars because the point is to make the intended audience happy and it did that. I am just personally let down by the execution.
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"'Almost there,' said Dad as we crested the last hill."
*2.75
For some reason, this one just didn't seem to have everything I had liked about the first two. I think because it didn't take nearly as much place in the library as the others did. That and Sukie didn't work in the library as the past two main characters had I think. I mean I loved seeing the old characters again, that's always very fun for me, but this one just felt kind of lacking. The characters were fine although I was not a fan of the romance that was there, it just felt weird to me. I did like the more gothic route this one took too, but again it just didn't live up to my expectations. It was still good, just not the great that I had been expecting. I still am happy I read this series and once again recommend it for those younger readers looking to get into slightly longer or even a full-length novel or chapter book.
The Grimm Legacy:⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wells Bequest:⭐️⭐️⭐️ -
I read The Poe Estate without realizing that it is the 3rd book in the series. Although there are two books mentioned on the back, there is not a 3 anywhere to be found or any information indicating it is the 3rd in the series. I blame the publisher.
I enjoyed the book. I like characters, the story was fun, and I loved all the book references. I enjoy reading fantasy and this one was a little different than anything I have read before.
Something I didn't like about the book is Sukie's sister died when she was young and is a very vivid ghost who protects her from danger. I worry that my students who have lost siblings might find the idea that you deceased sister can follow you on the school bus to be a little hurtful when they have experienced real loss.
In our library F SHULMAN -
The best thing about this story are the classic gothic/horror story references. It made me want to reread many of Poe's and Hawthorne's stories! I also love that she created her own gothic author and fictional stories within a fiction story. I read this book without reading the others in the series because this is on the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award List, and I think I'll go back and read the others that came before this.
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I really really liked this book. The gothic and classic horror that's mentioned throughout the book was so nice to read. I liked that this book had us follow a family who had so many interesting ancestors and they ended up connecting with another family. Also I wish the New York Circulating Repository was real! I want to go and spend all my time there.
The only reason I gave this a 4 is because I kinda feel like some of the chapters dragged on and the repetition of "its fiction and this and fiction that" was so overwhelming. The characters were all so interesting and I really wish we could have more stories with them and the artifacts. -
Series is such an alive sidestep to horror. Sukie (rhymes cookie) tells of witch brooms, ghosts, pirates, treasure search, first kiss. Too many references, I couldn't read all. If Lib has no direction sense, how does she first get to mansion?
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Also posted on my blog
Got My Book.
A YA Contemporary Fantasy that wasn't too much for this non-horror fan.
BOOK DETAILS:
The Poe Estate by
Polly Shulman, read by Jorjeana Marie, published by Listening Library (2015) / Length: 6 hrs 46 min
SERIES INFO:
This is book #3 in the "
The Grimm Legacy" trilogy (also known as "The Repository" series). The books can be read as standalones, but some characters do carry over. The author is not currently planning to write any additional books in this series.
SUMMARY:
I almost didn't read this book, which would have been a shame. I hadn't liked the previous book in this series and am decidedly not a horror fan; but I did like the first one, and was able to get this one from the library, so I gave it a chance. Turns out that it's my favorite one of the three.
While there are some spooky parts, and they learn about the murder of a young child in the past, the book didn't strike me as scary at all (and I'm a wimp).
Aside from the story itself, I love the whole cast of characters. We get some from the first book and some great new ones.
CHARACTERS:
Sukie: A seemingly typical bookish middle schooler, openly set apart by her grief at the death of her sister and further isolated by the felt, but not understood, presence of the sister's ghost watching over her.
Her family has had to move in with an elderly cousin due to financial difficulties after her sister's long illness and a downturn in the economy. She understands that her parents are doing their best, but still just wants to go home. Her family is close, and although her parents don't know about the ghosts and other strange stuff, the cousin does and is a great support for Sukie & Cole.
Cole: In the past, he teased Elizabeth; but now he's being helpful. Too bad, Kitty's not big on forgiveness.
Elizabeth (the main character from Book #1) is now all grown up and working at The Repository full time. And Andre (Mark's little brother) is now a page. They make a great working pair, and it is fun that he still calls her Libbet (he couldn't pronounce her name when he met her as a small child).
WORLDBUILDING:
This series posits a world where the lines between fiction & reality are seriously blurred. There is fiction written about real magical objects and real objects whose origins are in fiction. This particular book focuses on the fiction of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edger Allen Poe, and other classic horror writers. There are haunted houses, ghosts, witches brooms, etc.
PLOT:
The beginning skillfully introduced Sukie & her family and the changes that have taken place in their lives.
The ending was emotionally satisfying regarding the current book. Knowing it was the final book in the series, however, I would have liked to know about more about some of the other previous characters.
HIGHLIGHTS:
--The scene where Sukie first meets Andre & Elizabeth.
--I like the concept that Sukie is continuing to grow & change but Kitty isn't, so Sukie is outgrowing her.
--The resolution of Sukie & Kitty's relationship.
NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes / Accents good = no one seemed to have one, not even the New Yorkers - although they were in Manhattan so maybe they weren't supposed to / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = Good / Emoting = Good / Speed = Slow. I listened on 1.5 speed, rather than my usual 1.25, and it was just a touch fast -
Readers get an opportunity to explore the creative world of the New-York Circulating Material Repository for the the third time, and with this volume they get to explore classic, Gothic horror. It all begins when Sukie and her family returns to the family estate to live. Her older sister, Kitty, recently died, and the family has hit hard economic times. Going home to live with old Cousin Hepsebah, who is ninety-odd years old. It is a rickety old mansion, and one her family has lived in since colonial times.
It probably should not have been surprising, but the house is haunted, but what is surprising is that Kitty has now become one of the ghosts. In part, Sukie finds it refreshing to have her sister around again, but it is also a little eerie (for the obvious reasons!). Sukie's parents try and make money by collecting old items from various estates and selling them at flea markets. It is through this that Sukie meets Elizabeth and Andre, two employees of the New-York Circulating Materials Library (and names that would be familiar to those who have read two earlier books in the series), which is a library that circulates no books. Instead, it circulates realia and other physical items that have been talked about in literature over the centuries.
Elizabeth is now creating a new collection, one that will focus on collecting ancient homes and buildings. The items that Sukie and her family have been selling have triggered some interest because some seem to have come from such homes. Little do any of them know, but it seems like this interest will help identify a family secret that will bring them and the reader along on an interesting series of adventures that are both eerie and intriguing.
As with earlier books in the series, Shulman has created a fun adventure tale for intermediate readers that is not only good on its own, but also introduces them to some really great literary pieces and authors. I cannot help but assume that many of these readers will go on to read the tales that are highlighted in this book.
This was an interesting read, but I struggled a little more with the concept than I did with The Grimm Legacy or The Wells Bequest, but I think that is more due to the fact that I had had a hard time wrapping my head around the collection of buildings. The story was good and the characters were intriguing, both really setting the Gothic feel being highlighted by the works in the story. I read this in a 24-hour period, though most of it was done within two hours. This whole series is definitely worth a read. -
Not a bad addition to the series, but not particularly memorable either. I enjoyed it, though, which I guess is enough.
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It was a magical, ghost themed book. I had decided to read it because of Polly Shulman's other work, The Grimm Legacy. Both of these were a nice and easy read. The world building was impressive in The Poe Estate and the idea of it was neat and easy to understand. It is definitely an light read compared to my level, but I found myself enjoying each and every page, soaking up the information excitedly.
This is a great read for grade or middle schoolers.
Now, I would like to point out the best parts of the story and some flaws to it.
Instead of having the main character seem mature and flawless, Sukie decided to show her flaws throughout the pages. This is great character building. Sukie is portrayed as a middle schooler who resides in a rather poor family. She has a love for books and her schoolmates see her as quiet, weird, and spooky. Her immaturity is shown many times throughout the book, but we only see it from her side. Sukie is the only thinking she is immature so this could be a sign of low confidence.
One of the problems I had with this character is how Kitty, her older deceased sister, was popping up somewhat randomly. Sukie also never showed much grief or loss. This was a poorly written quality, I feel, of Sukie's character development. I myself would be lost and heartbroken if my sister passed suddenly. Sukie seemed to have moved one from her grief even though her sister had recently passed.
Moving on, I love the idea of magical items. But magical item from out of fictional books? Amazing! I thought this was thought out very well and the mentions of great literary authors was super cool. In fact, I recently read of of Hawthorne's books 'Tanglewood Tales' and I'm planning on reading 'Scarlet Letters sometime. Reading this book right after being introduced to Hawthorne was quite a cool coincidence.
Overall, this book was amazing and I recommend reading if you wish for a effortless, short read. Happy reading! -
Sukie and her parents have fallen on both tragic and tough times. Her older sister passed away from the Thorne family malady. It is somewhat of a curse in their family. Not only that, though, her parents have lost their jobs and they've had to sell their house. So, they move into the Thorne Mansion with 91-year-old Cousin Hepzibah. In some ways, it is a win-win, since they need a place to live and Hepzibah needs help for everyday living...although she is sharp as a tack.
Sukie carries a secret along with her to the house. She sees the ghost of her sister Kitty. Kitty had always been her protector and it seems as if she is still trying to protect her from the beyond. At first, Sukie welcomes this, but as time goes on, it feels as if Kitty is interfering with her attempt to move on. Luckily, she's found one good friend at her new school, Cole.
Meanwhile, her dad has begun refurbishing and rehabbing pieces found in houses that are about to be demolished. The family sells these items at flea markets every weekend. Sometimes, though, Sukie gets a tingly feeling from odd items. That when she meets quirky, yet informative people from the New York Circulating Material Repository (which we learned about in Book #1).
From there it is a whirlwind of ghost stories, ghosts, adventures, and new friendships. We learn about spooky fiction-fiction, fiction non-fiction, and non-fiction non-fiction (ok, you'll have to read the book to get all this straight). Objects have special meaning as they relate to literature and it always helps when the group appeases the ghosts. Poe would be proud. -
I liked this book, rather... but I think it has to be ones genre to love. It reads like Diana Wynne Jones or Neil Gaiman, but not quite as solid or polished. There are ghosts and hauntings, but also a most excellent premise, that I think could have been handled even more cleverly by the above two authors, but which at least makes for a very interesting book here. (Spoiler alert!) Basically, some fictional items have been transformed into real, physical things through some unknown alchemy. So there are a number of "Hawthorn brooms" around in the world with magical powers because Samuel Hawthorn wrote about them in his stories. Poe's clock exists, as do a number of haunted houses, magical carpets, Ahab's ship, and many other objects mundane, magical or downright dangerous. My head started spinning in a delicious way when the character realized that her ancestors were in fact fictional, making her something between fiction and reality. Kooky and interesting thought experimental stuff. Really, this is a book for those who like speculative magic and literature - it's chocked full of both, and particularly references to classic American literature, clearly a love of Polly Shulman. Though the characters weren't quite as real as I wanted them to be (the main boy was just too perfect), and the plot wobbled a bit (weighed down by a few too many adventures, magical items and twists) - it will appeal to those (like me) who are unreserved fans of the genre. Really, I'd give it 2/5 stars if I could.
-Kirsten -
When you see the title “The Poe Estate,” you’d think this book includes a lot of scenes in Edgar Allen Poe’s house. Wrong. And that is just one of the many disappointments in this book. Another is that they bring back Elizabeth, Andre, and even Leo for a little, but there’s no Aaron or Jaya.
Also, I felt this book was lacking in the humor The Grimm Legacy was overflowing with. Instead, this book had plenty of sadness to last me for a while. Speaking of The Grimm Legacy! So, in the first book, Elizabeth traded her sense of direction for a comb and it gets damaged so she can’t have her sense of direction back. You would think they found a way to get it back to her, but no. For some reason, that made me sad.
The last thing I wanted to say is that this book was predictable. They spend a lot of time trying to find Windy’s treasure and I took a wild guess at what it was. I hit the nail on the head! Seriously, I was 100% correct!!! Nobody likes a book THAT predictable.
I’m sorry to say, I was not having it with The Poe Estate, but maybe someday I’ll reread The Grimm Legacy. That book was awesome. -
This was great. I think I liked it even better than the first book in the "series"--the "Grimm Legacy". The reason I use quotation marks with series is that these books (the 2nd is the "Wells Bequest") are loosely connected, through their subject matter but they really could stand alone, which is kind of nice. They sometimes mention a character from one of the other books in a later book, but they don't have major roles, each book has its own set of main characters.
Anyhow, this book is the best of the three. It's a really interesting read about a girl who communicates with ghosts (including the ghost of her dead sister), moves into a house with lots of interesting family history stories that begin to influence her life, and who discovers that things existing in fictional books aren't always just fictional--some of them exist in reality and have very interesting magical properties. I probably haven't done a great job of summing it up, but it's a very interesting story with likeable characters and a great premise. -
In this book we get to meet Sukie - or Sucky, Spookie, and a large variety of other nicknames. Sukie has to deal with more than her share of bullying - in part because she is haunted by the ghost of her older sister Kitty who passed away a few years before the story starts. Sukie likes her sister's company though. When their family is forced to move in with ninety year old cousin Hepzibah, Sukie learns that Kitty is not the only ghost she can see, and that not everything is as she first believed. A run in with Elizabeth Rew and Andre from the New York Circulating Materials Depository quickly leads to even more bizarre events as reality and fiction begin to collide.
The Poe Estate is a much better sequel to The Grimm Legacy then the Well's Bequest. If you liked the first book, I highly recommend reading this. In fact, you could probably skip the second and go straight into this one without it being too awkward.
