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    The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery
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    The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery
    Unavailable
    The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery
    Audiobook5 hours

    The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery

    Written by Allison Rushby

    Narrated by Charlotte Cole

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Twelve-year-old Flossie is no ordinary ghost—she's the caretaker of every soul in Highgate Cemetery. And during World War II, even the ghosts aren't safe.

    Flossie Birdwhistle is the Turnkey at London's Highgate Cemetery. As Turnkey, it's Flossie's job to ensure that all the souls buried in the cemetery stay at rest. Not an easy job for a young ghost, but a task made especially difficult by World War II: London is being attacked every night by enemy bombers, and even the dead are unsettled. When Flossie encounters the ghost of a German soldier carrying a mysterious object that seems to exist in both the living and spirit worlds, she becomes suspicious—what is the officer up to? Before long, Flossie uncovers a sinister plot that could destroy not only her cemetery, but also her beloved country. Can Flossie and her ghostly friends stop the soldier before it's too late? History collides with the supernatural in this exciting, ethereal mystery from Allison Rushby.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 24, 2018
    ISBN9781543688016
    Unavailable
    The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery
    Author

    Allison Rushby

    ALLISON RUSHBY, having failed to become a ballerina with pierced ears (her childhood dream), tried writing instead. This has worked out much better for her, since it means she gets to write off her book and DVD purchases at tax time and eat a lot more than a ballerina ever could. She is the author of four teen novels and five adult novels, all published by Random House in Allison's native Australia. She Twitters regularly and blogs at www.AllisonRushby.com. Oh, and she got the pierced ears in the end.

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    Reviews for The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery

    4/5

    33 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Won this book from the Early Reviewers. I loved this story. I found it whimsical and wonderful, humorous and touching. I've been a bit disheartened with the turn to the supernatural that all of YA fiction has taken, but this was a pleasant surprise.It's mysterious, a girl ghost who finds herself in charge of Highgate Cemetery, turnkeys have special powers and are responsible for making sure the interred rest peacefully.All this in the middle of the blitz in World War II London. And there is a strange German ghost who shows up and seems to be spying on the war. This book was fun. I could so see this as a Tim Burton film either live action or better yet stop motion.Surprising twists and turns and wonderful settings.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful story about the twelve year old Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery in London. The turnkey's job is to ensure that those interred in her cemetery remain at rest in their eternal dreamworlds. But when Flossie notices a strange German SS ghost carrying a glowing crystal object around London, she rises up to protect all of London.
    • 4/5
      A fantasy read in which the main characters are dead. Flossie is the Turnkey for a London based cemetery and enlists the aide of other Turnkeys in stopping the Nazi threat during World War II.Although the ending was predictable and there wasn't enough tension in getting to the end, the book was enjoyable. You felt for the characters and cheered them on in their quest. Good for grades 6 to 8.
    • 5/5
      Surprisingly delightful book. A serious topic of the dead with quite whimsical characters. Will be recommending this and giving it as gifts..
    • 4/5
      The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery is one of my LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program wins. This historical ghost novel is set in London and Germany during World War II. It's December, 1940, and London is enduring that Nazi bombing called the 'Blitz'. Our heroine, Flossie Birdwhistle, is the ghost of a girl who died when she was twelve, sixteen years before the start of the story.Flossie is the turnkey for one of the seven cemeteries built on the outskirts of London in the 1830s and 1840s. This is a very important job because she takes care of all the persons buried at Highgate. Hugh Howsham, the Victorian gentleman turnkey of Kensel Green Cemetery, thinks Flossie is much too young for the responsibility. She was not only a child when she died, that was a mere sixteen years ago.Notes:Chapter :Mentions:Author's Note: I don't know why Ms. Rushby thinks that historian Hugh Meller coined the term 'Magnificent Seven' in 1981. The original 'The Magnificent Seven' movie came out in 1960. However, I do appreciate the fact that she let us know where she altered history for her book.The intended audience for The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery is eight to twelve year olds, I'm 63, so I'm more than five times older than that. I've never had children, but I never lost my love for children's books.
    • 4/5
      Flossie Birdwhistle, in her ghostly form, is responsible for the interred in Highgate Cemetery. She is the Turnkey, and as such, she must ensure the buried are cared for and continue to be at rest. She takes her job seriously, although sometimes she feels she is too ‘young’ to have been given such an important job. One night, she sees someone suspicious at St. Paul’s, a German soldier’s ghost who is holding a mysterious skull-like crystal. How can it be? He is not a Turnkey and shouldn’t be able to move among the city. As her investigation continues, Flossie realizes she has stumbled upon an evil plot to bring upheavel, not only to her buried souls, but all of London, too. She must stop him! Set during WWII, The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery is not your typical ghost story. It is wrapped around the historical events of Nazi Germany and the war that took so many lives. Not necessarily scary, but the time-period may be of interest to those young readers who like historical fiction... with a twist .Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Candlewick Press, and Allison Rushby for this ARC.
    • 4/5
      Flossie is the ghost of a 12-year-old girl. She is also a Turnkey. This means she is in charge of London's Highgate cemetery and its residents. When Flossie sees the ghost of a German soldier at the top of St Paul's cathedral she is very suspicious. World War II is in progress and Flossie can't help thinking the German ghost might be a spy.Although this is a story about ghosts it is not a ghost story. Instead, it is the story of a clever. brave and determined girl who just happens to be a ghost. Allison Rushby expertly weaves fantasy elements with real life events to create a believable world and a very likeable heroine. The supporting characters are also well-drawn and a twist in the end shows that Flossie is not the only young ghost brave enough to fight for what is right.
    • 2/5
      I was excited to receive this book in an exchange for a review. The description was intriguing. I received this book in October, and quickly lost interest. I did not finish it until December. I forced myself to read it, so that I could give an honest review.The overall problem with this book, is that the author does not 'show the reader' what is happening. The author does a lot of 'telling'. It was like reading a well-written essay, or a book report. There was nothing technically wrong with the writing, but it was not engaging enough to draw me into the story. Due to this, I did not care about any of the characters at all.There were some paragraphs where the author did a fair job at 'showing' the reader. The light from the crystal skulls, and the moonlight at the altar, were descriptive enough that I felt like I was there.The plot was okay. It was mostly predictable, except I expected Grace to take the job that Elke took on at the very end. Some of the characters seemed unnecessary. The Guides, or the "magnificant seven", played a very small role in the story. Also, Amelia didn't do anything to help move the plot along. She had no purpose.I did love the setting, and the idea of the story. Cemeteries, ghosts, evil Nazis, war, crystal skulls - that's all right up my alley. It's a shame I couldn't care about the characters.
    • 3/5
      I am unsure how to explain how I feel about this book. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the concept of the book -- a young girl serving as turnkey of a cemetery, struggling to understand what is happening around her. Furthermore, I generally enjoy books set during WWII or books that deal with these topics. Unfortunately, I found the beginning of the very slow. The action of the book dragged and that hindered my enjoyment of the book overall.
    • 4/5
      A curious read about the keepers of our spirit's comfort at life's end set amidst WWII as the evil powers that be try to bridge the world of twilights and the living for nefarious purposes...

      Can you just imagine? WHAT IF the Hitler regime had been able to accomplish what is being attempted in this book? I mean, the effects would have been devastating on such another level, I can't even begin to envision it...and yet, it is said he did have an obsession or sorts with the occult, and supernatural interests. *shivers* Sorry, but no one should have so much power, especially with that much hatred in their heart, but I digress...this book isn't JUST about the war and what COULD have been. It's about the enumerable souls left behind in the rubble, those that passed from natural causes and those "helped along" by the tragedies occurring all around them, and where they all fit in. A phrase repeated much was that it wasn't their war...it was for the living and they were beyond that world's reach for all intents and purposes. Thing is once the soldier appeared, all bets were off and choosing inaction would leave ghostly blood on their hands regardless of who would or would not see it. Flossie may have been an unusual pick for a turnkey, but she was without a doubt chosen, and with good reason. Despite her lack of years, she's knowledgeable, dependable, compassionate, and determined. She faces down ghosts from her own past, conquers unanswered questions that left fear in her formerly beating heart, and manages to keep the faith and stand strong when everything seems to be crumbling to the ground.

      In the end, there was so much learned and so many miles of the heart covered, showing us that looks can be deceiving, not all lost can be saved, and sometimes the greatest thing we can give is ourselves. A great pick for Historical Fiction fans as well as the Middle Grade set. The use of a younger soul to guide the way makes it more approachable, while her lack of confidence makes her seem more human. After all, we aren't all born with a backbone of steel...but it doesn't mean we can't accomplish great things in this life...or even perhaps in the after.


      **copy received for review
    • 3/5
      Flossie is 12 years old. She's been the turnkey of Highgate Cemetery for quite a while now. As a turnkey she must take care of the souls that come to Highgate Cemetery. She's the only soul that is allowed to wander off the cemetery and on one of her excursions to St Paul's, during the bombings of London in 1940, she sees the ghost of a Nazi officer. This is when the story gets interesting.
      Flossie now has to unravel the mystery of why the officer was at St Paul's, this leads her not only to the turnkeys of the other London cemeteries but also to a cemetery in Berlin.

      The story is a mix of historical fiction, children's fiction, ghost story and mystery. I quite enjoyed it, although it took me some time to get into the story. I am sure children/middle graders, who have a basic knowledge of what happened during WW II, will like it a bit more than I did.