Valentina and the Haunted Mansion {Book Review}

Valentina isn’t thrilled with her parents’ decision to move into an ancient, gigantic mansion in the middle of nowhere—filled with dark, unsettling rooms, and far away from civilization, where they don’t have to worry about hiding who they are. Sure, it may be perfect for a vampire family like hers, but moving here meant leaving her best friends behind.

The new house has some perks, though. Valentina gets to choose her own room, and when she explores the mansion on her own, she discovers a trophy room, a museum room, a music room, and much more.

From the moment Valentina started exploring, however, she’s felt someone watching her. Strange things start to happen all around her: footprints appear in the dust, a disembodied voice sneezes….

…and just because Valentina is a vampire, doesn’t mean she doesn’t get scared like any other little girl.

~*~*~

Review

Valentina is just like any normal little girl. She doesn’t want to move into a new house and away from her friends. And she’s even scared of monsters! Since her new home is big and old and spooky she’s certain there will be monsters lurking too.

The only plus side to a new home is Valentina gets to pick her own bedroom. I was quite impressed that despite Valentina’s fears she happily started exploring and boldly wandered into some creepy rooms. When she finally discovers the perfect bedroom she also discovers something else: a ghost!

At first Valentina is suspicious and tells the ghost to get out of her house. But soon she recognizes that the ghost is just as lonely as she is and only wants a friend to play with.

I read this book to my daughters (age 7 and 5) before bed one night. They really enjoyed the story and the illustrations. I think this book is a great lesson to kids that being nice will result in good things and to not always assume the worst in people.

4 out of 5 stars

Links:

Website: http://majankaverstraete.com/picture-books/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17835467-valentina-and-the-haunted-mansion

Author Bio

Majanka Verstraete begged her Mom to teach her how to read while she was still in kindergarten. By the time she finished fifth grade, she had read through the entire children’s section of her hometown library.

She wrote her first story when she was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped writing since. With an imagination that never sleeps, and hundreds of possible book characters screaming for her attention, writing is more than a passion for her.

She writes about all things supernatural for children of all ages. She’s tried to write contemporary novels before, but something paranormal always manages to crawl in.

Majanka is currently studying for her Master of Laws degree, and hopes one day to be able to combine her passions for law and writing. When she’s not writing, reading or studying, she likes watching “The Vampire Diaries” and “Game of Thrones,” spending time with her friends, or playing “World of Warcraft.”

Her debut picture book, “Valentina and the Haunted Mansion” released in May 2013, and was published by Evolved Publishing. She is now working on her second picture book, “Valentina and the Whackadoodle Witch”, which will be published in December 2013.

She has a lower grade chapter book, “The Doll Maker” coming out in September 2013. This is the first book in the Weirdville series, a series of scary books for kids. The second and third book will be released in December 2013, along with an audio book for “The Doll Maker”.

Her debut young adult novel, “Fractured”, the first book in the Mirrorland series, will release in September 2013 by InkSpell Publishing. You can now pre-order your copy.

Website: http://majankaverstraete.com

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/4813098.Majanka_Verstraete

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Majanka-Verstraete/398570476832115

Twitter: @iheartreads

Preorder your copy of Fractured here: http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2013/07/fractured-is-available-for-preorder.html

Purchase your copy of Valentina and the Haunted Mansion here: http://evolvedpub.com/product/valentina-and-the-haunted-mansion/

Illustrator Bio

Noelle Giffin is an alumna of the Savannah College of Art and Design, equipped with a BFA in Sequential Art. She enjoys a good story and believes that it should always be accompanied by art that complements it, instead of overshadowing it. Her favorite part of creating artwork is working towards that feeling of “being in the zone,” where everything just fits together seamlessly and is difficult to distract from.

She likes to listen to music while she draws and, as a result, comes up with silly music video ideas for her characters. Her medium tends to be digital, but nothing beats drawing with pencil and paper. Lastly, she loves fat little birds like nothing else in the world (and now no one is surprised as to why she’s drawing Bird Brain Books).

Website: http://gyffindor.net/portfolio

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xandrei

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