The Tale of Jessica Sweetapple

Jessica Sweetapple lives in impressive, magical and ancient Apple Manor. The arrival of the sinister Miss Darknight brings everlasting winter and a series of other disturbing events. Jessica's friends disappear and seem to have been replaced at school by wooden children. The house starts to crumble. Jessica's ancestors awake, alert to the danger which Miss Darknight brings to the family and the Manor. Jessica's father is away searching for wood to use for a new figurehead for the ship which has plunged through Jessica's bedroom. (Confused? Don't worry, a - useful illustrated map of this fantasy world is included at the front of the book and helps to explain the surreal setting.) At night Jessica is able to get into the ship through the Door to the Ancestors and meets her long dead relatives who live in the Great Sea of Sleep. An enjoyable fantasy story which is divided into two parts, part one being the search for the Special Child who it is believed is the only one who can save the manor - predictably this turns out to be Jessica. Part two deals with how Jessica unravels the truth about Miss Darknight's secret and wins the Battle for Apple Manor.