The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by

My name is Kat, and I don't know how much danger I'm in. My little brother, sister, and I were sent to an academy in Scotland to escape the German bombings in London. We were surprised to find there are only a few other students, and I've now begun to notice some other unusual events. A little girl appears to be fishing out back, but she quickly disappears. A little boy was out there playing with cats, but he disappears too. The Lady won't let us wander around the castle, and she locks all of us in our rooms every night. And then there's Jorry. He's another student at the academy, but we haven't seen him for days. The Lady says he's terribly sick and can't be disturbed, but I don't believe her. Other students start to disappear, and I wonder if something more evil is going on. My aunt gave me an old chatelaine and said it can protect me from magic, but someone has stolen it from my room. I now know the Lady is more powerful and dangerous than I imagined.

This book allows readers to know what's really going on before the main characters find out. We know right away that the Lady is stealing the souls of children to give her more power, but she loses part of her humanity each time she does it. She needs twelve souls to complete the process, so the plot ticks down to the climax as each child is taken. Of course, Kat will be last. The Lady brings cold-hearted cruelty to the conflict, and Kat doesn't understand how to fight her. Kat doesn't even believe in magic, so she's at a great disadvantage in the fight. The book offers a subplot involving a German spy, but I don't think it was necessary. I wondered about his identity, but it didn't really add much to the plot. The role of the academy's teachers is more interesting, since it's clear they're holding secrets. It's also clear they're under the Lady's spell, so that confuses the issue even more. Overall, it's a great book.