Haunted House(svt 3)

by Jamie Suzanne and Francine Pascal

Book Overview

Identical twins Elizabeth and Jessica think that the Mercandy house is haunted and that Nora Mercandy is a witch until Elizabeth solves the mystery.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055315446X
• ISBN13: 9780553154467
• Release Date: September 1986
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Friendship vs. Bullying

This story was about how Nora, the protagonist, had to adjust to situations she faced at her new school, despite the all difficulties she met. The narrative was set around the time of Halloween, in the 1980s, but I believe this story could happen at any school, and at anytime. The main characters are, Nora, Elizabeth, Jessica, Lila and Amy. Elizabeth and Amy were the ones helped Nora a lot by being her friends. Jessica, Elizabeth's twin sister, belonged to the "Unicorn Club", which made Nora hate going to school, because of the Club girls' cruelty. Lila was the cruelest girl in the Club and its leader. Lila caused Nora a lot of trouble, such as the time when Lila accused Nora of stealing her expensive pen when Nora had actually won the pen fairly by winning a tennis game in gym class. When Nora's mother died, she had to move from Pennsylvania to Sweet Valley to live with her grandparents. Nora's new school was Sweet Valley Middle School. One of the reasons that the Unicorns were being mean to Nora, was the rumor that her grandparents were zombies and that Nora was a witch. Yet, the basic reason that the Unicorn Club girls didn't like Nora was that instead of getting to know her, they just believed the rumors. Despite her difficulties, the one way she did adjust to her new school was by accepting her new friend Elizabeth's help. Elizabeth helped Nora a great deal by being her friend, and trying to help her fit in; for example, she warned Nora not to trust Lila. I really liked reading this story, I enjoyed thinking about what I would have done in Nora's place. I was also interested to see the development of Nora and Elizabeth's friendship. The first time I read this book, I thought Nora was unlucky. On the other hand, I also thought she was fortunate to meet such a good friend like Elizabeth who could help her solve her problems. Also, I felt glad that Lila, who had been so mean to Nora, eventually apologized and promised not to be mean anymore. I believe this story could be useful to students who may see this kind of bullying in their school lives. I would recommend this book to my Canadian friends, but mostly to my Korean friends, because it was hard to find such an amusing English-language book, when I was in Korea, so I'm sure my Korean friends would like it. I really love the ending of the story which shows us that in the future, the Unicorn Club could help newcomers feel welcomed instead of excluded.

Pretty Good Book

This book is about a girl named Nora Mercandy who just moved to Sweet Valley, California from Pennsylvania after her mom died. Her father died when she was a baby. The kids in Sweet Valley believed that her grandparents are evil witches. One day, when Jessica is sick at home, Nora shows up at Sweet Valley Middle School. No one wants to show her around. Ms. Pauley, the homeroom teacher, is grateful when Elizabeth, who is kind to everyone, volunteers. The Unicorns, the most popular girls in the school, plot to do stuff to Nora. The next day at school, Elizabeth is home sick and Jessica comes back. Nora is confused at hurt, because the girl she thought was her friend was being mean to her.During PE, the sixth graders are playing tennis and Lila loses the match. Lila bets with Nora whoever loses the matches gets Lila's expensive pen. The next day, Lila accuses Nora of taking her pen and they both get sent to the office. Then, on a math test, when the teacher is not looking, Lila switches the names on the test. Nora, who is good at math, gets in trouble for her bad grade. After that, the Unicorns make her their slave. They send her to make copies of their math homework and makes her skip class to buy them cookies. Lila throws a Halloween party at her house and invites about 60 kids. Meanwhile, Bruce Patman, the cutest boy in 7th grade, decorates Nora's house with toilet papter and eggs. Nora proves that her grandparents are not freaks. I don't think Lila was mean to Nora at all. Her grandparents are freaks in the book. I'm sort of like Lila: rich, pretty, popular, have the same opinion of Nora Mercandy.

Is Nora Mercandy a Witch?

Caroline Pearce,The biggest gossip in Sweet Valley says that Nora Mercandy is a witch and Janet Howell's cat died because of her,but it was just an old cat.Lila Fowler and Those Unicorns are just snobs,execpt Mary Wallace,and Jessica sometimes. and Ellen Riteman.They find out on Halloween that Nora's grandpa was a magician a retired magician,and Nora is learning his tricks,they give a magic show,since they have no candy to give them.

Is the New Girl a Witch?

The Mercandy mansion in Sweet Valley, California, has always been considered haunted. The old woman who lives there is thought to be an evil witch who keeps her husband locked away in the attic.Then one day, a young girl arrives at the house from Pennsylvania. She's Nora Mercandy, an orphan and the granddaughter of the elderly couple.Everybody's curious about this new girl, especially the Wakefield twins: Elizabeth and Jessica. Unfortunately, almost everybody at Sweet Valley Middle School believes Nora is a witch just like her grandmother, and she's ostracized by her peers from the first day of school. Elizabeth, however, being more sympathetic and kind, offers to be Nora's tour guide around the school. Jessica, on the other hand, along with her friends in the Unicorn Club, do everything they can to make Nora feel unwelcome.To begin with, Lila Fowler places a bet with Nora during a tennis match which Nora wins. When Nora accepts her prize (Lila's expensive pen), Lila reports the item missing, resulting in a trip to the principal's office for "Nora the Theif". Lila strikes again during a math exam when she switches her failing test paper with Nora's. Nora, who generally excels at math, is astonished to find her "D" score two days later. However, she doesn't do anything about it, even though she recognizes Lila's handwriting on her paper. I'm not sure which I found more irritating: Lila's cheating or Nora's submissiveness.Finally, the Unicorns invite Nora to Lila's Halloween party as a chance to vandalize Nora's home with toilet paper and trash. I'm still not certain why Nora took the bait, but she did. The result, however, is not all bad. Despite the vicious tricks put on by the Unicorns, Nora comes out on top in the end."The Haunted House", the third book in the Sweet Valley Twins series, is a great book for 8 to 12-year-old girls. If you enjoyed this book, I highly recommend you read the other books in this series, as well as any other book by Francine Pascal.

Great book!!

I thought this was a wonderful book about a girl named Nora who is an outcast just because people think her house is haunted and her grandparents are wierd. But Liz is set on proving to them that Nora is just a nice normal girl