Shiverton Hall by Emma Fennell

[chesilbeach]

Synopsis: (from amazon.co.uk)
They slowed as they reached the gate; two stone columns, each with its own crumbling angel perched on top. The angels held up a rusty, wrought-iron arch that read, in curling, serpentine letters: SHIVERTON HALL.

Arthur Bannister has been unexpectedly accepted into Shiverton Hall, which, as it turns out, is an incredibly spooky school, full of surprises. And it is just as well that Shiverton Hall has made its offer, because Arthur had a horrible time at his previous school, and was desperate to leave. Timely indeed . . .

But Arthur has no time to worry about the strange coincidence. He is too busy trying to make head or tail of Shiverton Hall, dogged as it is by tales of curses and bad fortune. At least there are a few friendly faces: George, who shows him around; also Penny and Jake. But not all the faces are friendly. There are the bullying Forge triplets for starters. And then there is the acid tongue of the headmistress, Professor Long-Pitt, who seems to go out of her way to make Arthur's life a misery.

Luckily Arthur has his new friends to cheer him up. Although there are some friends that you don't want to have at all, as Arthur is soon to find out.
 
Review:
This book was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize this year in the Fiction 5-12 category, and I would say this is for readers close to the top end of that age range.
 
The name of the school itself is creepy enough, but the environment that Fennell creates is also eerie, with the tales of how the school came to be said to be cursed intermingled with Arthur's story.  I liked how she's brought the boarding school experience up to date, but the use of it still gives children isolation from their parents, giving them chance to take control of the story, and develop friendships and ties to create their own social groups, without too much adult intervention.
 
There's a comic side to the book, which works well as a breather at times, as the tension that builds in the story becomes more and more unsettling, leading to a genuinely scary conclusion.  The revelation of what the cause of the terror is was very clever, and such a twist of the idea, that it brought me out in goosebumps!  I know that as an adult, I shouldn't be so disturbed by a scary children's story, but I suspect that's because I was never exposed to frightening stories as a child, as I was too easily upset, and perhaps if I'd had such well written books as this when I was younger, I might have become more accustomed to being scared and I'd deal with it better today.
 
An excellent book, one I'd thoroughly recommend.