But there are no such things as ghosts, are there? Maybe here, at Laurel Oaks, Lila will find out for sure….ĭaphne was alive once, long ago. Ever since her friend Roberto died, she’s been hearing his voice in the middle of the night. When thirteen-year-old Lila and her family visit Laurel Oaks Plantation in Louisiana, her parents and brother scoff at the claim that the house is haunted. Well written and very engaging - I completely enjoyed it :) This is a very satisfying ghost story that is also very much historical fiction. Recommended by Pamela Thompson, Library Media Specialist.Please note: Cover is different from that shown above Spooky and satisfying, the setting of Laurel Oaks and the creepy Louisiana backwoods and swamps make this novel come alive. Readers who like ghost stories or mysteries will like this novel.

The author weaves a story rich with superstitions and folklore brought from Africa and practiced among slaves in the South. Daphne tells of a life in the big house and learning hoodoo from Birdie-a slave woman gifted in spells, witchcraft, and the healing arts. Daphne has been trusted by the Judge's wife to pass on her porceline bebes, figurines that were treasured by the wife, and Daphne wants Lila to find them.Ĭan the mystery be solved? Will the treasure ever be found? Will Daphne's name be cleared after all these years? And what about Lila-will she forever be at the spirits' beck and call?Ĭhapters are told in turn by Lila in the present and Daphne in the past-during the slave days of the South. Daphne didn't poison the Judge's wife and daughters, but she may know who did. She has been hanging around the plantation for two centuries, trying to get someone to see or hear her, and finally Lila shows up and seems to have the powers.

When the ghost of a slave girl named Daphne appears to her and asks Lila for help, Lila knows that she can't pretend she doesn't see the spirits.ĭaphne hasn't been able to pass on to the other side, whatever or wherever it may be. Now that she and her family are visiting Laurel Oaks, a haunted plantation in Louisiana, Lila sees and hears far more than she wants to.

Thirteen-year old Lila has been hearing and seeing strange things ever since family friend and Jemez pueblo member Roberto died.

The secret of laurel oaks by lois ruby