Book cover for One for Sorrow: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn

One for Sorrow

A Ghost Story

2017 Released
304 Pages
3-4 Hours
Audiobook Unavailable
Hardback Unavailable
Clarion BooksISBN 9781328699022

Against the ominous backdrop of the influenza epidemic of 1918, Annie, a new girl at school, is claimed as best friend by Elsie, a classmate who is a tattletale, a liar, and a thief. Soon Annie makes other friends and finds herself joining them in teasing and tormenting Elsie. Elsie dies from influenza, but then she returns to reclaim Annie's friendship and punish all the girls who bullied her. Young readers who revel in spooky stories will relish this chilling tale of a girl haunted by a vengeful ghost.


What happens when the friend you betrayed comes back from the grave for revenge?


  • A Spooky Historical Setting: Travel back to 1918, a world of schoolyard secrets shadowed by the devastating influenza pandemic.
  • A Story of Bullying and its Consequences: When new girl Annie casts aside her only friend, Elsie, to be popular, she never imagines the price she will have to pay.
  • Friendship and Betrayal: Annie just wants to fit in, but betraying her first friend has terrifying results that follow her from beyond the grave.
  • A Haunting for the Ages: After dying from influenza, Elsie returns—a vengeful spirit determined to punish the girls who wronged her and reclaim her one and only best friend.

Mary Downing Hahn

Mary Downing Hahn’s many acclaimed novels include such beloved ghost stories as Wait Till Helen Comes, Deep and Dark and Dangerous, and Took. A former librarian, she has received more than fifty child-voted state awards for her work. She lives in Columbia, Maryland, with a cat named Nixi.

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