Don't Let Them Leave

Don't Let Them Leave by Mike Lucas (Penguin Books) RRP: $19.99 ISBN 9781761355462

Reviewed by Rebecca Fung

Don't Let Them Leave is a historical ghost story for young adults. The prologue takes us back to North Cornwall in 1855, where we witness a frightening scene among miners. Lucas excels at creating a dark, unsettling atmosphere through the environment he chooses for his story. I felt suffocated as Lucas described the miners in eerie tunnels.

Fast forward to 1930s London, where the narrator, Charlotte, tells the tale of how she and her siblings, Jack and Emily, were orphaned. Their parents' wish is for them to live with their grandmother, whom they've never met.

You might think this is whether the kids go to live with a weird grandmother and then ... but not immediately. A quarter of the book is about the journey out to the grandmother's place. This may seem slow-moving, but the story is intriguing, and I felt compelled to read every detail.

Charlotte is a character forced to grow up early. She's responsible for dreamy, introverted Jack and young, often scared, Emily. The way she makes decisions and often has to suppress her own worries to take care of her siblings is admirable, realistic, and sad.

The children travel to a remote place called Black Island in search of their grandmother. The island, though, just does not seem right. When Charlotte tries to describe it, it's difficult - not one thing sounds wrong, and yet the whole air of it is wrong, and that's the beauty of Lucas's creation. We can feel that this isn't working, but we can't put our finger on it.

Why do comfortable things happen in the house but feel so wrong? What is so strange about the cat that appears? Who is their grandma? Will they be able to leave Black Island?

As the story progresses, the whole "strangeness that is a bit uncertain" keeps growing. There are ghosts, but it's not a heavily supernatural story. It's more about real people and how unnatural and dark they can be - when they have certain ideas. While dark, it's not a gory or explicit story. It could well frighten younger children, but the details, descriptions and level of language are suitable for younger teens. The story thrills but has a satisfying conclusion and lands on a note of relief that's right for younger audiences, even in stories with darker themes.