Twin Spell by Janet Lunn

Twin Spell Reviews

• 
  CLM

  Another outstanding book by this talented Canadian author
• 
  Chelsea

  I remember seeing this book at a school book sale. Loved the cover, didn't even read the summary and begged my mom to buy it for me. After displaying great persistence in a public setting, she did! It was a great purchase!
• 
  Maggie

  Twin girls are drawn to an antique doll, and find themselves sucked into a mystery from the past. It's spooky, but not terrifying; just the right chill-factor for the intended age group. The book is a little slow-moving by today's standards. Still, the story is interesting, and the characters well drawn. Plus, I love stories about twins. I read it thinking it was a time-travel story, but although the twins do slip into the past, it happens only briefly. It's more of a ghost story. (Retitled and better known now as Double Spell).
• 
  Rita

  I finally found the book that has stayed with me since I read it as a child. I have always loved time travel books and this one didn't disappoint. Reading it as an adult, the plot was thin in spots, but still a highly enjoyable book. It has so many elements that are among my favorites besides time travel: twins, annoying siblings, a wise elder female relative, a mystery...
  
  It's not Harry Potter or The Hunger Games and definitely not Kate diCamillo, but still a fun nostalgic read.
• 
  Anne Miller

  My all-time favorite childhood novel. I read my copy to pieces. The cover is more tape than paper at this point. Riveting. Page turner. Spooky, touching, and action packed in the exact right proportions for young readers. Anyone with an interest in twin, Ontario, family history, antique dolls, mystery, suspense, and a touch of the supernatural should read this book.
• 
  Julie

  I guess I am into rereading books from childhood. I remembered the title of this one but not the content. I believe a girl from ages 8-12 would really love this book. For me as an adult, it was a lot more simplistic and not as entertaining as when I reread Charlotte Sometimes.
• 
  Arlene Allen

  I read this creepy ghost story over and over and over. Last time was 1991 and you know what - it still held up! Great chilling fun.
• 
  Kathryn

  A supernatural mystery and one of my favorite books as a kid.
• 
  Victoria Smith

  I loved this book. Awesome story. I am excited to introduce this book to my daughter in a few years.
• 
  C. (Never PM. Comment, or e-mail if private!)

  The incomparable, wondrously atmospheric Janet Lunn lived to be age 88 in 2017. She was dedicated to the happiness and education of children and is an instant favourite of mine, discovered while collecting ghost stories recently in my 40s. Prolific is an inadequate adjective. She edited paranormal non-fiction, co-authored Canadian history, penned vibrant and unforgettable historical fiction, and is equally beloved for toddlers’ picture books. She has 5 children: Eric, Jeff, Alec, Kate, John; 10 Grandchildren; and 10 Great-Grandchildren.
  
  She observed “Children’s books are not treated as serious literature. No matter what field you’re in, if you work for kids, you’re at the bottom on the totem pole.”
  
  She was born in Texas, lived in Vermont and New York, and stayed in Ontario after going to university there. She fell in love with Canada and her husband, Richard. In 1988 she won Governor General’s Literary Awards for “Shadow In Hawthorn Bay” and “The Hollow Tree”, the Vicky Metcalfe Award For Literature For Young People, and the Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration Of A Writing Life. In 1996, she was a recipient of the Order Of Ontario, and in 1997, she was named to the Order Of Canada. In 1972, Janet was the first children’s editor in Canada for Clarke Irwin, heading their children’s publishing program.
  
  I did not guess “Double Spell” 1968, is her first novel. This mystery is unique, suspenseful, and hinges upon Toronto architecture! I have looked forward to telling readers about it and the famous “The Root Cellar”, both read by me recently in 2022.
  
  Twelve year-old twins Jane & Elizabeth experience phenomena, such as dreaming the same dream, after buying an antique doll. Not coincidentally, it is linked to the Aunt’s house they have moved into. Sad history and spiritual reconciliation are all plotted together poignantly.
• 
  Isblue

  A very loved book of my child-hood. A ghost story set in Toronto with a old mystery the twelve year old twins - Jane and Elizabeth - must solve. (The book was re-titled and is more commonly known as Double Spell.)
• 
  e-Lizabeth

  Summer reading reminds me of childhood, when I had all the time in the world. Spending a good chunk of time rereading some of my favourites from those days, and this was definitely in the top 5. Such a great story, set in Toronto, and I am always a sucker for an Elizabeth in any book.
• 
  A

  Contrary to the details above, this book was actually written by Janet Lunn, and illustrated by Emily McCully. There are 158 numbered pages.
• 
  Polly

  I find this very creepy--evil dolls have endless power to terrify me!
• 
  Margo Littell

  Creepy dolls, old houses, twins with dreams that aren't just dreams--vintage YA at its best. Wish I'd had this one as a kid--I would have loved it!
• 
  Joanne

  Children's book but I liked it, plus it was written by a local author.
• 
  Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)

  Another Internet Archive re-read from my childhood. I must have enjoyed it more when I read it soon after it came out, at age 8. Now it's just OK, nothing special. In those days I had a rather morbid mind, and time travel/shared memory/ghosts etc took up a lot of my reading time. Nowadays I avoid time travel type novels, they just don't do anything for me; it's probably because I read too much stuff like this. To my shame I must admit the fact it was set in Canada never sank in at the first reading.
  Today I find it very hard to believe that the girls could tell their aunt and "the museum man" all about their visions, shared dreams, etc and have the adults' reaction be "oh how interesting, tell us more." Even in those days the adults would have gone straight to their parents and recommended a psychiatrist.
  What struck me yet again was the number of phrases that leapt off the page at me, having inhabited my memory whole and untarnished in since 1969.
• 
  Kay

  Appears to have been renamed for the kindle edition, which is weird since the cover says Double Spell. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  
  Creepy short ghost story that's juuuust creepy enough to keep me a little on edge. Maybe a little disjointed but it's engaging. Not much character development unfortunately, but it's so short I think that would've been difficult anyway.
• 
  Andi

  I read this book because I thought it was a book I remember (vaguely) from childhood, but it's not. Still, though, it was fun and just creepy enough to keep me reading.
  
  A little of the plot is hazy, and the language is a bit old-fashioned. But if you love a creepy read that is totally appropriate for middle schoolers and above, this one is great!
• 
  Emily

  Favorite from my elementary school library. Rereading was a pleasure,
• 
  Tria

  Talk about déjâ vu...
  
  I hadn't read this book since I was very small - I think seven or eight years old - and although I had forgotten much of the plot, the atmosphere of the book itself stayed with me all my life. I've been trying to recall and trace the book for years, without managing to do so until the last six months. I'm glad to have found it again.
  
  It's not the most captivating book in the world, even for YA, but the atmosphere, as I've already mentioned, is one that will stick around in your mind, certainly.
  
  The twin protagonists are very reasonably drawn, as are all the other characters, but I feel as an adult that too little time is spent on the historical characters. I understand the impression of their being ghosts, with pieces of the memories they pass on that are distinctly missing, and it's not badly done, but I'd have liked to know more about them. Some questions that Jane and Elizabeth find to ask are never answered in the end, and I suppose that could frustrate them as much as it does me.
  
  Still, the book managed to hang around the back of my mind for nearly a quarter of a century, and I think that suffices to point out why it's worth reading. 4 stars.
• 
  Courtney

  I vaguely remember reading this, but barely. I seem to have enjoyed it well enough, but it obviously didn't make much of an impact.
  
  If you want to read something by Lunn, go with Shadow in Hawthorne bay. That's one I've read a few times, and always enjoy.
• 
  Madame Jane

  A nice mystery that takes place in 1960s Toronto. Twins Elizabeth and Jane are pulled into a mystery after purchasing an old doll. The girls become sleuths and discover a dark truth about the dolls past.
• 
  Kim

  I was mesmerized by this novel as a child. I recall doing my book report on it in school and writing many pages in excess of the requirement (to the dismay of my classmates who had to hear each student's report read aloud. I was fairly alone in my bookishness or at least in admitting it, in those years.) I loved the magic and the idea of twins. This may have been where my long held lament at not being a twin originated.