The Woods

Gr 5 Up–Richard Cole is a scientist—some would say a mad scientist—who is working to defeat the break of the Stonewall Curse. The Cole family has been plagued by a generations of losses of family members, all having to do with the nearby mysterious woods. While Richard is working to halt the curse, his niece, Lenora, comes to live in his mansion. She has been orphaned by the worst industrial accident in U.S. history, the Texas City explosion of 1947. Lonely and grieving, Lenora struggles to understand her incomprehensible uncle, who is always working in his laboratory. Uncle Richard warns her to stay away from the woods, but she is drawn to them. Then a spirit calls to her from an open window, the spirit tries to become flesh, and Lenora soon faces the worst danger imaginable. Will she survive? Is her family dead or alive? Readers must piece this story together through excerpts from Uncle Richard’s journal.