ALA Booklist (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

When 15-year-old twins Dominick and Patrick lose their home to a fire, their family moves to the seaside cottage where they usually spend their summers. Everything seems run of the mill, until the twins start having vivid dreams about a bad man coming to take them, and when they wake they're filled with a ravenous, mindless hunger. Soon the dreams start bleeding into reality, and Pat sees an ominous WWI soldier lurking in the shadows. Then he wakes to a terrifying goblinlike creature talking to his brother in the night. When Dom becomes possessed by a ghost and his body turns dangerously ice-cold, no one in their loving family save Pat seems to notice, so he takes it upon himself to dig up clues about the ghost in the hopes that he can rescue his twin. Dom and Pat share a deeply loving bond, which makes Pat's panic over Dom's transformation palpable. In stark, eerie passages, Kiernan tells a gripping story as much about the love between brothers as it is about ghosts.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

Twin teens Patrick and Dominick move with their family to a shabby seaside cottage. There Pat sees that Dom is being haunted by the ghost of a young boy, while Pat himself is visited by nightmares about a WWI soldier. Family love, loyalty, and protectiveness are palpable in a well-drawn cast of characters. The pace is galvanized with energetic drama and evocative Irish dialect.

School Library Journal (Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 7 Up-Set in Ireland in the early 1970s, this story stars twin brothers Patrick and Dom Finnerty, who have their world turned upside down when their house and all they possess is burned to the ground. Displaced, the family moves into their summer seaside cottage. Now in the middle of winter, the cottage seems dull, bleak, and quite eerie. Suffering from horrible nightmares, the boys' bond of brotherly love is put to the test when they discover that the "goblin-boy" is not just a dream. When Patrick tries to rid them of the ghostly creature, it takes possession of Dom instead. Patrick realizes that in order to save his brother's life he must befriend this ghost and figure out what it wants and why before time runs out. The protagonist's journey of self-discovery uncovers numerous family secrets, forges unlikely allies, and proves that the power of friendship, loyalty, and love are far stronger than he ever imagined. Kiernan's beautiful and haunting novel is full of mystery and suspense with continuous plot twists and turns. The narrative voice is compelling and honest while capturing the emotional terror the teen has to face. The refreshing, multidimensional characters drive the story line and readers will connect with them because of the poignant and touching moments. A captivating read that combines Irish history with the supernatural. Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY

Voice of Youth Advocates

This award-winning export from Ireland is an atmospheric ghost story set in the 1970s. After Nan burns down the house, Dom and Pat's family move into a seaside cottage. At night they both have weird dreams, and soon Dom is speaking with the goblin-boy, a strange ghost-like creature that is afraid of the soldier. When Dom is possessed by it, Pat knows that he has to save his brother since his parents are oblivious to the changes in Dom. Joint hauntings and not-so-scary ghosts become the focus in the last part of the novel.When Pat initially hears and sees the goblin-boy, the tension and atmosphere are genuinely creepy. The creepiness slowly disappears once Dom is possessed. Pat's confusion, anger, and frustration are authentic. The appearance of James, the old man, and Nan's sudden lucidness are convenient for the author to fill in the blanks for Pat and the not-Dom. In the end, the author has created an interesting realm of the afterlife within a story that has multigenerational focuses, making it a richer account. Readers may struggle with some of the historical details, as well as the heavy usage of Irish and British slang and accents, but if they soldier on, they will be rewarded with a ghost story that encompasses heartache from two generations and the love brothers have for their twinsboth living and dead.Kristin Fletcher-Spear.