The Darkling

A clever, self-sufficient first-person narrator gives this debut British ghost story a boost, but not enough to redeem the disorienting elements of the plot. To 15-year-old Petra, ""The Darkling,"" a face-like shadow on her bedroom wall, has always appeared menacing. When an ancient, dying man gives her presents because she reminds him of a lost love, Petra's fears become real. Old Mr. Century passes away and speaks to her through the Darkling. He then takes possession of her widower father and alternately attacks her and pleads with her to return his affections. The promise of the premise is never fully achieved: readers never learn the contents of a mysterious bottle given her by Mr. Century (which appears to be the catalyst for the strange changes in her father), what the old man's connection is to her father's insidious employer nor why the spell over her father finally breaks. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)