I absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a scary, ghost story. Molly is a great protagonist, she’s very believable and I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. Hahn did a great job of entwining history and ghosts.

But, why the heck was she not taken to a therapist? Spoiling a kid is never the right course, no matter what the situation! Ok, other than that, I love this book! I always go back to it when I’m looking for a creepy read. Yes, Heather saw her mother die in a fire and I get that that would be a traumatic thing for a kid. I don’t have much patience for self-pity, or for the excuses people use to shift responsibility for their lives. I think we’ve already established that I’m not a very compassionate person. Ever since their parents got married, shes made Molly and Michaels life miserable. Twelve-year-old Molly and her ten-year-old brother, Michael, have never liked their seven-year-old stepsister, Heather. I just don’t understand how any parent could allow their child to act the way that she does. Wait Till Helen Comes is a middle grade horror novel by Mary Downing Hahn. Unfortunately, I doubt she could be changed much because her awfulness is what makes Helen believable. I very much enjoyed this story, but I gave it 4 stars because of Heather. I was looking for scary, ghost stories and this one was perfect! After I finished this book, I worked my way through most of her other books. This was the first book by Mary Downing Hahn that I read. Now her ghost returns to lure children into the pond…to drown! I don’t want to believe in ghosts, but I’ve followed Heather into the graveyard and watch her talk to Helen. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home - a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. But since our mother married her father, we’re stuck with her…our “poor stepsister” who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire.īut now something terrible has happened. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. Heather has found a new friend, out in the graveyard behind our home a girl named Helen who died with her family in a mysterious fire over a hundred years ago. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately.Heather is such a whiny little brat. But since our mother married her father, we’re stuck with herour poor stepsister who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire.But now something terrible has happened. This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources.

Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Closed for the Season (2010).

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction for Stepping on the Cracks (1992).

The Puppet's Payback: And Other Chilling Tales (2020).

Don't Give Up the Ghost (1993, contributor).

Book wait till helen comes