Four girls share a cabin on their school retreat – in an abandoned town where the ghost of Smiling Jack is known to haunt the isolated campers.
Shelley is the new girl with her own haunted past.
Mack made things awkward by kissing her best friend.
Priya thinks she’s ready to take the next step with her boyfriend.
Raffi has a flair for drama, and convinces them all to hold a seance.
But when you call on the darkness, sometimes the darkness replies . . .
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If you’re nostalgic for a classic 90’s horror film but want to read instead, then This Stays Between Us, a novel by Margot McGovern is just for you. The novel is set on the remote and eerie Sturt Peninsula where the Year Eleven class of St Augustines go for a retreat to exercise their independence, improve their peer bonding and for self-reflection on their final years of study. Shelley is the new girl that gets placed together with friends Mack, Priya and Raffi in a cabin. All the girls have secrets within themselves that they are trying to deal with and express. Shelley is distant with the girls as she always feels the odd one out and doesn’t know how to fit into groups. To make the mood light, Raffi decides to hold a seance in the bush at night. Things get scary and the legend of the ghost of Smiling Jack comes to haunt them. The girls hear different legends about this ghost and they are all effected in different ways. The novel is gripping and suspenseful and as a Young Adult Fiction novel is right on par with this age group having references to movies and music and also modern topics that it revolves around. If you enjoy horror, mystery and scary novels, pick this book up on a cosy Saturday and curl in for some drama. You won’t be disappointed. Raffaela, VIC, 5 stars
An edge of the seat homage to 90s horror films and final girls….they weren’t lying. From the beginning it takes you on a journey with four schoolgirls and their year group, heading off for a school retreat. The usual stereotypical types are there….the jocks, academics, cool kids, loners and more. Take a group of high school students to an abandoned, isolated town with a legend of a ghost, put them into cabins with no supervision, and expect them not get up to anything they shouldn’t…..what could possibly go wrong? Margot’s description of the location created the chilling atmosphere that takes this story to an entirely new level, especially when the hair-raising moments come at the girls. Touching on the deeper side of the girls, their lives, what they’ve been through and are dealing with, seems to endear you more to them as this book grabs hold of you and refuses to let go until you have seen it through, for better or worse. I am positive that the YA readers that it is aimed at, will love it. I’m also betting that there are quite a lot of adults readers that will love it as well….I know I did. Nerelle, NSW, 5 stars
What a gripping book from start till end. The perspectives from the 4 different girls and the challenges they faced in life brings it together to show their bravery when smiling jack was more than a myth. A hair raising novel that can be read over and over again with the same reaction from the reader Lorraine, 16, VIC, 5 stars
This stay between us (Margot McGovern) tells the story of 4 girls just starting year 11 in their school retreat. 3 of them were already friend and a new girl that just changed school after some traumatic events, joined them. Smiling Jack was a known ghost story that has haunted the girls at the retreat every year without anyone even imagined it was anything serious. This group of girls start presenting very disturbing situations at night, being haunted by a smiling tall entity, but they weren’t ordinary girls and they didn’t want to leave it alone. Cintia, VIC, 5 stars
4 girls, a cabin in the middle of nowhere and the threat of a ghost named of Smiling Jack – what could possibly go wrong. This story unfolds like a horror flick, having many of those ‘don’t do it’ moments throughout the story. The story told from the viewpoint of each of the girls, tells the tales of the school retreat their all on, what’s going with them now and glimpses of their pasts. What secrets will rise up and be exposed on this getaway from hell. Fabulous read from start to finish, where you get to know each of the girls as the drama at Boynton unfolds. One for those who love a bit of mystery and mayhem in their book choice. Definitely recommend this nail biting read. Suzie, WA, 4 stars
Get ready for a wild, spine chilling ride with This Stays Between Us! It’s a thrilling mix of Scream and The Craft, packed with suspense that’ll keep you up at night. Margot McGovern brings 90’s horror back with a fresh twist, making this a must read for anyone craving a good scare. Four girls, Priya, Raffi, Mack, and Shelley are at a Year 11 retreat in a remote cabin. Priya’s planning a little secret rendezvous with her boyfriend at the boys’ cabin, Mack and Raffi are awkward after a kiss, and Shelley, the new girl is unwell and acting weird. Oh, and there’s a ghost, Smiling Jack, who’s legendary around these parts. Every school camp has one. Raffi, ever the drama queen, decides to summon him with a séance. What starts as a prank quickly turns into a fight for survival as the girls face creepy supernatural forces and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other. Is it the ghost wreaking havoc, or something even darker at play? Set in a haunting Australian town, This Stays Between Us perfectly mixes teen drama with terrifying twists and turns. If you’re into suspenseful thrillers that leave you guessing, this one’s for you! Tanya, VIC, 4 stars
Shelley is a new student at St. Augustine’s and after her experience at her previous school she plans to lay low, especially as she has never made friends easily. The school retreat is in an isolated area with very basic lodges and Shelly is to share the accommodation with Mack, Priya and Raffi who she does not know. The talk of a mystery entity at the park who is known as ‘Smiling Jack’ has the girls intrigued and Raffi decides a séance after dark may answer their questions about this person or ghost. Things soon go wrong, and Margot McGovern has done a great job of creating a very haunting and at times frightening atmosphere. All the girls are experiencing major issues in their lives, and these have been well written and explored within the story. This is certainly a book that you will not want to put down and the story is sure to be one that will stay with you for some time. Marg, VIC, 4 stars
This story had me hooked and guessing until the very end. An easy-read ghost story, where the ghosts are just as buried deep as they are floating on the surface. Amy, WA, 4 stars
This book had a constant haunting mood and atmosphere that made reading it at night-time quite a hair-raising experience, but I absolutely loved it. Each of the characters and their different stories immediately pull you into the narrative and make you want to just keep reading. When I read the synopsis of this book I thought it would simply be a mystery, but it had a much darker tone than I was expecting, and some parts genuinely terrified me. Although I felt that some chapters were a little drawn out and could have been shortened, the author definitely has a way of building a tense and chilling atmosphere that immerses you in the story. But something that made this book stand out from other YA thrillers is how it used a traditional horror story to explore very much real themes such as sexual abuse, and use the story to empower young girls to be strong and resilient, which I thought was very powerful. Overall, this book is a chilling page-turner that will keep you up at night but also make you aware of very important issues. Senara, 16, QLD, 4 stars
Firstly, this Young Adult book comes with a content warning about the mature themes within. It is the perfect book for fans of teenage horror or slasher movies. Set in the year 2000 with plenty of references to popular horror movies, tv shows, music and celebrities of the time. It follows 4 teenage girls on a Year 11 school retreat where things go awry when they hold a seance and tell ghost stories. As the story progresses, each chapter is told alternatively by each of the 4 main characters, giving insights into relationship issues, dealing with trauma, sexuality, friendships and establishing identity. As the action unfolds, is it just their imagination, the effect of alcohol and drugs or something more sinister? I thought there was a lot of paranormal activity and excessive violence. One for the supernatural/horror genre. Belinda, NSW, 4 stars
I didn’t expect such a scary read but it did keep me engrossed. The relationships between the diverse characters was interesting. Kerry, WA, 3 stars
If you like a bit of teenage drama then this is the book for you. Teen romance, school camp, ghosts, a seance and more. Poor Shelley is the new girl in school and nothing seems to go right for her including the need for an amazing emergency tampon. Emily, VIC, 3 stars
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