The Mulberry Tree

 The Mulberry Tree by Allison Rushby, 294 pages.

Imy and her family have just moved all the way from Australia to a small village in England as they pursue a fresh start after a tragedy. When her family is touring houses she is immediately obsessed with a beautiful cottage with a terrifying ancient mulberry tree. A tree which, according to legend, takes little girls living there the night before their eleventh birthday. Which is ridiculous of course, except for the strange song Imy starts hearing in her head in the weeks leading up to her own eleventh birthday...

This book starts so strong! It has a very spooky atmosphere in a very specific way that's hard to manage outside of middle grade horror. The rhyme is unsettling and the premise is interesting. Unfortunately, this falls apart fairly quickly by the middle of the book, as Imy decides she won't be afraid anymore (and pretty much succeeds). It also has one of the most disappointing endings I've ever read, which feels like it undermines the entire rest of the book and also doesn't make any sense. I unfortunately don't know that I can recommend this book, as much as I would like to.