A deftly told, bittersweet story of loved ones lost and remembered, tinged with hope and courage.
What happens when an unlikely hero must transport the Dead to their final destination?
Fourteen-year-old Milo’s not cut out to work with dead people, or so his father is quick to tell him. Though his dad is the Ferryman, entrusted with taking the newly deceased by ship from their island, Merlank, to the Island of the Broken Towers, where they can move on, Milo lacks the right disposition. But right or not, that’s precisely what he’ll have to do when his father is slain by a man working for the Lord of Merlank, who’s desperate to keep his daughter in the land of the living. What follows is a chase across the sea. In the front is Milo, piloting his father’s ship, the Evening Mare, and trying to remember all the rules involved in this voyage. In hot pursuit are the lord and his magicians, all attempting to keep one dead girl from leaving. Hardinge treads a delicate line between horror and hope. Milo’s abilities shine through his doubts, even as he faces trial after trial. The result is part fairy tale, part contemplation of life, death, grief, and the comfort that comes when others listen. Accompanying Hardinge’s poignant prose, Gravett’s pen-and-ink art taps perfectly into the book’s tone, highlighting moments both big and infinitesimally small. Most characters have skin the white of the page.
A deftly told, bittersweet story of loved ones lost and remembered, tinged with hope and courage. (Fantasy. 7-12)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781419774331
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
A page-turner with striking characters and a satisfying puzzle at its heart.
A boy who visits a little free library gets more than he bargained for when he becomes a sleuth caught up in the middle of his town’s most enduring mystery.
Ever since a tragic fire destroyed the Martinville Library, the town has been left without a place to borrow books. That is, until a little free library suddenly pops up, guarded by a fluffy orange cat named Mortimer. Fifth grader Evan McClelland selects two books from its shelves. Inside them he finds puzzling clues that lead him to chase down the real story behind the library fire. The book is told from multiple perspectives, including those of Evan, Mortimer, and ghost librarian Al, who perished in the blaze and is responsible for the upkeep of the little free library. Evan’s tenacious and curious character is relatable. His relationship with likable best friend Rafe, a brave, kind boy with overprotective parents, is easily one of the most endearing parts of the story. The puzzle over the library fire, a secret involving Evan’s family, a popular writer’s connection to Martinville, and the supernatural elements are presented in ways that are just right for middle-grade readers. The pacing is strong, and the twists and turns are satisfying even if perceptive readers may catch hints of the ultimate truth along the way. Physical descriptions of the human characters are largely absent.
A page-turner with striking characters and a satisfying puzzle at its heart. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781250838810
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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