An easy, quick read for horror fans who want to be scared but not terrified.
A white boy who uses a manual wheelchair is drawn into a real ghost story when a famous horror author and his daughters, also white, move in next door.
As a self-conscious wheelchair user and an English immigrant in a small Maine town, seventh-grader Harold Bell dubs himself the “ultimate unicorn” for bullies like white tough guy Alex Hewitt. But bullies pale in comparison to the vengeful ghost unleashed when horror author Frank Goolz activates the Stone of the Dead, an artifact that raises the dead by draining the life force of the living who use it. When Alex disappears, Harold and the Goolz girls, confident Ilona and her headstrong little sister, Suzie, must brave the ghost to save him. In an unexplained development, holding the stone restores Harold’s ability to walk, causing him to covet the stone at his peril. Though such horrors as a rotting ghost and a crab-covered corpse are gruesome, human villains lose their menace in caricature and exposition. The ghost, the bullies, and the aforementioned corpse are hastily connected, and the ending sends Harold and the Goolzes on another adventure. Though Harold’s occasional exposition makes the suspense somewhat halting, he and the Goolzes share a droll sense of humor. Harold’s conflicting feelings about his paralysis are sympathetically addressed, and the “magical cure” trope is somewhat complicated by Harold’s history: he became paralyzed at age 7, so his memories of walking make his desire to do so again believable.
An easy, quick read for horror fans who want to be scared but not terrified. (Horror. 9-12)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62979-677-2
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pratchett-like worldbuilding centers immigrant kids in a story filled with culture, humor, and heart.
At home in Haiti, 10-year-old Gabrielle Marie Jean loves the rain, scary stories, beating the boys in mango-eating contests, and her family, most of all.
When her parents’ paperwork issues mean she must immigrate to the United States alone, every heavenly thing she believes about America can’t outweigh the sense of dread she feels in leaving everything she knows behind. A preternaturally sensitive child, Gabrielle feels responsible for not only her own success, but her whole family’s, so the stakes of moving in with her uncle, aunt, and cousins in Brooklyn are high—even before Lady Lydia, a witch, tries to steal her essence. Lydia makes her an offer she can’t refuse: achieving assimilation. Arnold skillfully fuses distinct immigrant experiences with the supernatural to express a universally felt desire for belonging. Gabrielle desperately wants to fit in despite the xenophobia she experiences every day and despite making new, accepting friends in Mexican American Carmen and Rocky the talking rat-rabbit. But in trying to change herself, Gabrielle risks giving Lydia the power to conquer Brooklyn. Gabrielle is a charming narrator, and of course, good guy (girl) magic wins out in the end, but the threat to immigrant lives and identities is presented poignantly nonetheless in this richly imaginative origin story of one Haitian American girl that offers a fantastical take on immigrant narratives.
Pratchett-like worldbuilding centers immigrant kids in a story filled with culture, humor, and heart. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-27275-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Kids tackle problems both supernatural and real in this atmospheric story.
During a summer in coastal Maine, the kids of Spruce Point work to break a ghostly curse and save a family inn.
The Home Away Inn has been in 12-year-old Parker Emerton’s family for generations, and he wants to keep it that way, but unlucky occurrences mean money is tight, and Parker’s parents are contemplating selling. He worries about having to leave this place he loves. Along with his younger sister, Bailey; two cousins; and summer friend Frankie, Parker is convinced that a ghost has placed a curse on the place. The kids also suspect grouchy neighbor Mrs. Gruvlig of being a witch. In seeking to contact the ghost and investigate suspected supernatural phenomena, the kids end up solving some of the inn’s problems—just not the way they expected. Most of the phenomena turn out to have rational causes, but a bright green flashing light remains unexplained. The strange happenings draw television ghost hunters to Spruce Point, guaranteeing full rooms at the inn. This is a well-paced mystery with a strong sense of place and solidly developed, realistic relationships. Siblings, cousins, and friends work together closely—they have a high degree of independence but do not lack parental oversight. Parker is adopted, and his school counselor believes he has obsessive tendencies; these facts come up in passing. Main characters default to White.
Kids tackle problems both supernatural and real in this atmospheric story. (Mystery. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8611-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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