VERA WARDEN AND THE TWO-FACED DEMON

A girl with disabilities may be the only one who can save her school from a demon in Rose’s supernatural middle-grade novel.

Vera Warden wants to make the best impression on her first day at Morton Academy of Technology in New York. Attending the private school on a scholarship sets the 12-year-old apart from most of her peers, who come from wealthy families. But she’s also seen as different due to her disabilities: Craniofacial difference has given her an asymmetrical face, and she relies on a wheelchair as a result of her osteogenesis imperfecta type 1. While bullies can be cruel, Vera is more worried about the strange entity she spots on campus. She’s seen ghosts before, but she’s convinced this “inky” figure is, in fact, a demon. This diabolical being offers certain students, including Vera, “perfect” looks and perfect lives in exchange for their faces as part of its plan to escape its realm and enter the real world. Sadly, not everyone rejects its offer as Vera does, and she resolves to stop the fiendish plan before it’s too late. The author’s adolescent hero is nothing short of marvelous: She’s charming, accomplished, and funny (“Wasn’t being afraid of the dark enough? But no. Now I had to be scared of demons”). Some of Vera’s dilemmas are specific to her disabilities (such as a callously unaccommodating teacher); she also encounters the kinds of difficulties that all kids face, like realizing her popular new friend may be a bully to others. These relatable troubles persist even as horror seeps into the narrative, as the demon’s offer stirs up anxiety about so-called beauty standards. Some genuinely unnerving (albeit family-friendly) spooks include the demon’s shadowy, shapeless appearance and a scene of Vera creeping into a pitch-black, cobweb-laden room. This breezy thriller launches a prospective series that, with Vera at the helm, shows a lot of promise.

A laudable, quick-witted, and savvy tween hero distinguishes this entertaining ghost story.