Lots of creepiness, memorable characters, a worthy message, Arrasmith’s atmospheric drawings and touches of humor amid the...
Replete with engaging figurative language and literary allusions to works ranging from the Bible to Paradise Lost, Auxier’s creepy Victorian ghost story is an allegory on greed and the power of stories.
Fourteen-year-old Molly and her younger brother, Kip, orphans fleeing the Irish famine, seek work in England. The destitute siblings become servants at the Windsor estate, at the center of which is a decrepit house entwined with a huge and sinister tree. Although warned that this place contains something ominous that changes people, they are unprepared for the evil they encounter. The master, mistress and their two children grow pale and thin; their eyes and hair blacken. Entering the forbidden room at the top of the stairs, Molly finds a knothole in the tree—a knothole that produces whatever one wishes for (money, jewels, sweets). The price is a piece of the petitioner’s soul. Muddy footprints and dead leaves in the house attest to an evil nocturnal visitor, the titular Night Gardener, who wipes the sweat of fear from their nightmare-ridden brows to water the tree. In a heart-stopping climax, Molly and Kip attempt to stop this specter and the ancient curse.
Lots of creepiness, memorable characters, a worthy message, Arrasmith’s atmospheric drawings and touches of humor amid the horror make this cautionary tale one readers will not soon forget. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: May 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4197-1144-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
Powerful, heartbreaking, and hopeful.
The boy “did something bad. Truly bad.”
A 107-year-old narrator speaks directly to someone named Olka, saying the stories in the book are about “me and you” as well as the boy, Alex (who presents white). What follows is an intense dual narrative that moves between the speaker’s tragic life during the Holocaust and contemporary 12-year-old Alex’s tale of loss and its aftermath. Alex’s mother has disappeared, and he lives with an aunt and uncle who don’t want him. His resentment, self-loathing, and all-consuming anger cause him to commit a violent act, “the Incident,” for which he’s arrested. His social worker arranges community service at Shady Glen Retirement Home, where he meets the narrator, Joseph “Josey” Kravitz, who keeps to himself and hasn’t spoken in five years. But he’s drawn to Alex and decides to share his story. When Alex’s terrible Incident is finally disclosed, readers will grasp its gravity. Both storylines are filled with misunderstandings, tragedy, horrible acts of hatred, and selfless acts of bravery, which affect the protagonists in profound ways. As they realize that they have much in common, both Alex and Josey learn they can “rise to the occasion of [their] lives.” Best-selling award winner Forman interweaves the tales carefully, with striking language and depth of feeling, allowing readers to understand the characters’ changing perspectives as they learn more about themselves and open up to people around them, many of whom become advocates and friends.
Powerful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. (author’s note, bibliography, further reading) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781665943277
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
Positive, powerful, and action-packed; will hook adventurous readers.
Propelled by the arrival of an unexpected birthday gift, 13-year-old Valentine Adesanya embarks on a quest to find her missing sister.
Eighth grader Valentine dreams of a creative career—she’s a “Future Feared and Fabulous Film Director”—despite the more practical expectations of her Nigerian immigrant parents. The U.S. is run by the Trio Trust, three shady mega-corporations that Valentine suspects are connected to her outspoken 23-year-old sister Vanessa’s disappearance. Strangely, Vanessa isn’t only gone, but her existence seems to have been completely forgotten by everyone in the family except Valentine. While she’s investigating, Valentine unwittingly becomes entangled in the Trio Trust’s Genie Game: She becomes a genie, or one of the General Employee Network of Immortal Engineers. Trapped in a bottle, she can only gain freedom from her contract by granting wishes to mortals—wishes that feed the machine of endless consumption. Set in Gloss Angeles, a dystopian version of Los Angeles characterized by consumerism, pollution, and escalating natural disasters, the story illustrates how humanity suffers when solutions to problems are sold by companies rather than created by communities. An inspirational protagonist, Valentine is shaped by society’s and her loving parents’ expectations of her as a Black girl with big dreams—and she gently defies both. The series opener is lighthearted but grapples age-appropriately with heavy themes, such as exploitation under capitalism, labor rights, and the epidemic of missing women of color.
Positive, powerful, and action-packed; will hook adventurous readers. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: April 21, 2026
ISBN: 9781419764370
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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