THE IMPOSSIBLE TRIALS OF BENJAMIAH CREEK

An oval stone mask, “chalky-colored and threaded with veins of a very faint violet,” that’s fused to part of his face draws Benjamiah Creek back to the mazelike world of Wreathenwold, where old stories can come terribly—and wonderfully—true.

As Benjamiah knows from The Labyrinth of Lost and Found (2024), unmappable Wreathenwold can be a dangerous place, where people carry shape-shifting dolls called poppets and poachers lie in wait to steal the colors from the eyes of passersby. Now someone is kidnapping children and transforming them into feral snatchlings. In evocative language (“Brother Cayne smelled of cloth and teeth”), Lees elaborates on his immersive setting to continue a story based on his imaginary world’s folktales and imbued with themes of tolerance and friendship. In hopes of freeing the snatchlings from captivity and himself from the witchstone mask, light-skinned Benjamiah, who has brown eyes and “messy, mousy hair,” undertakes five trials that test his cleverness, kindness, courage, loyalty, and curiosity. Horrors ranging from a slavering child stealer and savage ceiling dwellers with clutching claws lie in wait to beguile readers as much as the good-hearted yet flawed allies who join Benjamiah on the way to a resolution that leaves him and his friends in good places but portends further crises for Wreathenwold. To’s hazy, atmospheric illustrations intensify fraught moments. Names and skin tones cue diversity in the supporting cast.

A treasure of a middle volume, shot through with veins of terror, triumph, and redemption.