EXCERPTS FROM AN UNKNOWN GUIDEBOOK

In Bastian’s middle-grade fantasy novel and series launch, a teen’s extraordinary new undertaking entails warding off shadowy creatures.

Eighth grader Aaron Anderson looks forward to his daily after-school visits with his beloved grandfather. One day, Pap inexplicably vanishes, a cryptic note the only clue he's left behind. A worried Aaron tells his parents and later returns to his grandfather’s empty home with his best friend, Jake Perez. After deciphering the clue, the boys fall through a portal into another dimension that's rife with menacing and creepy “Shadow People.” Fortunately, they reunite with Pap and make it back home with a new friend—redheaded teen Wendy Perrault. Perhaps the greatest surprise, however, is the revelation that Pap relays stories to keep the Shadow People at bay, as he is a rare “Folkteller.” Evidently, Aaron is a Folkteller, too, and he becomes Pap’s apprentice. The Shadow People vowed long ago to snatch the ancient Folkteller’s Guidebook and may find Aaron an easier target than their more seasoned enemies. Bastian adroitly introduces an intriguing cast—Aaron is a likable protagonist who, though he doesn’t feel he’s hero material, refuses to give up. And there’s an engaging romance between Wendy and one of the boys, which is complicated by the fact that she, understandably, wishes to return to her other-dimensional home as soon as she can. This smart middle-grade narrative champions storytelling, referring to real-life authors and their works (“It’s a book of poetry—by T. S. Eliot. I’ve been reading and re-reading this one poem for hours. It’s called The Hollow Men, and its stanzas were echoing in my head right up until I heard all of you bluster through my front door”). Much of this opening installment is about discovery; readers learn plenty of details about the Shadow People, from their intermittent attacks to their gloomy realm. A few genuine surprises among the characters set the stage for upcoming sequels. McEvoy’s remarkable black-and-white illustrations showcase bold light/dark contrasts (which, in a story with so many shadows, is fitting), and numerous full-page spectacles throughout the book are worthy of lingering over.

This diverting dark fantasy will surely leave readers craving further installments.