KEEPERS OF THE MARSH

Twelve-year-old Lana Parker has been warned away from the marsh bordering her neighborhood in Galveston, Texas, but an intriguing discovery leads her there anyway.

Lana has little in common with her fraternal twin, Gracie, and younger sister, Duck. Since their dad died of a virus two years ago, her family members have retreated: Mom into listening to audiobooks and writing poetry, Gracie into K-pop music, and Duck into video games. With her best friends gone for the summer and her grandmother in a nursing home following a recent stroke, Lana is bored. She escapes to Nana’s nearly empty house, where she discovers a mysterious golden key and a letter addressed to her father, admonishing him to “do your duty. The Alligator Witch is always there.” Most people regard the witch as a legend, but Dad believed in her, so Lana decides to see the instructions through. But when she enters the marsh seeking the witch, her mother and sisters face unintended magical consequences. Lana’s sincere first-person narrative is interspersed with sections following early-20th-century New York City teen spiritualist Zofia Kowalczyk and another pair of fraternal twins who lived in Galveston during the devastating Big Storm of 1900. This low fantasy blends historical and contemporary elements with magic in a storyline that offers a healthy exploration of dealing with grief. The storytelling in this compact tale will sustain readers’ interest before wrapping up with a satisfying resolution. Main characters read white.

A heartfelt story that’s filled with adventure.