A delectably immersive, eerie experience.
A girl descended from witches becomes entangled in a lethal mystery.
Taking place in a shared universe with Ernshaw’s The Wicked Deep (2018), this novel is set in a mountainous lakeside area in the Pacific Northwest. The few year-round residents include the Walker family—witches—and those living at the Jackjaw Camp for Wayward Boys. The night of a terrible winter storm, one boy goes missing and another dies. Two weeks later, in the dangerous Wicker Woods, Nora Walker miraculously finds Oliver Huntsman. Oliver remembers nothing of how he survived the winter conditions. Nora warms him up and returns him to the camp; unsettled and untrusting of his cabin mates, he keeps returning to her. When Nora learns of the other camper’s death, she follows a thread of suspicion that the missing and dead boys’ fates are related—though she wants to trust Oliver, she can’t be sure. She wishes she had a nightshade, like the Walkers before her—a special magical gift like those chronicled in chapter interludes from the family spellbook that contain brief biographies capped by a spell. She knows enough to recognize that the bone moth she keeps seeing is an imminent death omen. The claustrophobic mystery unwinds at an accelerating pace for the undersupervised teens, and the malicious, haunting Wicker Woods are lovingly characterized and as compelling as the formidable heroine. Most characters seem to default to white.
A delectably immersive, eerie experience. (Paranormal thriller. 12-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3941-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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