THE STARS DID WANDER DARKLING

Kids save their town from an ancient evil.

Archie, Oliver, Chris, and Athena live in Seaham, an economically depressed, small coastal Oregon town where many streets and landmarks are named after the Langdons, a reclusive, wealthy, 19th-century fur-trading family. Archie’s dad was in charge of a multimillion-dollar project to develop a portion of the headlands, much to the dismay of Athena’s environmentalist parents and others in the community—but it’s been paused. Sinister happenings quickly take over the town and the adults in it after the appearance of three strangers who seem new to being human. Old photographs indicate some ancient evil at the heart of the town’s founding, and the adults are suddenly replaced with sticky, odd-smelling replicants. The story, set in 1987 with a cast of bike-riding kids, their older siblings, a helpful adult nerd, one character with psychic powers, and an ending that leaves room for a sequel, feels like a middle-grade adaptation of the TV show Stranger Things. It’s a fun, creepy, attention-grabbing story, but a long and slow buildup culminates in a rushed climax and resolution, and the incomplete-feeling worldbuilding doesn’t quite allow readers to settle into the deliciously ominous truths introduced at the very end. Characters are cued as White.

A fun read with a classic feel.