Creepy and progressive.
Fourteen international stories embrace their gore.
Poet Campbell directly addresses readers in the foreword to this collection of grisly tales from around the world, explaining that, once upon a time, these “brilliant, horrible tales” were well known. But people altered them and gave them “ ‘happily ever afters’ where nothing really awful happened and, well, a lot of them became boring.” This collection of unsourced stories intentionally avoids the Disney-fication of folklore: A Chinese girl is mummified by the skin of a horse that wants to marry her; a greedy Russian prince marries a button-eyed cuckoo resembling his sister; Korean children are tricked into eating their parents. These tales are disturbing—and satisfyingly so—but in ways that might make it hard to find an appropriate audience. Readers who are ready for stories of wine (or could it be clotted blood?) and seven wives impregnated at once might feel like they’re too old for a collection of fairy tales, although certainly many gore-loving middle-grade readers will devour these. Atmospheric illustrations pair effectively with the text, and Campbell departs from tradition to include overtly feminist stories as well as gay and lesbian romance without a hint of societal condemnation. An afterword explains more about the author’s perspective and reasons behind some of the liberties she takes with the original stories. Characters are presented as racially diverse.
Creepy and progressive. (Folklore. 9-13)Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65258-9
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A thrilling and chilling end to a standard-setting series.
Arden’s quartet of seasonal horrors concludes with sinister clowns at a carnival.
A dry summer in East Evansburg sends friends Brian, Coco, and Phil to Lethe Creek to cool off. But there’s been an Ollie-shaped hole in everyone’s lives since the dastardly “smiling man” took her. The smiling man releases one of his other trapped children to deliver a message: they’ll need three hidden keys to win Ollie back. Meanwhile, Ollie—traveling with the smiling man and his carnival—tries to figure out a way to escape him on her own. When the carnival moves to East Evansburg, the stage is set for the final showdown. By day, it’s a fun-filled paradise. By night, the carnival’s clowns hunt wayward children to turn into dolls. Without the keys, Ollie and friends will be next. While predatory clowns and humans-turned-dolls are far from new territory, Arden once again flexes her gift for atmospheric writing to envelop readers in the story’s eerie mist. The expert use of pacing and sensory cues—sights, sounds, and smells—helps heighten the genuinely terrifying chase scenes. Chess matches and conversations between Ollie and the smiling man humanize the shape-shifting villain, exposing just enough of his motives to wrap up unanswered questions. Earlier volumes establish that most characters are White and Brian is Black.
A thrilling and chilling end to a standard-setting series. (Horror. 9-13)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-10918-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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