Whether or not it’s planned, readers will hope for a sequel.
Chills and chuckles abound in Durham’s latest for middle graders.
Penhallow Fitch wants to make one thing clear: he is a Grotesque—not a gargoyle. Moving his stone form is excruciatingly difficult, but he is easily able to travel outside of his stone body as a “wisp,” “an apparition that exists but can’t touch or be touched by the living.” Even though he’s about 130 years old, he tells readers that he still prefers to take the form of a preteen boy with skin that is “maybe…darker than yours, or lighter.” Every Grotesque is charged with protecting those who reside within their Domain—in Penhallow’s case, a Boston apartment building. Soon, however, Netherkin—evil spirits—begin encroaching on Penhallow’s Domain, drawn particularly to a new family in the building. And there are whispers about a creature called the Boneless King. Determined to protect his wards, Penhallow teams up with a girl nicknamed Viola who can, against all odds, see and hear him, and together they work to uncover the mystery of the Boneless King and his connection to Penhallow’s Domain. Penhallow’s dynamic first-person narration provides just the right mix of humor and horror to spook but not terrify. A tidy wrap-up, while heavy on exposition, satisfies while still leaving potential for further tales. A glossary of “goyle-isms” is appended. Human characters are nominally diverse—the Domain’s residents are multicultural, and Viola is described as having East Asian features—but there is no attempt at cultural specificity.
Whether or not it’s planned, readers will hope for a sequel. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-0020-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
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