Top Ten(nish) Reasons Why Your Uncle Might Be Evil

Darkwood by M.E. Breen gets off to an atmospheric start.

The sun sets so quickly in Howland that the people who live there have no word for evening. One minute the sky is blue or cloud gray, the next minute it is black, as though someone has thrown a heavy blanket over the earth. Nowhere is the sky darker or the night longer than Dour County, a hatchet-shaped region on Howland's western border. A swift river runs through Dour County. Slippery cliffs overhang the river. An icy sea roils off the coast. But worse than these is the forest that grows to the north. No roads mark the forest and no human footprints. Like the dark, it has lives of its own.

M.E. Breen is big on description. That's obvious. And this is especially apparent in the first chapter when it comes to creating the atmosphere for her dark-and-scary fantasy world.

Our heroine is Annie Trewitt. And though she may not know it quite yet, her uncle is evil. She's not as fast as readers in catching all the clues, but right from the start, we know something is up.

Signs that you may have an evil uncle yourself...

• he takes three naps a day
• he drools
• he wears "a battered tin cup like a ring" with the "residue of whisky at the bottom"
• he gets all the cream from the milk, while the others get none
• your aunt warns you to be on your best behavior--and makes you swear you heard her warning
• his bowl is twice the size of anyone else's
• he grunts
• he digs in his ear with his pinkie finger
• he has long dirty fingernails
• he bangs the table with his fist
• he plots to sell you
• he welcomes strange men into his home after you're supposed to be asleep in bed

For other stops on the blog tour, visit:

A Patchwork of Books
Abby the Librarian
All About Children’s Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Cafe of Dreams
Dolce Bellezza
Hyperbole
KidzBookBuzz.com
Never Jam Today

My Own Little Corner of the World
My Utopia
Through a Child’s Eyes
Through the Looking Glass Reviews

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