43. Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies

Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies. 2023. [February] 368 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Dad used to say that qi, like the Force, ran strong in our family. That if we nurtured this life energy, we could heal a broken bone, even change the flow of water. Bet he never thought I would use the Chu family qi to bake the most gooeylicious shoofly pie on the planet. 

Premise/plot: Winston Chu loses his pie and gains a broom and dustpan. If I wanted an inadequate, awkward one-sentence summary, that's what I would go with. Winston has a great group of friends, and, he relies on them a great deal since the death of his father, a veteran. His older sister is grieving in her own way. His younger sister can't remember her father at all. Winston--and his friends--encounter a mystical, magical, whimsical here-today-gone-tomorrow shop of oddities with a super-strange-and-suspicious-shop-keeper. He's allowed a magical item--in return for "scaring" away hoodlums--but it will be the first thing he touches. And that something--was it a trick???--was a broom and dustpan. His life--and the lives of his friends--will never be the same again. This broom and dustpan will wreak havoc on their personal lives....and they will have to risk everything to hold onto what matters most.

My thoughts: This was one strange book. I guess I didn't realize it was a changeling story--involving his younger sister and a creepy doll. If I'd more fully known where this fantasy book was heading, I personally wouldn't have picked it up. Of course, it's equally possible that a reader would pick it up simply because they want a changeling story. 

This one wasn't for me. But it might work better for other readers. 

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

14. The Worlds We Leave Behind

The Worlds We Leave Behind. A.F. Harrold. Illustrated by Levi Pinfold. 2023. [February] 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Hex wasn't entirely sure how the girl had come to be hurt. That morning he and Tommo had got on their bikes and they'd headed over the train tracks and down the hill, down to the woods. On a map, the woods were a fat finger pointing away from town.

Premise/plot: Twilight Zone times ten--that's how I'd describe A.F. Harrold's The Worlds We Leave Behind. It begins with two friends--Hex (short for Hector) and Tommo (short for Thomas) hanging out together. They had absolutely NO plans at all of hanging out with a "baby" (Sascha). But this neighbor-kid, Sascha, tags along despite the two trying their hardest to get rid of her. (Who wants to be responsible for a strange neighbor kid in the woods??? Certainly not these two.) Playing on a rope swing turns tragic--in more ways than one. She falls off the swing and breaks her arm--it is way more complicated than that...and the world (yes, the world) will never be the same.

Be careful who you meet in the woods. That's all I have to say about that. I know the jacket flap goes into much more detail....but why purposefully spill twists and turns????? 

My thoughts: The Worlds We Leave Behind is certainly atmospheric and creepy. It isn't just horror lite. I think it could qualify as horror-horror. The pace was quick and intense. The premise and plot--stranger danger times a thousand--is uniquely odd and strangely familiar. It does feel like a blend of horror and fairy tale. 

Sensitive readers might want to stay away. But for upper elementary grades and middle school who are looking for something spooky/scary/suspenseful/mysterious packed with twists and turns...this one might be a good fit. I do recommend it for adults who are nostalgic for the Twilight Zone.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

132. Vampiric Vacation

Vampiric Vacation: Sinister Summer #2. Kiersten White. 2022. 320 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: The day was decidedly sinister. But not in a charming Sinister-Winterbottom way.

Premise/plot: Theo(dora), Alex(ander) and Wil(helmina) are back in their second (mis)adventure novel. Their summer vacation continues. The novel opens when Aunt Saffronia drops them off at the Sanguine Spa--and then dashes off. Wil (the oldest) sticks to her phone and can't really be bothered. But Alex and Theo have much to explore--to seek and find. But it would be helpful if they had a little guidance as to what they were looking for. As they engage with the super-young staff and the Count himself, they become more curious and definitely more spooked. What is going on in this castle-spa-hotel???

My thoughts: I definitely engaged more with the first book in the series. I liked the water-park (amusement park) setting. The characters seemed fresh/original. It wasn't particularly being tied to any other book/story. This one has so many ties to Dracula that it was a little frustrating. At a certain point, it began to tell its own story and from there it improved. But it wasn't love cover to cover. I wasn't charmed like I had been with the first book. That being said, I do like the characters. And I'd definitely still be interested in reading book three in the series. The larger mystery is just beginning to unfold, I think. 

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

84. Wretched Waterpark

Wretched Waterpark (Sinister Summer Series #1) Kiersten White. 2022. [June] 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Their aunt was decidedly Sinister. But only because she was from their mother's side of the family. If she had been from their father's side of the family, she would have been decidedly Winterbottom. It had been a great trial for each of the Sinister-Winterbottom children to learn how to write their own names, something their usually thoughtful parents had neglected to think through.

Premise/plot: Wil (Wilhelmina), Theo (Theodora) and Alexander have been dropped off at their Aunt Saffronia's house for the summer, presumably. It all happened so suddenly. The aunt seems just as puzzled by the arrangement as they are. (Or is she???) But her idea of taking care of the children in (Wil is 16; the twins Theo and Alex are 12) involves buying them week-long passes for the local water part. But this isn't any ordinary water part. It is a gothic/goth waterpark that is decidedly odd and potentially sinister. With each moment spent at the park, the creepiness increases--or their awareness of the creepiness increases. Will these three children survive their week at the waterpark?

My thoughts:  If you are looking for a whimsical read with eerie, creepy atmosphere and plenty of mystery and suspense, this one may be for you. This isn't my favorite genre, however, the narrative style hooked me. Even though I don't seek out creepy-creep books that special in gothic atmosphere and unexplained mysteries, once I started reading chapter one, I just had to keep reading.

 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

48. Goblin Market

Goblin Market. Diane Zahler. 2022. [August] 256 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Market day was Lizzie's favorite day of the week. Not because she loved going to the market--the few times she'd been there, she'd hated it. There were so many people she didn't know, from villages and farms clear on the other side of Elza. So much noise, such constant comings and goings, so many smells and colors! It was overwhelming, terrifying. 

First Impressions: I requested Goblin Market by Diane Zahler because I love, love, love, crazy love the original poem Goblin Market. This one is described as "one sister must save the other from the goblin prince in this rich, spooky, and delightfully dark fantasy!" The cover, well, the cover doesn't scream out read me, read me--but everything else about this one said it would be a good choice for me.

Premise/plot: Lizzie and Minka are sisters. Minka, Lizzie's younger sister, is the one who goes weekly to market. But one market day, well, Minka meets someone different--a young man named Emil who sells fruit in the market. And their lives--the whole family--are changed forever. For once Minka has had a taste of that fruit, well, there's no going back to the way things were before...

It may be up to Lizzie to solve the mystery of her sister's grave illness. (The cost couldn't be higher--if Lizzie fails to find a cure in time, her sister will undoubtedly die. She wouldn't be the first to do so.) But she won't have to do it all alone. Lizzie teams up with a neighboring farm boy, Jakob, and together they will brainstorm a solution. 

My thoughts: It was definitely a fantasy with horror elements. The goblins--or zduszes--are certainly spooky and scary. The action is intense. It kept me turning pages. I can certainly see elements from the original that were retained in this retelling. 

My favorite character was Lizzie. I adored her. I admired her. My favorite quote describes Lizzie, "You're a plucky girl, I've always known. It's far braver to overcome a fear than not to feel fear at all." 

It also reminded me of The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier one of my all time favorite, favorite, favorite books. 

Quotes:

Her worries marched around in her head, a tiny army of waspy thoughts, stinging her awake every time her eyes began to close.

What he promised--it sounded like...freedom. To do what I wanted to do. To be who I wanted to be. He knew I wanted more than I had. He saw that right away....I would have married him...

© 2022 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Dead Voices (Small Spaces #2)

Dead Voices. (Small Spaces #2) Katherine Arden. 2019. 256 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Winter in East Evansburg, and just after dusk, five people in a beat-up old Subaru peeled out of town in a snowstorm.

Premise/plot: Dead Voices stars three friends whom we met in Small Spaces: Ollie, Coco, and Brian. The three are spending the first week of winter vacation—along with Coco’s mom and Ollie’s dad—at a soon to be opened ski resort, Mount Hemlock. The storm could be a sign of things to come. If they are advising people to stay off the roads and stay home, then you should listen. But that would be a very short and incredibly boring book! Dangers abound in this one, especially if you’re a child. If you’re an adult, well, then you just cook, eat, sleep, and never observe your surroundings.

My thoughts: This one promises to be a delightfully spooky ghost story. A family is trapped by a blizzard in an haunted house. That’s the premise. Lots of foreboding and build up. One child keeps seeing and hearing ghosts. Another keeps having dreams. Combined there are plenty of warnings. Warnings like don’t listen to the dead, stay out of closets, never look in mirrors. Yet. Yet what do our narrators do?!?! Listen to the dead, look in closets, and look in mirrors. Part of me was screaming at the characters. The other part of me was racing through the book.

I do not want to include any spoilers in my review. But I do have some thoughts on this one. It is not a little creepy—but very creepy. The adventures with a certain someone from a previous book seem to be just beginning. The books are definitely more connected than I originally thought.

On a side note, I did not like the inclusion of the Ouija board and the subplot of trying to communicate with the dead. The first book was creepy but not in a kids are interested in the occult way.

I do like that there are definite clues throughout. Even though the characters themselves didn’t seem to have eyes that see and ears that hear.

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Small Spaces

Small Spaces. Katherine Arden. 2018. 218 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: October in East Evansburg, and the last warm sun of the year slanted red through the sugar maples.

Premise/plot: Olivia Adler stars in this super-spooky middle grade mystery. Olivia “Ollie” is an angsty heroine. She’s fine being a bit of a lonely outsider. She doesn’t need anybody, right?! Well when a school field trip goes horribly wrong—in an amplified Twilight Zone way—she may find herself having to work together with a few classmates struggling to survive. The eerie nature of the book begins early on the night before the field trip to a nearby farm. She saves a book from being thrown into the river(or lake or pond). She starts reading it...and this gives her a slight advantage over her classmates and teacher. But will it be enough to see her safely home?!?!

My thoughts: Is it a mystery? Is it horror? I’m not confident enough to untangle the delicate distinctions between these two genres. It’s incredibly spooky and suspenseful. Readers have an opportunity to try to figure out what is going on and who the Smiling Man is. It is without a doubt a page turner. I don’t love horror typically. I don’t seek out scares. I really don’t. But I found this spooky read to be enjoyable all the same. It can be good to take baby steps outside your comfort zone. I wouldn’t necessarily push this one on kids who don’t like scary/spooky books. 

© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews