Jonathan Auxier
My rating: ★★★★
ISBN: 978-1419711442
Publisher: Henry N. Abrams
Date of publication: May 20, 2014
Age: Grades 4 - 7
Genre: Horror
Themes: wishes, consequences, storytelling, truth
With the Irish famine wiping the landscape, Molly and Kip are forced to travel to England to find whatever work they can. They are hired as servants in a creepy, crumbling manor house where nothing is quite what it seems to be and the locals avoid at all costs. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious, dark specter and an ancient curse that threatens the lives of everyone in the house.
Oh man, I should not have started this book late at night! Not even kidding, I had the heebie-jeebies by the second chapter. Which, of course, is one of the main reasons this book is so great. Once the kids discover more about the dark specter, the goosebumps go down but the concern for the welfare of these characters is forefront. At one point, I, myself, was feeling pretty depressed as I read, as Molly tries to deal with the depressing consequences of her choices. On the one hand, that shows excellent skill in writing and character development. On the other...it's depressing. Obviously. But, of course, the ending makes up for it, so I'd definitely recommend it. To the person who can take a scare.
Find it at your library or on Amazon
I read The Night Gardener last night after listening to an enjoyable interview with the author. I would also recommend this book. In fact, right after I finished I got Jonathon's other book Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes. He is definitely an author to keep an "eye" on. I look forward to future work.
ReplyDeleteI just noticed I had typed "last night" - but have no way to edit - I meant last YEAR. Sorry. But my comments are the same, he is wonderful when interviewed and he has an enjoyable, skillful writing style.
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