Evie Von Rathe lives with her aunt Desdemona in the seventh most haunted town in America – Blight Harbor. Desdemona is Blight Harbor’s local paranormal expert. Living with Desdemona (“Des”) has been an interesting experience and pleasant enough, And Des hasn’t had too many rules for Evie, the main one being “Stay away from the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town” (as if Evie had any interest in being in an abandoned slaughterhouse!).  The ghost of John Jeffrey Pope – a serial killer who hunted in the streets of Blight Harbor a hundred years ago – is said to dwell in the space.

But when Des goes into that building and doesn’t return, Evie knows it will be up to her to get her aunt back – if she can even find her!

But John Jeffrey Pope isn’t the only strange creature to exist in the shadows of the slaughterhouse. Evie meets The Clackity – an unusual creature that seems to live in more than one reality – a bridge between worlds. Evie strikes a bargain with The Clackity – it will help Evie get Des back and Evie will deliver the ghost of John Jeffrey Pope to The Clackity.  A fair bargain it would seem to 13 year old Evie.

The journey through unchartered worlds will have Evie encounter witches and ghosts and even a memory-thief, while alternately looking for and avoiding Pope, who wants to add Evie to his collection of souls. Evie will also amass a weird collection of items that may prove key to getting Des back.

This middle grade novel is a delightfully eerie read. Take some of the darkest parts of the Harry Potter books, put them in a Neil Gaiman-style world, add a Bruce Coville-like impish charm, and we get close to describing the adventure of The Clackity.

Like many YA and Middle Grade books, we’re set up with a protagonist of approximately the readers’ age and with a perhaps unusual amount of freedom to do as they please (usually because the parents are out of the picture). The adult ‘in charge’ is quirky but loveable and will either a) need the protagonist’s help , or b) be a follower on the adventure (in this case, ‘a’).

The adventure here is solid and it’s more than just a little spooky – at times quite frightening – which is what the readership is looking for,

The characters of Evie and Des are clear but I would have liked something a little more solid about Pope (pun in tended) and The Clackity. Both are integral to the story but less well defined for me. This means it’s the adventure that drives the story, not the characters.  Perhaps just right for a middle grade audience.

I enjoyed it this and I think a following will develop for Evie and Des in Blight Harbor. Being the seventh-most haunted city in America should mean there’s plenty more adventure possibilities.

(Also… I love middle grade and YA books that contain a few pages of artwork.  The pictures included in my ARC have a great Charles Addams-ness about them.)

Looking for a good book? The Clackity by Lora Senf is a dark, eerie adventure for young readers that will still scare the pants off a few adults.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Clackity

author: Lora Senf

publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 1665902671

hardcover, 288 pages

Thirteen year old Molly’s father has just died, which is a lot for a young girl to take in, but her uncle arrives with some surprising information – Molly has a brother.

Molly’s parents split up just after she was born and her mother (who has also passed away) took the older child and left Molly with her father. Her father had never been much of a provider and Molly learned to fend for herself. She has also learned that there is some sort of family business that this older brother she’s just learned about is currently running. Since she needs money to survive she figures she’ll go and demand half of everything – or part ownership of the business.

The brother, Dustin, isn’t too thrilled to be learning about Molly but ultimately takes her in as she shows she can handle the work.  The family business …?  They run a funeral home and are cemetery caretakers for supernatural creatures and right now there’s a wizard raising the dead and ruining the eternal slumber for those interred in the cemetery.

I am a tremendous fan of Chuck Wendig’s work. I think his YA books are the perfect storm of strong female characters in tough situations and are written with an edge that really pushes YA readers to another level. His books for adults have a real bite to them – which I love.  And so I was excited to see a book by Wendig for middle school readers.

The book has all the typical Wendig ingredients – supernatural characters, a tough female protagonist, and a world where monsters and wizards dwell (and die). What could go wrong?

What could go wrong (and what I think does go wrong) is that writing PG does not play to Wendig’s strength. With all the right pieces necessary for a ‘typical’ Wendig book, Wendig, by necessity, pulls his punches and tames down the fervor and venom that he writes so well.  He also works (a little too hard) to be clever and funny – an important ingredient for middle school when dealing with dark characters in a cemetery.  He can do humor well, but when I think of characters like Miriam Black or Atlanta Burns, light-hearted or fun or funny are not terms that come to mind. But he tries to bring that into play here and for this reader, it doesn’t work.

Any Chuck Wendig book is better than none, and while I hope middle school readers will find this and read it and get hooked on Wendig, I also selfishly hope the author will return to writing for YA and adults with all the angst and energy we’re used to.

Looking for a good book? Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig is a fun, dark fantasy/supernatural book for young readers. Those already familiar with Wendig’s work may be surprised at the lighthearted tone and, like me, miss what makes his works so delectable.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Dust & Grim

author: Chuck Wendig

publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

ISBN: 031670623X

hardcover, 384 pages