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Book Review: The Book of Living Secrets by Madeline Roux


The Book of Living Secrets by Madeline Roux

Quill Tree Press, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062941428

Available:  Preorder (available March 8) hardcover, Kindle edition, audiobook ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

So many readers wish they could enter the worlds of their favorite books. The Book of Living Secrets will make them think twice.

 

Adelle and Connie have been best friends for years, and they are both obsessed with an obscure romance novel set in the Victorian era titled Moira, which tells the story of  a wealthy Boston socialite who shares a forbidden love with Severin, an impoverished artist. Moira, already engaged to Kincaid, who is also of her social class, involves her loyal friend Orla in her intrigues to meet Severin. One night, Adelle convinces Connie to visit an occult shop and participate in a spell that will send them into Moira. Separated into different parts of the book, the two girls discover that the romantic world they immersed themselves in is only a small part of a much larger, nightmarish world, and that the characters in the book they read are much different in person. The secondary and background characters have interior lives, feelings, and motivations that are never examined in the book, but take center stage as Adelle and Connie attempt to repair the interdimensional rifts creating a doorway for elder gods to pass through that they created by traveling into the book, and restore the characters’ world, before returing to their own.

 

The Book of Living Secrets creatively critiques tropes of portal fantasy, romance fiction, and fandom, while exploring identity and relationships. Madeline Roux has written a gripping, imaginative, if sometimes predictable, tale that teenagers will enjoy. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on February 3, 2022 by , Reply

It’s Women in Horror Month! Book Review: A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales edited by Alex Woodroe

cover art for A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales edited by Alex Woodroe

A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales edited by Alex Woodroe

Brigids Gate Press, 2022

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09QHKS4GJ

Available: Kindle edition ( Amazon.com )

 

Just in time for Women in Horror Month, along comes A Quaint and Curious Volume of Gothic Tales. This anthology of stories by women writers uses the gothic horror tradition to and illuminate the present by giving women a voice. An introduction by Stephanie Ellis provides background on the origins and characteristics of gothic horror and short summaries of each story.

 

Standout stories include “Penance” by Lindsey King Miller, a heartbreaking tale of a daughter’s unresolved fear, anger, and grief after the death of her estranged mother;  “What The Dead Whisper to the Living”  by Mary Rajotte, in which a father reveals unspeakable secrets to his daughter; “Picture Perfect” by Patricia Miller, a short, vicious, piece about an artist who pours all her feelings into her work; “Arbor Hills” by Deana Lisenby, a beautiful piece with an unreliable narrator that takes place in an Alzheimer’s unit; “Down with the Holly, Ivy, All” by Jessica Lévai , a Christmas tale of greed and just desserts that feels like it is straight out of Dickens; and “Speak Ill of the Dead” by Briana McGuckin is an entertaining tale about a forensics technician facing the consequences of feeling sympathy for the ghost of a victim she examined. The laginappe, or final story in the book, “The Sweetlings” by S.H. Cooper ,  could be an episode of  The Twilight Zone. 

 

Other good stories include  “Mercy” by Catherine McCarthy, which features a man with the supernatural power to end lives peacefully, at a cost; “Slave of the Living Dead” by Kasimma, which moves the gothic sensibility to Nigeria, where a family curse caused by destroying the lineage of a beloved ancestor and selling him into slavery dooms them at age thirty-five;  “A Kindness of Ravens” by April Yates, a tale of unhappy marriage, betrayal, sapphic love, and the supernatural; “The Half-Moon Casita” by Anna Fitzgerald Healy, about a couple in an unsatisfactory relationship, each haunted by uncomfortable doubts of the other; and “Scabrous” by Victoria Nations, a disturbing story of a haunted shed.

 

I appreciated the inclusion of “Slave of the Living Dead” , set outside the typical European locations and culture associated with the gothic tradition,, and would love to see more diverse authors’ interpretations if there is a second volume planned. This is a fine choice for readers wanting to explore the gothic horror genre and celebrate women in horror.  The variety of settings, styles, and lengths in this anthology however, means that everyone should be able to find something they can enjoy. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on February 2, 2022 by , Reply

Book Review: Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Too Bright to See by [Kyle Lukoff]

Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Dial Books, 2021

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593111154

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook  ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

 

 

Bug lives in a haunted house, but has only felt, not seen, the ghosts. Bug’s uncle and best friend, Roderick, also believed the house was haunted. Now Roderick is dead, leaving Bug and Bug’s mom behind, grieving.

 

It is the summer before sixth grade and Bug’s friend Moira is determined to make both of them over so they can fit in when they start middle school, but Bug doesn’t feel right about makeup and dresses.  Uncle Roderick may be haunting the house, Bug is having nightmares, and everything feels unsettled, scary, and somehow wrong.

 

With the help of Uncle Roderick’s ghost, Bug finally realizes that he is a trans boy. What’s lovely about Lukoff’s book is that, unlike a lot of coming out stories, where the protagonist faces negativity and bullying,  Bug is supported and loved by the people around him: his mom, his friends, his principal, teachers, school, and classmates.  His struggle is in realizing his identity as a trans boy, dealing with his grief over the death of his uncle, and the many changes that come with entering middle school.

 

All The Bright Places is a haunting, perceptive, optimistic story that all middle grade students should be able to relate to. It handles grief, identity, and growing up beautifully: jts designation as a Newbery Honor title is well-deserved. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

Posted on January 28, 2022 by , Reply
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