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Book Review: The Secret of Goldenrod by Jane O’Reilly

The Secret of Goldenrod by Jane O’Reilly

Carolrhoda Books, October 2016

ISBN-13: 978-1512401356

Available: Preorder (hardback, Kindle edition)

Goldenrod is an isolated mansion from the turn of the century, abandoned for many years. 11 year old Trina is temporarily living in the house as her father, an itinerant master carpenter, restores it so that it can be sold. Goldenrod’s original owner was also the founder of New Royal, the tiny town nearby. The residents are certain that Goldenrod is haunted, and has cursed them with bad luck, and Trina is nearly convinced, herself, by the strange sounds and slamming doors.

When Trina discovers a hidden playroom, with a talking doll, she becomes curious about Annie, the little girl who lived, and died, in the house, when it was occupied. Trina decides to explore the mystery of the family that lived in the house, and ends up discovering that there is much more to Goldenrod, and New Royal, than meets the eye.

The Secret of Goldenrod is atmospheric and character-driven. O’Reilly does her best to portray the residents of New Royal as discrete individuals, and for the most part, she succeeds. Despite the talking doll, Trina is not a stereotypical girly girl– she helps her father with the restoration, takes initiative in challenging situations, and is both independent and creative. The story’s slow pace may frustrate readers who are looking for rapid action. While it takes place over a relatively short period of time (surprisingly short, since the story takes place over a period of no more than two months, and the house is almost completely restored by the end) the book is long, and the story feels very drawn out, with one small event following another, and many conversations with the doll, although the pace picks up significantly near the end. While it didn’t bother me, there are an astonishing number of coincidences, as well– items and people found at just the right time to nudge Trina closer to the answers she’s seeking.

The house is certainly a character, although it’s not clear whether it actually is haunted, and a talking doll definitely provides a touch of the supernatural, but this is not really a scary book. While there are some scary moments, it is not O’Reilly’s intent to evoke fear. Rather, she explores what it means to reunite a family and community, and to really find a home. O’Reilly writes beautifully, and it is a pleasure to read the story of Trina, her father, and Goldenrod, as they find a comfortable place in the community, but the kid looking for a fast-paced, thrilling adventure will need to look elsewhere. Recommended for general children’s collections for grades 4-8.

 

Posted on September 9, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: The Snake and the Ghost by Tim Jackson

The Snake and the Ghost by Tim Jackson

HaggusArts Publications, 2016

ISBN-13: 978-0-9968544-0-5

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition

 

The Snake and the Ghost is a self-published picture book about Haggus, a snake who takes a bully’s dare to visit a “haunted” house. The reality is that the “ghosts” are the human residents of the house, who scream and swat at him with a broom. Looking in a mirror, he is terrified by his own reflection, realizes that the “ghosts” must be afraid of him, and decides to try talking to them. He then encounters an actual ghost– the grandmother of the little boy who lives in the house– and she can understand him, and confides in him. Haggus then slips away and paints a picture of the grandmother and the little boy, using his tail. Then he is engulfed in darkness and disappears, as the boy’s father scoops him into a sack. The author ends by reassuring the reader that Haggus does eventually return to his family.

Jackson wrote with the intent of creating a spooky tale of a snake wanting an adventure, and the atmospheric, black and white illustrations, done in charcoal, evoke the immediate reaction from the reader that this is going to be creepy (some of these unfortunately lost some of their impact for me, as Haggus is cartoonishly depicted in comparison to the otherwise muted images). However, the central and most essential part of the story is the conversation between the ghost and the snake. Despite my own quibble with the ability of a snake and a ghost to communicate with each other in spoken English, this is the most genuine and heartfelt part of the book, with the grandmother explaining the humans’ fear of both snakes and ghosts, and sharing her grief with Haggus in a way that makes him look past his own wants to help her reconnect with her grandson. While Jackson may have been aiming for a dark and spooky  adventure story, the way he portrays grief and love in this part of the story is what really touches the reader, and the darkness and shading of the images really bring that out. The adventure is incidental.

While the book has a professional look and terrific illustrations, the author really needed a copy editor. The biggest issue is that there are awkward changes in verb tense, and there are also occasional errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. While most of these won’t impair understanding for the reader, they bothered me, and the lack of copy editing in a book that otherwise was clearly designed with care is really surprising.

Jackson strikes me as an author with potential, who needs the help of an editor to tighten and present his story. If he puts as much effort into his writing as he does into design and illustration, he’ll do great things. In the meantime, The Snake and the Ghost , with its focus on grief and love, has an immediate use as bibliotherapy for older children and adults dealing with grief, particularly over the death of a family member. It very much reached my own daughter, and I highly recommend it for this purpose. Beyond this audience, at its existing price point as a hardcover (and the Kindle edition can’t possibly reproduce the illustrations with the same impact), this book will mainly have appeal to individuals and libraries in his area, as part of a collection of local authors. With Halloween approaching, local libraries in the Louisville area may want to track down the author for a reading. Appropriate for ages 9 and up.

Highly recommended for bibliotherapy collections on grief.

 

 


Posted on August 25, 2016 by , Reply

Book Review: I Walk In Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials by Lisa Rowe Fraustino

I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691 (Dear America) by Lisa Rowe Fraustino

Scholastic, 2011

ISBN-13: 978-0545311656

Available: Used hardcover, Kindle edition

 

I Walk in Dread is part of the Dear America series, which consists of fictional first-person narratives in diary format by girls between ages 9-14,  in a variety of historical time periods. This particular book is the diary of Deliverance Trembley, an orphaned 12 year old girl living in Salem, Massachusetts in 1691, at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Deliverance and her sickly older sister, Mem, are hiding a secret– their uncle, who is also their guardian, has left them on their own, with instructions to tell no one that he is gone. While Deliverance is definitely a girl of her time, she also, unlike most others, can read and write, both of which are considered tools of the Devil. Her dreams are disturbing, and her interactions with actual historical figures are varied. For instance, she worries that Sarah Goode, who she knows only by reputation, is a witch who has cursed her chickens, but still lets her and her daughter into the house during a cold night. She’s acquainted with many of the major players, but not intimate with them, with the exception of Martha Corey– an observer who is unsure what to think, and afraid of being found out.

Martha Corey is portrayed as an intelligent, kind, and God-fearing woman who keeps her own counsel. She is observant enough to notice that Deliverance and Mem are alone, and asks Deliverance to read aloud to her, allowing Deliverance to earn enough to feed herself and her sister. Martha’s wise conversation and good character are evident to Deliverance, and when Martha is accused, Deliverance becomes certain that the accusations of the afflicted girls are unjustified. Her behavior as the examinations progress even causes her sister to believe that Deliverance is a witch. It is a compelling story, as minor details like the ability to read and write, a fight with her sister that ends with a Bible sliding into the fire, strange dreams, and a refusal to attend the examinations all together take on an ominous cast as the story continues and the hysteria builds.

While some aspects of the story are implausible (it’s difficult to believe that in over three months, no one actually figured out that the girls were living at home without supervision), the author worked hard to develop a historically accurate representation of the time, place, and events of the witch trials, and I think she succeeded. The back matter includes a historical note, reproductions of primary source documents, an author’s note, and acknowledgments, all to create a more complete picture and provide historical background for young readers this is true for all books in the Dear America series). Fraustino does a good job of humanizing the accused, with her detailed character development of Martha Corey, and of expressing the confusion and conflicted feelings a young girl living in Salem but outside the main events of the story could be feeling about her peers, authority figures, and members of the community. For children, especially girls, who are not quite ready for a more graphic discussion, but are interested in the Salem Witch Trials, this is a good starting place.  Adults who like a compelling story may like it, too. Appropriate for grades 4 and up.

Reader’s advisory note:  Historical fiction readers looking for more might like The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. A possible nonfiction follow-up for those interested in more detail is Witches! The Absolutely True Story of the Disaster in Salem. by Rosalyn Schanzer.

Or, for a list of books for varying ages (with varying levels of appropriateness) related to the Salem Witch Trials, check out this book list.


Posted on August 22, 2016 by , Reply
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