TITLE: The Hollow Places

AUTHOR: T. Kingfisher

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DESCRIPTION:

"Pray they are hungry.

Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become."

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REVIEW:

Creepy but not horrifying.  The writing was decent with quirky humour, but the alternative world could have been explored a bit better.  There was just something missing.

I think this book will stay with me for awhile, I'm afraid the willows have taken root. I know many people draw the obvious parallels with Lovecraft, but for me this one also had some vibes that brought up touchstones from The Mist (Stephen King) and a smidge of Pan's Labyrinth. Definitely that dark otherworldliness but also the religious and/or mythical undertones throughout.

Sometimes the vastness and imagination that goes into multiverses can be overwhelming but I thought this was beautifully balanced by the characters, with their lightness and their dark humor and being so down-to-earth (which is funny, all things considered!). Carrot and Simon, and even Uncle Earl help even things out and brought levity to a quagmire of disturbing otherness.

The disquieting undertones all throughout was classic horror that I greatly appreciate. It's like a feeling you get that something is behind you and that paralyzing moment where you're deciding whether to look or not, to quickly escape or rationalize it away. In willow world or not, that feeling stays with you throughout the story and it's fabulously unsettling. On the flip side the vivid picture painted with some of the more in your face creepy situations, like the bus or Sturdivant, was grotesquely clear and so easily visualized.

I think my favorite part of all though was the last part in the Museum. It brought a whole new heartwarming element to the tale that I wasn't expecting. For lack of a better term, there really is no place like home, and the idea that your home might feel that way about you too is quite touching. All in all this was a fast paced enthralling read and I definitely look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I received an arc of this book from Gallery Books via Netgalley and this is my honest review.

TITLE:  A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking

AUTHOR:  T. Kingfisher

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DESCRIPTION:

"Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.

But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…"

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DESCRIPTION:

This is supposed to be a children's fantasy novel that is apparently too dark for kids?!  Corpses and assassins are no doubt old hat to kids these days.  Personally I found Bob, the carnivorous semi-intelligent sour bread starter dough, hilarious and Nag, the horse skeleton, rather cute.  And that one Ginger Bread Cookie has more personality than most authors give to their main characters.  The protagonist is a 14 year old girl who is a wizard with bread (just bread!!), who manages to still be a (sensible) teenager (mostly) with all the shit that is going on in her life, without all the whining usually associated to these types of books.  The "step-parents" actually manage to be likeable, decent people.  This is a another great adventure/detective/save the city story with Ursula Vernon's original brand of humour and imagination.

Why should you read this?

Kingfisher writes good dog.

No, not enough?

Kingfisher writes good leash?

Well, you would understand if you had a dog.

Kingfisher's novel is down right spooky. Mouse is suppose to be cleaning out her grandmother's old house but then something is tapping, tapping, tapping at the window.

The book works because of the excellent use of setting and character. Not only is Mouse believable but the supporting characters are wonderfully drawn.

Do not read before bedtime.