Hi friends!
Looking for your next read? Fan of Middle Grade Fiction with a SPOOKY edge? Oh, well then... you came to the right place!
Today, we're playing host to a stop along the Walden Pond Press tour starring the latest from author Anne Ursu. It's a title that combines all the worries and woes that come with navigating Middle School, moving, and discovering lasting friendship, with a hefty dose of mysterious maladies and something otherworldly. Ladies and gents, turn on that nightlight and grab your nearest furry friend, as we dive between the epages of today's blog tour guest and book of choice...
by
Anne Ursu
Walden Pond Press
ABOUT THE BOOK...
The house seemed to sit apart from the others on Katydid Street, silent and alone, like it didn’t fit among them. For Violet Hart — whose family is about to move into the house on Katydid Street — very little felt like it fit anymore. Like their old home, suddenly too small since her mother remarried and the new baby arrived. Or Violet’s group of friends, which, since they started middle school, isn’t enough for Violet’s best friend, Paige. Everything seemed to be changing at once. But sometimes, Violet tells herself, change is okay.
That is, until Violet sees her new room. The attic bedroom in their new house is shadowy, creaky, and wrapped in old yellow wallpaper covered with a faded tangle of twisting vines and sickl y flowers. And then, after moving in, Violet falls ill — and does not get better. As days turn into weeks without any improvement, her family growing more confused and her friends wondering if she’s really sick at all, she finds herself spending more time alone in the room with the yellow wallpaper, the shadows moving in the corners, wrapping themselves around her at night.
And soon, Violet starts to suspect that she might not be alone in the room at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This book was SPOOKY with a capital S! Honestly, kiddo or adult reader alike, I can see an avoidance of night reading or an extra fondness for letting furry friends camp out nearby after reading this one. The creepy factor is cranked high, and you can't help but feel for Violet as she struggles to keep what's hers... hers. The thing is, as scary as the unwanted guest at Katydid Street was... and trust me, it was... and the decidedly uncertain plan to solve her problem once and for all, the scariest parts were those we could empathize more easily with.
Misdiagnosis for medical concerns, or even non diagnosis and disbelief of reported issues, friendships that seem to turn on a dime leaving you exposed and unprotected at heart, adults that should be role models modeling less than those qualities we should be seeing leaving us on the sidelines and dismissed... all of these are tangible things that almost anyone can say they've stepped into and felt off put. The biggest way to combat them... an open heart and mind. We can't begin to say we understand another's journey in life if we're unwilling to truly listen, judging before we even have the facts. It's a practice important at any age, and something adults tend to forget.
In the end, Violet finds her way through the flowers and vines that were threatening to strangle the light out of her life... with a little help from some friends, or more specifically a loving family, a new friend, a very smart cat, and a house that wasn't ready to keep something it never meant to invite in. 😉 A great pick for Middle Grade fans that like a little spookiness in their stories, and a big reminder to own who you are because you're the only you that there is.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
Anne Ursu is the author of acclaimed novels The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, The Lost Girl, Breadcrumbs, and The Real Boy, among others. Her work has been selected as a National Book Award nominee, a Kirkus Prize finalist, and as a best book of the year by Parents Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Amazon.com, and School Library Journal. She lives in Minneapolis with her family and an unruly herd of cats. Find Anne online at anneursu.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special thanks to Debbie and the Walden Pond Press team for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as the eARC for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title just celebrated its BOOK BIRTHDAY, so be on the lookout at your local brick and mortar, or click on over to your favorite online retailer today! Be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
BLOG TOUR
January 16 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub
January 17 A Library Mama (@librarymama)
January 18 Charlotte's Library (@charlotteslibrary)
January 21 Teachers Who Read (@teachers_read)
January 22 Bluestocking Thinking (@bluesockgirl)
ReadWonder (@patrickontwit)
January 23 A Foodie Bibliophile In Wanderlust (@bethshaum)
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
January 25 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers (@grgenius)
No comments:
Post a Comment