 | Creepening of Dogwood House Author: Royce, Eden | |
| Price: $9.01 | ||
Summary:
A contemporary Southern gothic tale of a young boy who, in the wake of his mother's death, is adopted by an aunt he barely knows--only to discover that a ghostly presence of his family's past haunts their house.
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.30 Points: 9.0 Quiz: 550287 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (06/01/24)
Booklist (07/01/24)
The Hornbook (00/11/24)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2024 Roddie’s grieving the loss of his mom and staying at an orphanage while social services attempts to contact his sole relative, Aunt Angela. When she and her husband finally arrive to pick him up, they take him to her childhood home in South Carolina, where Roddie’s mother also grew up. His aunt and uncle are attempting to renovate the crumbling, ancient home, and Roddie notices unsettling things, like a persistent rotting smell, that make him think there’s a dark relationship between his family and the house. Curious Roddie investigates the oddities and, in the process, learns about his family’s hoodoo practices, like burning shed hair to ward off evil—and in this case, a very specific evil, a creature called the Bridgeweaver, who uses the family’s hair to take their memories and control them. Royce (Root Magic, 2021) offers an excellent middle-grade horror story full of eerie atmosphere that nicely folds in the importance of connections to cultural history, meaningful examinations of grief, the literal power of Black hair, and how to find light in darkness. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.
