DARKWOOD
by M.E. Breen
Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Paperback: 9781599904825
Hardcover: 9781599902593
Ages 10-14
288 pages
Annie’s life has been mysterious and vaguely threatening for a long time. She lives quietly and always in fear, filling the secret pockets of her favorite dress with the hidden treasures she finds and collects. Ever since the death of her sister, she has lived alone with her demanding, emotionally distant Aunt Prim and her selfish Uncle Jock. When she overhears her uncle’s plan to sell her to the owner of “The Drop” --- a forbidding place where, she later discovers, children and adults are hung over cliffs to mine valuable ringstone, worked relentlessly until they “run out” or literally drop off the edge of the earth --- Annie runs away into the forest, with only her two beloved cats for company.
In Annie’s world, the forest is dark indeed --- there is no moon, no stars, and no such thing as evening. The world is plunged abruptly each night into total darkness. The forest also crawls with menacing creatures called kinderstalk, whose attacks on livestock and pets terrorize Annie’s family and neighbors. Despite her brave efforts, the owner of The Drop eventually catches up to the girl and leads her to the horrific mine. There she uncovers the truth behind the disappearance of many of the other local children who have vanished over the past several years, including her best friend Gregor, whose entire appearance and demeanor have grown drawn and haunted as a result of everything he’s experienced and seen in this terrible place.
What Annie herself learns at The Drop --- along with her increasing ability to see in the dark --- leads her to the king’s palace, where she encounters the one person she never expected to see alive again. Along the way, Annie’s skills at observing and collecting both get her into trouble and offer her chances for escape and new opportunities. During her travels, Annie gradually uncovers the mysteries of her own history and origins, leading her far from her dark beginnings to a new kind of home she never would have imagined.
Debut novelist M.E. Breen includes a line on her acknowledgments page: to “the Brothers Grimm for being grim.” Certainly Breen does owe a tremendous debt to the famous brothers, not only for the many fairy tale elements she injects into her own narrative but also to their particularly dark outlook on fairy stories. DARKWOOD’s shadowy ambiance and its matter-of-fact depictions of violence make the novel a clear heir to the Grimm tradition.
Breen asks a lot of her readers, often jumping ahead abruptly in time without broadcasting transitions to them in advance. She offers clues that enable them to feel --- just like Annie herself --- as if they are on a journey of discovery. Ambitious readers, especially those who enjoy the Grimm fairy tales that serve as Breen’s inspiration, will respond to the novel’s challenges and enjoy an evocative, classical tale of mystery and magic.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
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