5-4-25 — Christina Critiques (Stokers and International Booker Shortlist Finalist)
- Christina Pfeiffer
- May 4
- 4 min read
We are back! Also, May the 4th be with you or whatever Bender says in Star Trek. Let’s get into the books that made me weep this week.
There are a few.
SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN MIDDLE GRADE
THE CURSE OF EELGRASS BOG
By: Mary Averling
Release: 1/2/24
Page count: 254
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Kess Pedrock keeps busy dusting and rehabbing her family’s museum. But when a new friend shows up, Kess will find more than the bones she needs buried below the bog.
First line: “I sneak back into the Unnatural History Museum at exactly two minutes past midnight, carrying a backpack full of bones.”
Favorite line: “‘Libraries aren’t tombs, they’d say. ‘No need to keep them quiet and dusty.’”
Thoughts: A middle grade book making a forty-three year old cry - that’s the blurb, ha. It’s a sad, sweet, friendship-laden, found secrets having novel. The sapphic representation is superbly written and Jim - oh, Shrunken Head Jim - loved him so much. A great middle grade novel to add to your collection.
Rating: 4.5/5
Other recommendations: THE GHOSTS OF BITTERLY BAY
THE WITCH IN THE WOODS
By: MichaelBrent Collins
Release: 3/5/24
Page count: 320
KU: No Hoopla: Yes
Synopsis: Just when the Grimm twins thought life couldn’t get weirder, they are moved to a Top Secret town where nothing is as it seems.
First line: “This is how the story began: not with ‘once upon a time’, not in a castle or a faraway land, but in a living room, where Willow Grimm sat in silence with her twin brother, Jake, as their parents told them The Big News…”
Favorite line: “Though, as we shall find, the end of every story is the beginning or middle of another… and sometimes it’s all three at once.”
Thoughts: Now this was fun! Vivid imagery, fun and relatable (even a few to hate), it just worked. Mixing stories from Brothers Grimm with technology brought out the kid in me. I wanted to live in the world. I definite one to add to my own children’s library.
Rating: 4.5/5
Other recommendations: THE HOUSE THAT DEATH BUILT, HOOKED: A TRUE FAERIE TALE
THERE’S SOMETHING SINISTER IN CENTERFIELD
By: Robert P. Ottone
Release: 6/25/24
Page count: 93
KU: Yes Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Casey wants to play baseball but there isn’t room for her on the team - that is, until the Kingfishers must go up against a very spirited team — in more than one way.
First line: “I sat in the bed of Dad’s Dodge pickup as we wound our way through town towards the ball field in the farmland stretching northeast of the valley.
Favorite line: “Didn’t what we just went through show you that she’s literally in everything we do?”
Thoughts: A fun, quick read for lovers of baseball and suspense. There were a few pieces that were never mentioned again like Rambo and MeeMaw. But honestly, those were easy to overlook as the action was nonstop.
Rating: 4/5
Other recommendations: THE VILE THING WE CREATED
THE NO-BRAINERS GUIDE TO DECOMPOSITION
By: Adrianna Cuevas
Release: 9/24/24
Page count: 256
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Frank is not afraid of dead, rotting things - bugs, flowers, … bloated dead bodies - But when the dead begin to rise, can her brain work as quickly and effectively as it should?
First line: “Overcooked eggs look like exploded eyeballs.”
Favorite line: “That’s because there are two hundred and thirty-seven bodies buried in my backyard.”
Thoughts: I sobbed for five damn minutes during the ending. What Cuevas has about injustice with missing children of color and how ADHD is often debilitating (especially in younger children) is so perfectly handled. At times gag-inducing (it is really descriptive with the decomposition) to light-hearted at the right moments. It’s thought-provoking and heartbreaking. One of the best middle grade books I have ever read.
Rating: 6/5
Other recommendations: WHAT FELL FROM THE SKY, CUBA IN MY POCKET
THE CREEPENING OF DOGWOOD HOUSE
By: Eden Royce
Release: 7/30/24
Page count: 267
KU: No Hoopla: Yes
Synopsis: Roddie’s aunt Angie and uncle Erik take him to the family home, Dogwood House, after the death of his Mom. Old family traditions hold secrets and deals that could kill.
First line: “Roddie dreamed he was home again.”
Favorite line: “Keep pushing through the darkness.”
Thoughts: Royce has such a way of educating while entertaining. I am VERY superstitious so understanding the power of familial tradition made me love this story even more. The characters - I loved every one of them! Honestly I could have stayed in this world at least another two hundred pages; they just felt so familiar and safe.
Rating: 5/5
Other recommendations: ROOT MAGIC, HOLLOW TONGUE
INTERNATIONAL BOOKER LIST SHORTLIST
PERFECTION
By: Vincenzo Latronico
Translated by: Sophie Hughes
Page count: 127
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: A married couple journeys through the seasons of life - struggles, boring sex, and so much more.
First line: “Sunlight floods the room from the bay window, reflects off the wide, honey-colored floor boards, and casts an emerald glow over the perforate leaves of a monstera shaped like a cloud.”
Favorite line: “Freedom had turned into abundance.”
“In the future, being publicly shamed would be so common it would stop being an effective deterrent.”
Thoughts: A seemingly easy and uncomplicated premise, then a bamboozle. As a forty (plus) year old, this hit harder than I expected. It should have been titled, “Midlife Crisis for Dummies”. It makes you question so many things at the same time solidifying core beliefs. A stellar novella.
Rating: 4.5/5
Other recommendations: THE CONSPIRACY OF DOVES, GYMNASTICS AND REVOLUTION
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