There
is one word that can describe this cool, new book from Arthur Slade:
Unique,
unique, unique, unique, unique, unique! Does that count as one word or six?!
And
that’s saying a lot. The setting, the time period, the story and plot and the
cover. Loved the art deco look. Once I opened it, I was instantly drawn into
the characters’ lives. So well written. Throw in a little sci-fi and this novel appeals to
everyone.
You’ve
got twins with a curious past, old Hollywood, movie stars, glamour, parties,
mysterious disappearances and very strange bugs. Plus true friendship.
From
the publisher:
A movie
scream so piercing, so chilling and so powerful, it will open up another
dimension and summon something beyond all imagining...
Far
from the isolated prairie ranch where they were born, orphaned twins Isabelle
and Beatrice Thorn are living a glamorous 1920s Hollywood life as wards of Mr.
Cecil, a mysterious and influential director. Isabelle is a silent film
starlet, destined for greatness in the very first talking picture—a horror
flick that will showcase her famous scream, often seen but never before heard
by audiences. Meanwhile, Beatrice spends her days hidden away on the Cecil
estate with her books and her insect collection, scarves covering her
birthmarks and baldness. But Beatrice’s curiosity about Mr. Cecil, the death of
her parents, the appearance of scorpion hornets—creatures that should not exist
on this earth—and the unsettling fates of two people who visited his estate is
getting the better of her, and she’s starting to realize the director has truly
dark designs for this movie.
And the fact that he lives in my hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan makes it even more cool!
You can read other reviews of Middle Grade novels at Shannon Messenger’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday post.
