The Unnatural History Museum may be falling apart, but it’s Kess Pedrock’s home and contains almost everything she loves: mysterious and magical skeletons from Eelgrass Bog, her petulant and perpetually busy brother, and her best friend Jim, a demon trapped as a jarred shrunken head. Only her parents are missing, but maybe, when they come back from their trip in Antarctica, they can save the museum. Until then, it’s up to Kess.
One day, the museum finally receives a visitor in the form of a girl named Lilou Starling, who later reveals that her grandfather died and left her a mysterious map with a cryptic puzzle scrawled on its back. This puzzle can only be solved by venturing into the bog itself. Despite Jim’s warnings, Kess sets off with Lilou, determined to both save the Unnatural History Museum and impress her new friend. But between the burning watch fires and eccentric witches, Kess discovers that more of her life is tied up in the bog than she could ever have anticipated. And digging too deep might destroy the one thing she’s trying to save.
Mary Averling bewitches with her debut middle grade novel, The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, which straddles the line between slimy and sweet, concocting a fantasy world that balances snarky demons, magical bogs, concerned witches and awe-inspiring serpents.
The mystery left behind by Lilou’s grandfather will keep even the sharpest readers on their toes, leaving them gasping as the perfectly paced story comes to a head. Averling handles Kess’ emotional struggles—particularly her fluttery feelings toward her newfound friend, as well as her simultaneous sense of obligation toward and longing for her missing parents—with a nuanced yet optimistic lens that will endear Kess to readers.
Whimsically creepy, The Curse of Eelgrass Bog will delight middle grade fans, especially those who loved Claribel Ortega’s The Witchlings or Jacqueline Davies’ The International House of Dereliction. Readers who love fantastical stories—or digging for magical bones in the dirt—should add this to their shelves.
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