Author : Jonathan Auxier
Publication date : May 20th 2014 by Amulet Books
Now that you look at The Night Gardener's cover, don't you think it's creepy? Well, I am not one who jumps into conclusions, but I didn't believe this was a ghost story. A mystery, yes! But a ghost? I don't think so. It turned out I was wrong, this is indeed a ghost story and speaking as an adult, it's a haunting one.
Two Irish siblings Molly and Kip traveled across England and looked for a job as house servant. Unfortunate things happened and they had nowhere else to go other than a creepy house belongs to the Windsor. Soon they find out about a peculiar tree and a mysterious gardener who only appeared at dark. Molly and Kip determined to find out more about the house, the tree and the gardener.
The most beautiful part of this book is the writing style. To me, The Night Gardener is like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Fairyland series combined into one book. I could picture the scary atmosphere of Sour Woods. I could also smell the musty odor of the dust Windsor House. I believe the settings here must be a beautiful town, if not for the creepy stuffs.
Related post : Review : The Swallow by Charis Cotter
Related post : Review : The Swallow by Charis Cotter
Molly and Kip are wonderful characters. They are so alive. Kip is my favorite in this book. He's the younger one and considering his physical condition, he's incredibly fearless. He's also more rational compared to Molly, his older sister. Molly is a great storyteller and she also play tricks naturally. Other characters also have strong personalities. I can guess who's speaking from dialogue, since their personalities stands out.
Even though The Night Gardener is aimed towards younger readers, I did find some scenes to be quite gruesome for them. Nothing serious, or too detailed but geez, I still have it on my mind (of course I am not telling you). All right, here's a favorite quote instead, of course it's from Kip:
Kip swallowed, steeling himself. "She ain't done nothin' to deserve that. Let her go.""Or else what?" Alistair said, tossing the worm aside. "One word to Mother, and you'll be turned out - two fishy orphans, alone in the cold.""I ain't no orphans," Kip snapped. "And you're a bully."
Glowing 5 rating for The Night Gardener. I wish I could write more praises for this books, but well, you've got my point, so that's it. I highly recommend this for those of you who are looking for a unique and unusual ghost story or if you happen to love children stories. Now let's talk about the books you read lately. Did you come across a scary one? How was it?
