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INTERMEDIATE FICTION

The Creepening of Dogwood House

272 pp. | HarperCollins/Walden Pond | July, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9780063251403 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780063251427 $8.99
(2) 4-6 In this Southern Gothic horror story, a twelve-year-old boy mourning the loss of his mother goes to live with an aunt he barely knows and her new husband. Orphaned Roddie finds that his family's ancestral home, Dogwood House, is more of a "monster of a place out in the middle of nowhere" than a residence. While there, he learns several things about his mom and her upbringing, including that she grew up adhering to hoodoo, an African American spiritual practice. The plot centers around hoodoo beliefs about the need to burn shed hair to avoid "evil spirits" and the ability to rely on ancestors for help. Roddie rejects these tenets until he discovers the inherent risks of tossing shed hair aside and finds notes left behind by his mom that lead him to shocking discoveries. The tween finds it confusing that his mother never mentioned the house she departed as a teenager, leaving her younger sister behind. Royce (Conjure Island, rev. 7/23) effectively builds suspense around this question and the odd things that happen at Dogwood House while cleverly interweaving facts about hoodoo. She also provides a realistic portrayal of the way grief ebbs and flows amidst a kid-friendly scary story that includes a quest for answers, a confrontation with a monster, and a house that transforms to reveal family secrets after dark.
Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

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