I loved the idea but underwhelming execution. Felt overthought and underdeveloped and I wish I felt differently.

This novel by an Australian author is enticingly Gothic and ghost-filled. Elizabeth and her father move back to his childhood home, Witheringe House. With them comes Zenobia, Elizabeth’s not-so-imaginary friend whom only she can see. Zenobia loves Witheringe House since she hates sunshine, enjoys dust, and wants to find a “Spirit Presence” in the home. The two girls spend time trying to detect the spirit and even hold seances with a Ouija board. But no one replies. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Zenobia begin to explore their new home from the weed-choked garden to the overgrown hedge maze and even the forbidden East Wing. It is there that Elizabeth feels a presence, but Zenobia won’t listen to her. What if there really is a ghost in Witheringe House?

Miller has crafted a Gothic ghost story just right for elementary school children who enjoy a good shiver. The use of Zenobia, who is downright ghost-like herself, is an interesting foil for Elizabeth and adds a creepy yet friendly dimension to the book. Elizabeth tends to be more timid and would likely not have explored the house without Zenobia’s prodding. Still, Elizabeth tends to stick with a mystery and follow through, while Zenobia is forever abandoning projects and moving on to the next idea. Elizabeth is brave though scared, while Zenobia just doesn’t feel fear.

The setting of Witheringe House is well drawn and eerie. The house itself becomes almost a character in the novel, the strange wallpaper, the suddenly-appearing housekeeper, the library filled with odd books. There is a melancholy that is echoed in Elizabeth’s loneliness and a strong sense of grief and loss that pervades the novel.

A delightfully creepy Gothic read for elementary students. Get this in the hands of those who enjoyed The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier. Appropriate for ages 8-11.

Here is a spooky middle grade tale I can get behind! There is a countryside estate that’s been boarded up for some years, there is an overgrown garden and labyrinth, there is a distant father with a mysterious past. While the story doesn’t scare, not in the way of Coraline or The Nest, it uses a handful of gothic tropes to create its own tense and atmospheric moments. Miller writes well for this genre. Her descriptions aren’t too flowery, yet they are creative enough to set an evocative scene. What really brings the setting and story to life, however, are the delightful cast of characters.

Elizabeth and Zenobia play off each wonderfully. Miller gives each a distinct voice. If I described both girls, I might make them sound like caricatures, but they come across as believable young girls. Elizabeth makes for a unique protagonist in these kind of stories – she is not a daring and adventurous child. Zenobia is brash and bold; Elizabeth is scared of many things. Zenobia wants to contact the spirits she assumes inhabit Witheringe House; Elizabeth would rather not. And a similarity – Zenobia can only be seen Elizabeth; Elizabeth wishes her father would see her better. Zenobia’s eager tendency towards the gruesome also helps shape the darker tone of the story. They are the best of friends, and the story explores how they navigate that friendship when their personalities clash. While the plot takes some time to show itself, I found the daily interactions of Elizabeth and Zenobia in their creepy new home entertaining enough.

In addition to Elizabeth and Zenobia, there is a housekeeper whose ability to appear without warning greatly impresses Zenobia and serves as a running gag. There is a tutor who is not the antagonist of the story. And there are a few more characters that I’ll leave you to discover…

My primary criticism lies in the ending. I felt the story concluded abruptly. The mystery surrounding Zenobia never receives an explicit explanation. I like stories neatly wrapped up at the end, though I am coming to learn that’s not always necessary. Zenobia’s nature being revealed was never a promise of the main story line (though I crossed my toes hoping it would come up). The illustrations were not at all to my taste. I tried to be forgiving – “Maybe they’re meant to look like they’re drawn by a kid…” – but personally, I just think they’re bad.

The Bottom Line: A delightful tale of friendship between two very different young girls, Elizabeth and Zenobia is an example of Victorian Gothic middle grade fiction that other books could look up to.

This is a nice, creepy, old fashioned mystery about a girl named Elizabeth who has an invisible friend Zenobia who keeps her company. Her mother has left the family and her dad is grieving and ignoring Elizabeth. When they move back to dad's family home, really weird things start happening. There's a great little mystery and it's fairly intensely scary. I think the kids are going to like this one a lot.

When I tried to describe Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller in a few words, this is what I came up with: a cute gothic horror novel for children. That’s definitely a genre I’ve never heard of before… but an awesome genre!

Goodreads synopsis: Abandoned by her mother and neglected by her scientist father, timid Elizabeth Murmur has only her fearless friend, Zenobia, for company. And Zenobia’s company can be very trying! When Elizabeth’s father takes them to live in his family home, Witheringe House, Zenobia becomes obsessed with finding a ghost in the creepy old mansion and forces Elizabeth to hold séances and wander the rooms at night. With Zenobia’s constant pushing, Elizabeth investigates the history of the house and learns that it does hold a terrible secret: Her father’s younger sister disappeared from the grounds without a trace years ago.

My rating: 4 stars.

Review

Elizabeth and Zenobia has that eerie gothic atmosphere, without being too scary. I think I would have loved it as a kid – I definitely loved it now, as an adult. The protagonist, Elizabeth, is scared of a lot of things, which I could definitely relate to. Her invisible friend Zenobia is quite a character. Imagining myself as a child, Elizabeth is who I was, and Zenobia is who I wanted to be.

“I wonder what sort of a Spirit ours will be. If it does prove to be the blood-dripping kind-”

“Don’t, Zenobia!”

“I was only going to say it might improve the wallpaper.”

The style of this book is amazing – like I said, gothic horror for kids – and there are wonderful illustrations throughout. I like the way this book deals with the supernatural. Supernatural things are definitely happening, but they’re never what they seem. Elizabeth and Zenobia go looking for a ghost, and find a parallel world called the Plant Kingdom. The housekeeper who constantly makes sudden appearances is probably just really quiet, but there definitely is something up with the gardener no one in the house knows about. And Zenobia… we never really find out why no one but Elizabeth can see her, and why she can make strange things happen. Elizabeth and Zenobia leaves things up to the imagination, and I loved that. Explaining everything would only ruin the mystery.

Zenobia clasped at the grayness with her thin white hands and gathered it close. “I think there is something deliciously bleak about fog, don’t you, Elizabeth?”

“No. And the train leaves in seven minutes and if-”

“I wish I could keep a scrap of fog in my pocket for whenever the weather got oppressively nice.”

I would recommend Elizabeth and Zenobia to any child who likes a spooky read, and to any adult who loves children’s books and an eerie atmosphere. It’s perfect for Halloween!

Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller

Elizabeth and Zenobia are inseparable. Light and dark. Timid and brave. Yin and yang. So when Elizabeth’s father decides to move the family to Witheringe House after Elizabeth’s mother runs off with an opera singer, of course Zenobia comes along. The key, though, is that no one but Elizabeth can see Zenobia. Her father *knows* about Zenobia but dismisses her as an “imaginary friend,” even as he plays along with his daughter’s insistence that Zenobia is real.

When they arrive at Witheringe House, Elizabeth finds a dreary, dusty, isolated old house. Zenobia is thrilled at the decrepitude of the house because it fits perfectly with her current fascination, which is making contact with a “Spirit Presence.” Eventually, they uncover a mystery involving Elizabeth’s Aunt Tourmaline, her father’s sister who mysteriously disappeared at age seven. As the girls work through a number of clues, they discover what happened to Tourmaline, and ultimately rescue her from a dark and dangerous place.

Miller cleverly creates a world where Elizabeth and Zenobia certainly seem like two independent girls, while at the same time creating this undercurrent of emotion that suggests they are one in the same girl. Light and dark, timid and brave, yin and yang. Elizabeth is a timid child. She feels unloved and ignored by her botanist father, who would rather spend his time searching for plants in the fields than with his daughter. Zenobia fills a void in Elizabeth’s life. She is everything Elizabeth is not, until Elizabeth finds her courage. This quote from the book illustrates the moment when Elizabeth finds her courage:

There is one good thing about hearing your deepest fear spoken out loud – nothing else that made you afraid before will ever seem so large or so terrible again.

Zenobia represents all the anger and hurt Elizabeth has experienced – her mother’s abandonment, her father’s disinterest in her, and her own fear…of everything from the black keys on a piano to certain types of food. Miller does a good job of conveying Elizabeth’s insecurities, and gradually builds her up until she takes charge of a very thrilling and scary situation. Middle grade readers will enjoy this. Recommended.

The name Zenobia popped out at me from the offerings of advance reading copies. Aunt Nobie (short for Zenobia) was a favorite relative when I was growing up – more about her in the next blog. I had seen chats about Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller from book people, but it was the name that caused me to push “Request” on Net Galley’s website.

A line from the first page of this middle grade novel let me know I was in for a treat, “I have always paid attention to words and the way they fill my ears. There are words I could hear over and over again, like seashell. And there are other words, like custard, that make my stomach flip.” Elizabeth’s affinity for words and her long list of things she found fearful matched mine. However, the only experience I’ve had with imaginary friends came when I had to supply treats for my oldest son’s buddies (four as I remember).

Which brings us to Zenobia’s disclaimers. She can’t be an imaginary friend simply because someone as dull as Elizabeth would be incapable of dreaming her up. She also is not a ghost but a Spirit Presence. As Elizabeth and her father move back to his morbid childhood home, Zenobia’s antics promise to keep nervous Elizabeth in trouble, but maybe they will also answer questions about why the East Wing is forbidden territory, what happened to an aunt Elizabeth did not know existed, and why her father is so distant.

Normally preferring reality to the supernatural in books, I found myself caught up in the story and scrolling rapidly down the pages as I read on my computer. The writer for The Horn Book for Sept/Oct 2017 had the same reaction, and the magazine gave it a starred review. This is a book for anyone able to suspend disbelief in Spirit Presences, anyone who loves a good story, and especially anyone who has once loved a very real imaginary friend.

I came for the promise of Middle Grade paranormally goodness, I stayed for the evil plants. I’m honestly not quite sure what to make of Elizabeth and Zenobia. Elizabeth’s father moves his family (or, rather, what’s left of it: just himself and Elizabeth) into the grand old manor where he grew up. Elizabeth’s imaginary friend Zenobia is convinced there are ghosts and, despite Elizabeth’s fears, talks her into holding seances and exploring the dark halls at night. Eventually Zenobia’s prodding reveals a terrible secret: Elizabeth’s aunt, long thought to have died as a child, is still on the grounds, trapped in a fairy tale story.

I’m sad to say Elizabeth and Zenobia missed its mark. Throughout the novel I honestly wasn’t sure if Zenobia was just an imaginary friend or if she was a ghost herself – and the book doesn’t lean either way. Despite its incredibly short length (barely over 200 pages) I slogged my way through, taking multiple days to get through a book that should have hardly taken an afternoon; there just wasn’t enough meat to this story to capture my interest – and if I found myself constantly setting the book aside, I can’t imagine how a Middle Grade reader would manage to be invested in this one. That said, I REALLY enjoyed the Plant Kingdom aspect…everything else simply fell flat. Also, I’m baffled by the illustrations. I first assumed they were simply rough sketches meant to serve as placeholders for the final product. Now I’m wondering if they are the final product. I hope that’s not the case, it makes the book take on a self-pubbed feel that I don’t like.

‘Elizabeth and Zenobia’ follows a young, neglected girl and her ‘spirit’ friend. After her mother elopes with another, Elizabeth’s father moves them into his family home at Witheringe and her spirit friend, Zenobia, begins to sense another otherworldly presence in the manor. Thereupon we embarked on a journey to find the inhabited spirit.

This is a dark, gothic tale that is most enjoyed in one sitting on a rainy day when you need something suited to the atmosphere but not something overly disturbing. There are stories woven within stories and it’s a beautiful tangle of art. Interweaving narratives from ‘The Plant Kingdom’ to Lord Alfred Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shalott,’ the novel has a impressive way of crafting a plot.

Alongside the main conflict, I do wish we could’ve explored more of Elizabeth and her father’s relationship. I felt like there was a disconnect with how sullen her father was after her mother left and the tragedy he experienced in his own childhood. While I figured the issue was the former, it turned out to be the latter and in the end, I didn’t connect with this storyline entirely.

On a final note, I thought the illustrations were really wonderful and the simplicity of them suits the tone and plot of the story as well. Only wish I could’ve pinpointed a time period of this novel, merely to satisfy my own restless curiosity. However, all in all, this was a really enjoyable novel.

Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller is all about a little girl named Elizabeth and her (imaginary) best friend Zenobia. Elizabeth's father moves to them to a new home called Witheringe House. Zenobia is determined to find a Spirit Presence and so the two search the house, room by room, Elizabeth a little more reluctantly. While they might not find a spirit, they do uncover a secret and then, it's up to them to save someone very important to Elizabeth's Father.

This story is pretty short, just under 200 pages, and makes for a pretty quick read. It flows nicely from chapter to chapter and there is hardly a dull moment between the two best friends. Zenobia has quickly become one of my favorite characters in a long time. She's snarky and sassy and loves all things dark and spooky. She is the opposite of Elizabeth, but together the two seem to work somehow. For an imaginary friend, Zenobia is so full of life and her wit keeps the book from getting too dark. Because it could easily get that way. This story is spooky. It reminded me a lot of Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It's definitely a great book to read close to Halloween! I ended up giving this book 5 stars! I really thought it was just great.

I liked the concept of this book-a young girl moving to a creepy, old mansion, encountering ghosts, and learning about a mysterious disappearance. It has all the right ingredients to entice my eighth graders to want to read it and find out what happens with Elisabeth and Zenobia!

Elizabeth's mother has left her and her father and now her father is moving them to his childhood home of Witheringe House. Elizabeth is a lonely girl and has an imaginary friend named Zenobia. Zenobia is very different from Elizabeth, dark and gloomy and adventurous where Elizabeth is light and timid and afraid. Witheringe House is neglected and spooky and the girls are sure there is a ghost present, probably in the East Wing which is of course forbidden. Elizabeth is reading one of her father's books on plants and a story about the Plant Kingdom keeps appearing. Then they learn that her father had a sister who disappeared as a girl. Could she be the princess of the story stolen to the Plant Kingdom? How will Elizabeth and Zenobia rescue her?

This book was wonderfully spooky and gothic. I loved the dichotomy of Elizabeth and Zenobia. Even though Zenobia is a imaginary character only seen by Elizabeth, she is full of personality and her own interests. The ending is a bit vague and the reader is left to wonder if the girls really did rescue aunt Tourmaline or if it was all part of Elizabeth's imagination.

I received this book from netgalley.

Here is my review on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1949363020

My opinions are my own, and do not represent any organization I am affiliated with. Thank you for the courtesy copy!

received a free eARC of ELIZABETH AND ZENOBIA by Jessica Miller from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Elizabeth and her unusual and fearless friend Zenobia arrive at Witheringe House, peculiar things begin to happen.

Especially in the forbidden East Wing.

The flowers and vines of the wallpaper sometimes seem to be alive.

A mirror has a surface like the water of a pond.

And an old book tells a different story after midnight.

Zenobia is thrilled by the strangeness, but Elizabeth is not so bold…

Until she makes a mysterious and terrifying discovery.

This is a strange book.

The tale starts with Elizabeth, her father, and her friend, Zenobia, riding a train to their new home which is actually Elizabeth’s father’s family home. It’s established pretty quickly that Elizabeth is the only person who can actually see or hear Zenobia. I kept expecting that to be explained (is she imaginary? A ghost?) but unfortunately, Miller never does explain Zenobia’s mysterious origins or why Elizabeth is the only one who can interact with her. There are a few scenes that point to Zenobia being either a ghost (the room going cold) or a poltergeist (especially with the way she treats Elizabeth’s governess), but nothing is ever made concrete about her.

There’s not a whole lot of world building period, if I’m honest. We’re told that Elizabeth’s mother has unexpectedly run away with her opera singer boyfriend and while Elizabeth mentions her mother’s departure several times, we don’t get a clue about the family dynamic before. Her father is clearly neglectful but we don’t know if he’s always been like that or if his wife’s betrayal has sent him into a depression.

The story itself, though, is pretty clever and there is a little mystery and magic involved. All of the mystery surrounds her father’s first book- a book that has a dedication to someone her father has never mentioned and has mysterious handwritten pages that only appear at midnight, telling the story of the Plant Kingdom and the little girl the King and Queen want to make their princess… through any means necessary.

While a very short story, it was still enjoyable and even though I wish Miller had given us more information on Zenobia and Elizabeth’s family, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this little middle grade book!

Definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a lighter “dark middle grade” book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, since it is not in kindle format, I am unable to do so.

Goodreads Rating: 4 stars
NetGalley Rating: 5 stars

With middle grade fiction like this, the less I have to say about it, the better it is, so this will be a relatively short review!

Richly imbued with Gothic tones and themes, Elizabeth and Zenobia is the perfect book for middle-grade readers who like their stories mysterious and phantasmagorical. I loved both Elizabeth and Zenobia, and how “imaginary” friends/alter egos are addressed subtly throughout the story. This also plays into the theme of trusting yourself to be brave enough to stand up for what you want, and to overcome your fears. It’s a moral that’s incorporated very well into the story, without feeling like it’s being forced.

Witheringe House combines all the lovely Gothic tropes that I love from Victorian literature and a few more. I saw strong inspiration from “The Yellow Wallpaper” in addition to the Brontes and Collins. The theme of plants and mysterious alter kingdoms reminded me vividly of the 6th grade Clue-Finders game from my childhood, and the mirror world happily recalled the final season of Grimm. And, to top it all off, I pictured Zenobia as Wednesday Addams throughout the entire book, which made me very happy. Elizabeth, although I didn’t love her as a character, provides the innocent, worrisome foil to Zenobia’s melancholic, risk-taking.

The ending, while it leaves many threads open and unresolved, was well-done, a neutral-leaning happily ever after of sorts, and it lends itself to a sequel, which I would love to see!

I would definitely recommend this to anyone, middle-grade or older, who likes gothic/paranormal books, similar to the Miss Peregrine series.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!

That Zenobia, she is a snarky little thing. The story follows Elizabeth and her make believe friend Zenobia (Or is she) as they uncover a secret that Elizabeth's father has been keeping for a long time. Strange things happen when they move to Witheringe House. Can Elizabeth overcome her fears and be the savior that is needed?

I loved how Zenobia was always making trouble and Elizabeth would get blamed for it. You begin to wonder how many people believe that Z is there? Its an interesting concept. The story would be one that I could read with my 9 year old. I think he would love the mystery and excellent happy ending. One thing I would have liked to see more of would be the creepy factor, but because this is more of a middle grade book it was perfect the way it was. I'm just partial to bone chilling stories.

This was a great read, good for middle grade through adults. Four stars for Elizabeth and Zenobia.

This review was written by Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina http://www.exballerina.com