Phew, this was a spooky little book!

THE PLENTIFUL DARKNESS follows orphaned girl Rooney, who is after a ragtag group of "roughouse boys" to steal back her moonlight-gathering mirror when she falls into a dark pit, a world without light that run by a girl and her group of grey-covered children.

I love reading middle grade and this was a fun read, but not one of my favorites. It lacked the cohesion it needed, and I think the world-building could have been more developed. It was hard to understand why things were happening the way they were. It meandered without adding to the plot. There were definitely parts that needed more action to keep things moving and my attention engaged. Overall, I think it needed better editing.

Possibly a good read for middle-graders who enjoy a spooky story!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I loved this book and left a review on Amazon. I think it's Heather's best book to date. The story is ethereal and the prose is as gorgeous as ever.

5/5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ The setting is dark and spooky, yet beautiful and whimsical too. The plot is engaging and the ending reminded me of my kitty Harry - who I had a hard time letting go. 😭 It’s a story about finding your way through the darkness and how sometimes you need to let go in order to find your way home.

It's just not a book for me. Rooney was an interesting character and the plot had premise but I just couldn't connect with the story. It was so quick that it felt more like a drawn out short story than a shorter full length novel. I think it would have been a better short story. The rat was my favorite part.

Kassner’s writing is something special. The thoughtful word choices and descriptive language allow readers to play a movie in their minds with such vivid detail. That is what draws me to Kassner’s books! I’ve read all three of hers now. In this book, we still get that perfect touch of spooky that middle graders love. The setting is eerie and haunting, but I still would want to go to the Plentiful Darkness. Readers will love Rooney de Barra, the Monty (an extremely helpful rat), and soon come to love some other rough characters. Fans of The Circus of Stolen Dreams, Serafina and the Black Cloak, and Kassner’s other titles will want to devour this one!

The Plentiful Darkness by Heather Kassner is the perfect Fall read! A delicious mix of creepy and fantastical, this book will give you shivers. Which, if you've read any of Kassner's other books, is on brand.

Readers follow Rooney De Barra, one the many orphans in the town of Warybone, who is on her own after the death of her parents. She, along with The Montys (what she calls the gaggle of rats living on the streets with the orphans), go seeking moonlight, which can be used as currency in her town. And while she has to compete with the roughhouse boys, she has a secret weapon: her magical mirror. Due to its rarity it is coveted, not only by the roughhouse boys, but by a witch terrorizing Warybone each night. One can guess that doesn't bode well for Rooney.

What Kessner does so well in this book, as well as her others, is craft a beautiful, slightly off-kilter world. I also love the world-building her in books, and this one is no exception. Warybone is its own character, and the perfect counterpoint to the Plentiful Darkness (think a toned down Upside Down vibe). On top of the world-building, Kessner has a lyrical hand with her prose, and there are just sentences that sing on the pages. Put it together with our intrepid heroine, and there's a story that will captivate the entire time.

Younger readers may get scared, but for the older tweens this is the perfect witching hour book (but let's not stay up until the witching hour).

This was a fascinating and intricate novel, especially given that it's not very long. Rooney is an orphan in Warybone, a town that appears to be vaguely medieval Britain, although the details are both lacking and irrelevant. Rooney earn her living - or more correctly, her survival - by using a magical mirror to harvest moonlight, which she then sells for a pittance. She is in competition with the rogueboys, a group of moonlight harvesters that compete with her to collect and sell moonlight. Both Rooney and Trick, one of the rogueboys, are captured by the witch who has been abducting children from throughout the town and imprisoning them in the darkness, a realm controlled by another child, Sorka. Together, they search for a way to return to Warybone, and to bring the other imprisoned children with them.

Written at a middle school level, this book is appropriate for readers from upper elementary through adult.

“The Plentiful Darkness” is what I would describe as the perfect middle-grade fantasy novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. This book is ideal for the genre because the author beautifully balances all the elements for the targeted audience. On the one hand, we have fantasy elements like magic and shadows, and witches. Whereas, on the other hand, we have a heartfelt tale of friendship, loss, and sacrifice. I went through all kinds of emotions as I read this tale, from fear and excitement to awe and joy.

I loved the world that the author created. Rooney is adorable in the lead, and I adored Monty too. I never thought I would read a book where I would root for a group of rats. I felt like I was by her side as she searches for her mirror, which leads her to another adventure. There is also the mystery about the Magician and how Rooney fits into the plans. The author created a fun and enticing story that I feel a reader of any age group would enjoy.

Also, while I loved the fantasy elements, I loved the message the author portrayed. Firstly, there is the dynamic between Rooney, Bridget, and Trick. In the beginning, we see how Bridget and Trick bully Rooney over the mirror. Yet, as the story progresses, you see how they put their feelings aside and become friends for the greater good. It was so interesting to see the shift in the relationship between the characters. Even other characters like Devin and Sorka are memorable.

Overall, “The Plentiful Darkness” is a charming middle-grade fantasy with a lovely message, and it is one of my favorite middle-grade fantasy novels I read this year.

Heather Kassner is a masterful weaver of words. She managed to infuse a book that takes place largely in darkness with hope and light. I loved her first two books and this was just as beautiful. Very few authors can write a story that is both creepy and heartwarming at the same time, but Heather succeeds in this story for the third time. I'd highly recommend this story to anyone who has been feeling lost or lonely and needs a little love and light in their life right now--or anyone who enjoys a beautiful story in general!

The Plentiful Darkness is a cute and spooky story. I loved the cast of characters. The perfect fall read for middle grade readers.

Kids will love the dark, eerie setting, but the story of friendship and redemption shines plenty of light. Rooney is a rich character, an outcast who feels she has been mistreated but comes to see how she might have contributed to the bad blood between her and her enemies.

*I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

An utterly enchanting and magical tale, where I was completely swept away! Brilliant! Everything felt so vivid, real, and alive. This was my second book by Heather Kassner and she has found a lifelong fan.

Twelve year old Rooney de Barra lost her family to the feather flu. In order for her to survive on her own, she collects moonlight, which she draws from the night sky into her lunar mirror. She’s been trying to avoid the roughhouse boys who are her biggest competitors for the moonlight. There’s an even more terrifying danger on the streets though, a magician who has been disappearing children in the night.

Trick Aidan, her worst rival from the roughhouse boys steals her precious lunar mirror, and Rooney is determined to do anything to get it back. As she tries to track Trick down, she sees him be swallowed by a pool of darkness and jumps in after him. They find themselves in the Plentiful Darkness, a fascinating world without sky or stars. She is forced to team up with Trick to confront the magician, and to help the children of Warybone that have been trapped there by the magician’s magic.

If you like stories that are eerie and full of magic, twists and turns, friendships, and found family, you will love this one. A real page turner that I highly recommend!

Note: My kid wants to rate this book 10 of 5 stars! Well, even if it wasn't possible, he insisted, and I could never say no to this beautiful soul. So here we go. This is the first book that got a ten of five stars :)

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley, for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Plentiful Darkness was a lovely book that I read to my kid, and we both enjoyed it. Even it was a little bit spooky, the book was fascinating and page-turner. The plot was engaging and gripping, full of twists and turns that we never saw coming. We both loved a particular scene - where the parents went to protect their kid... it was so emotional.

The story was beautifully written and easy to read. Readers will root to the characters easily, especially with Rooney (I know we both did). And the ending was satisfying.

Overall I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes MG fantasy stories.

I received an advance copy through NetGalley.

This middle grade book embodies the gothic-darkness-tinged-with-hope found in Neil Gaiman’s works, though with a different kind of voice. In this otherworldly setting, Rooney is one of many orphans left in the city after a terrible feather flu the year before. She survives by using a small mirror to capture moonlight to later sell—and competes for the resource with other street kids. But when Rooney’s mirror is stolen by a rival—and that rival is then tossed through a dark portal by the magician who oversees the city—Rooney goes over to find the boy and her mirror. She discovers a twisted, dark realm where nothing is what it seems. Indeed, even enemies may become friends.

At heart, this book is about friendship and about the perils of being too quick to judge others. Rooney grows up a lot in the book, but always feels like a real kid: impetuous, flawed, but meaning well. The message is a bit heavy handed, but not too much so. The book is a quick, enjoyable read, a good one for both kids and adults.

A girl who collects moonlight and a boy who has stolen what is the most important thing to her go on an adventure that will change their lives. Twelve-year old Rooney de Barra collects moonlight in order to survive, she uses a lunar mirror, one that is so precious to her in order to collect it. Her only companion is a rat. She is essentially an orphan just trying to survive. Trick Aidan is part of a rival gang of children who also collect moonlight, and the worst part is that they all bully and chase after Rooney. After one particularly bad confrontation, Trick steals Rooney’s mirror and is then swallowed by a pool of darkness. Rooney has no choice but to follow because she wants her mirror back, even if it means entering into an ominous pool of darkness. When she awakens, Rooney and Trick find themselves in the Plentiful Darkness, a place devoid of sky and stars and ruled by a girl who is trapped there and can use magic. Now both of them must come together in order to escape and try and help the children that are already trapped there too.

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is an absolutely wondrous story, perfect for middle-grade readers. Kassner weaves a story that is reminiscent of "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman filled with dark and light, and characters who are neither of the above - just a gray in between.

I would say that the story is a bit lacking in the world-building of Warybone itself. The land of plentiful darkness is described beautifully, with full development and a system of magic that I wanted to learn more about. However, I felt the details of Warybone were lacking. I would have like there to be more development with the disappearances of the children and the feather flu before the children went through into the darkess. I also liked the idea of catching moonlight and stardust in mirrors, and I would have liked to have seen how that was traded off and how that bartering system worked. I would have also liked to see what people used it for beyond just lighting the lamps.

Otherwise it was an excellent read with characters that grew and developed as the story went. I felt they were all well-developed and enjoyed having them in my imagination for a bit.

What a deliciously spooky tale for young audiences.
After her parents' deaths, Roony turns to catching moonlight as her only means of making a living, but when the Roughhouse Boys take it into their heads to torment her, Roony ends up cornered and then thrust into a world of darkness more sinister than anything she had faced on the streets above. As she searches for a way out of the Plentiful Darkness, Roony discovers that things are not always what they seem and sometimes you have to take responsibility for your own actions in order to move forward.
This tale bridges on the hopeless and sinister without actually becoming terrifying. I loved how the adventure grew Roony's character and presented a different way of looking at people's motives. The world-building was carefully thought out and the ending most satisfactory. It's not too scary for second or third graders, but I think some of my older students would enjoy it as well. It's very well-written.

Rooney De Barra’s life is turned upside down after her parents die, leaving her to fend for herself on the street with only rats for companions. When another orphan steals the only thing she thinks she has of any value, she follows him into the plentiful darkness - a bewitched place where only shadow and night exists. If she ever wants to escape it, she’ll have to team up with her former nemesis and learn that the brightest light of all exists within each of us, if we’re brave enough to embrace it.

This story is pure magic. So inventive, with prose written in an almost lyrical way, it’s one of those rare books that has stayed with me long after I turned the last page. Grief, longing, rejection, redemption, searching for where you belong, how friendship can be found in the most unlikely of places, discovering that those we love never truly leave us; there are so many life lessons woven within this tale in such a beautiful way, I think it will move both old and young alike. I can see this becoming a well-worn hardbound book that I’ll reread for many years to come.

I’ve long admired Heather’s precision with words and this story was no exception. How she built an entire world out of darkness and somehow made it come to life had me in awe the whole time. She does a masterful job of creating a cast of distinct and vibrant characters, too, not the least of which is Trick and Bridget - members of the Roughhouse Boys. Readers will root for Rooney and her companions to find their way, and the ending will leave you enchanted with some unexpected twists and turns.


Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for review.