DNF at 60%

This story had so much promise in the beginning. It felt like the author was more concerned about the semantics and the format than the story itself. It wasn’t scary, it was just long and boring.

The scene in this spooky and magical middle grade horror novel is set perfectly from the beginning. One fateful day, a hurricane knocks over a huge and ancient tree, revealing the mouth of a long hidden cave in which a monster lurks, longing to grant wishes. Violet Park, a middle school student who has largely been ignored by her parents in favor of her older sister, stumbles upon the cave when taking a walk through the woods while mourning the loss of her lifetime companion and best friend, her black lab named Midnight. Granting her heart’s desire, the wish monster brings back her dog, seemingly with no demand of anything in return. Everything seems perfect, and no one even remembers that Midnight had passed away. Except for Hudson Causeway, the forgettable, but empathetic and observant, boy in her history class. Violet finds herself wondering why it is that Hudson of all people remembers Midnight’s death and if the wish monster does indeed expect something from her after all.

This book was incredibly well-written and extremely engaging, moving at a perfect pace that balanced both character development and plot. It tackles some heavy and big issues, including grief and acceptance, what it means to be human, and the dangers of unintended consequences from seemingly benign desires, wrapped up in a chilling and magical tale of monsters and wishes. I can’t wait to add this one to my library and engage with my students on their thoughts about it, and most especially the ending!