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Reviewed by:
  • Dust & Grim by Chuck Wendig
  • Alaine Martaus
Wendig, Chuck Dust & Grim. Little, 2021 [384p]
Trade ed. ISBN 9780316706230 $16.99
E-book ed. ISBN 9780316706247 $9.99
Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 4-8

When recently orphaned thirteen-year-old Molly Grim shows up on the doorstep of the eighteen-year-old brother she’s never known, she only wants to cash in on the family legacy: a spooky Victorian mansion in woodsy Pennsylvania and the funeral business it houses. Her brother, meanwhile, the taciturn, disapproving Dustin Ashe, isn’t exactly welcoming, especially when Molly starts poking around the house’s secrets. Soon she’s discovered ghosts in the walls, wolves in the woods, a mysterious stone wall with a locked gate, and weirdest of all, that her family runs a funeral home for monsters . . . er, “nonstandard citizens.” Molly’s trust in the wrong person lets loose a magic-sucking fiend into the nearby supernatural cemetery, and now she, her brother, and their cohort of supernatural guardians must forge into danger to stop the creature from unleashing chaos. Wendig thrills, enchants, and amuses in equal measure with this uniquely bizarre fantasy adventure. Peppered with nail-biting action scenes, the well-paced storytelling is as heart-felt as it is heart-racing, and readers who appreciate word play will love the snark-filled banter and witty narrative voice. The memorable denizens of the supernatural world, including a sullen vampire, gender-fluid fox-folk, and a disembodied Florg, add hilarity and hijinks but never steal the show from Molly, who charms as the cosplaying heroine. The ideal read-next for fans of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (BCCB 10/08), this is also perfect for readers who embrace the weirdness of family.

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