Reviews - Riverside Public Library

Booklist Reviews

Auxier's second novel is part morality play, part ghost story, and all enthralling. Molly and Kip are Irish orphans seeking employment in England after their parents die in a shipwreck. Brave, quick-thinking Molly is solicitous of her younger disabled brother, and she feels guilty because she has managed to hide the truth about their parents' death from him, spinning yarns about their travels and promising they will all be together soon. Molly finds them work as servants in a distinctly creepy, isolated country manor where a huge tree growing into the house is casting a spell over the inhabitants, among other mysterious goings-on. Auxier, like Molly, is a born storyteller, and he weaves a tale that will keep readers glued to the page. The outcomes may be expected, but the journeys are riveting, while the predictability conjures the comfort and satisfaction of a classic fairy tale. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

BookPage Reviews

Unearthing spooky secrets in the garden

From the title of Jonathan Auxier's fascinating, original (and more than a little creepy) version of a Victorian ghost story, one might suppose that The Night Gardener is, like The Secret Garden, a sweet, perhaps a bit sentimental, coming-of-age story. And while the novel does share some elements with the classic tale, including orphans (Molly and her little brother Kip); a creepy mansion; spoiled children (Penny and Alistair Windsor); and somewhat magical growing things, The Night Gardener is decidedly darker—in the most delicious and delightful way.

When Irish orphans Molly and Kip arrive to work at the Windsor estate, they find a family out of sorts, a father in financial trouble, curious muddy footprints and, of course, a mysterious room at the heart of the house. As Molly and Kip seek to free the Windsors and themselves from the malevolent presence that stalks the family, they find unexpected sources of courage and allies, including an old storyteller.

This is exactly the sort of scary, spooky story kids love.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is The Great Trouble.

This article was originally published in the June 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

During the Irish Potato Famine, siblings Molly and Kip land in England at the once-proud Windsor family's stately but decrepit mansion, which appears to exert a malevolent force on its inhabitants. Auxier delivers a spooky, menacing atmosphere; mystery; and suspense. While the book partakes of familiar tropes and themes, there's enough of a fresh spin on them that readers should be captivated.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

"Riding atop the [cart's] bench were two children, a girl and a boy, both with striking red hair. The girl was named Molly, and the boy, her brother, was Kip. And they were riding to their deaths." Or so it seems. The siblings have landed in England during the midst of the Irish Potato Famine. Waiting for their parents to rejoin them, they have found work at the once-proud Windsor family's stately but decrepit mansion in the countryside. The house appears to exert a malevolent force on its inhabitants, and the children gradually become aware of this evil and its increasing danger, most especially the Night Gardener, who saps the living of their life force to feed the wish-granting tree. All proper scary stories require a spooky, menacing atmosphere, and Auxier (Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes) delivers the goods with his precise descriptions of the gothic setting and teasing hints of mystery and suspense. While the book partakes of many familiar tropes and themes -- orphans and their cruel taskmasters, bullies transformed by kindness, the slippery slope of greed and wantonness, the power of storytelling -- there's enough of a fresh spin on them that readers should be captivated. jonathan hun Copyright 2014 Horn Book Magazine.

Kirkus Reviews

Replete with engaging figurative language and literary allusions to works ranging from the Bible to Paradise Lost, Auxier's creepy Victorian ghost story is an allegory on greed and the power of stories. Fourteen-year-old Molly and her younger brother, Kip, orphans fleeing the Irish famine, seek work in England. The destitute siblings become servants at the Windsor estate, at the center of which is a decrepit house entwined with a huge and sinister tree. Although warned that this place contains something ominous that changes people, they are unprepared for the evil they encounter. The master, mistress and their two children grow pale and thin; their eyes and hair blacken. Entering the forbidden room at the top of the stairs, Molly finds a knothole in the tree—a knothole that produces whatever one wishes for (money, jewels, sweets). The price is a piece of the petitioner's soul. Muddy footprints and dead leaves in the house attest to an evil nocturnal visitor, the titular Night Gardener, who wipes the sweat of fear from their nightmare-ridden brows to water the tree. In a heart-stopping climax, Molly and Kip attempt to stop this specter and the ancient curse. Lots of creepiness, memorable characters, a worthy message, Arrasmith's atmospheric drawings and touches of humor amid the horror make this cautionary tale one readers will not soon forget. (Fantasy. 10-14) Copyright Kirkus 2014 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Library Media Connection

Fourteen-year-old Irish maid Molly and her little brother Kip are the main characters in this scary English tale. When the children arrive at their new place of employment, they find an enormous leafless tree growing into the side of the house, which provides magical gifts to those who enter the locked green room upstairs. After Kip sees a man coming into the main house at night, Molly watches as he goes room-to-room, collecting sweat and tears of the soul from each inhabitant to use to water his beloved tree. Kip and Molly must find a way to defeat the Night Man and for the tree to survive. This is suspenseful fantasy that will appeal to readers of Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes (Abrams, 2011) by Auxier or Splendors and Glooms (Candlewick Press, 2011) by Laura Amy Schlitz. Karen Perry, Educational Reviewer, High Point, North Carolina [Editor's Note: Available in e-book format.] Highly Recommended Copyright 2012 Linworth Publishing, Inc.

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 4–6—Storytelling and the secret desires of the heart wind together in this atmospheric novel that doubles as a ghost tale. Irish immigrants to England, Molly and Kip make their way to the Windsor house in search of employment. The great house stands in the shadow of a menacing tree, which locals speak of only in fearful whispers. Despite her young age and the warnings of a local storyteller, Molly uses the power of her own words to secure work, but soon realizes that all is not right in the house. Constance, Bertrand, Penny, and Alistair Windsor each struggle with personal demons, and strange footprints appear at night. A malevolent spirit, the Night Gardener, haunts the estate, dooming its inhabitants with foul dreams while the tree grants wishes to entrap the recipients. Molly and Kip must face their own dark secrets to release the Gardener's hold and end his evil enchantments. Auxier gives readers a spooky story with depth and dimension. Molly's whimsical tales illustrate life's essential lessons even as they entertain. As the characters face the unhealthy pull of the tree's allurements, they grow and change, revealing unexpected personality traits. Storytelling as a force to cope with life's challenges is subtly expressed and adds complexity to the fast-paced plot. Readers of Mary Downing Hahn or Peg Kehret's ghost novels will connect with the supernatural elements and the independent child protagonists of Auxier's tale of things that go bump in the night.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT

Voice of Youth Advocates Reviews

Orphans Molly and Kip have traveled far from famine-ridden Ireland to Windsor Estate in the English countryside, the only place to offer them employment. Molly is determined to find a safe place for Kip, who is ill and lame, so she is not willing to let scary stories about cursed woods and haunted manors deter her. When they finally reach the Windsor Estate, however, it is impossible to ignore the strange atmosphere. A dark, monstrous tree grows right up into the house, its branches bursting through the walls. The Windsors themselves appear peculiarly afflicted, as if the life is slowly draining from their bodies. And most disturbing of all is the man who comes at night, thudding through the halls and penetrating the family's dreams through horrifying nightmares. As is her way, Molly spins imaginative tales to protect Kip from distress, giving him a "magic button" for protection. Soon enough, however, even Molly cannot spin a story that dispels the danger This is an excellent ghost story for middle grade readers. It combines the chilling imagery of Neil Gaiman's Coraline (Bloomsbury, 2002/VOYA October 2002) with the isolated Victorian setting of Joan Aiken's 1962 Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Yearling, 1987, reprint). In addition to the haunting atmosphere, there is a loving sweetness between Molly and Kip that eventually expands to include the whole, desperate Windsor family. Auxier's novel is more than a simple ghost story, as the characters can only defeat the evil through heart-wrenching personal sacrifices. This novel is recommended for middle school and public libraries.—Diane Colson 5Q 5P M J Copyright 2011 Voya Reviews.