School Library Journal Review
Gr 5 Up-This debut novel is an entertaining fantasy adventure set across a modern European landscape. The book follows 11-year-old Danny O'Neill as he struggles to piece together the seemingly incomprehensible details left behind by a devastating storm. The quest takes him deep within himself where he must find courage that he never knew he possessed. The conflicts that arise range from loneliness and feeling like an outcast to demonic forces and strange powers of communication. The book is paced well throughout, aside from a climax that leaves a little to be desired. Readers will truly root for the protagonist and find very relatable characteristics within the villainous Sammael. Hatfield also manages to include some deeper topics that will hit home hard with some students, an applaudable feat considering the overall fun nature of the story. The true beauty of this tale lies in the personification that runs throughout the entirety of the novel. Not only does Hatfield take readers inside the thoughts and minds of all sorts of flora and fauna, but she uses their observable traits to guide their humanistic presence in very believable ways.-Chad Lane, Easton Elementary, Wye Mills, MD (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eleven-year-old Danny O'Neill awakens after a thunderstorm to find he's been abandoned by his parents and suddenly is able to speak to plants and animals. Setting out to find his family, Danny is plagued by the terrifying creature Sammael, a sandman who inhabits dreams, bargains for souls, and wants Danny dead. With a distinctly British wit, debut author Hatfield weaves a dark and twisted tale in the vein of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, as Danny searches for the titular book-"just a flat black shape in the darkness, full of some kind of promise"-along with his cousin and protector Tom. In this trilogy opener, Hatfield creates an imaginative, whimsical world filled with distinctively voiced flora and fauna and other strange characters, including her personification of Death as an old woman who cradles the newly deceased like a grandmotherly angel. Hatfield doesn't shy from depicting violent deaths or the occasional bit of gore, but the story is never gratuitous-the frights are just enough to keep readers' hearts racing as they read late into the night. Ages 10-14. Agency: Lindsay Literary Agency. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.