Before I get into this book, I want to mention something I heard on the Today Show last week.

A 13-year-old girl living in Florida was swimming with a buddy in waist-deep ocean water when she was attacked by a shark.

She had LOTS of things to say about the experience: scary, out-of-nowhere, no time to think.

All the things you’d expect to hear about a shark attack.

It was what she said about the scars she’ll have that jumped out at me.

Her mother wanted to apply an ointment to make the scars less visible.

But this girl wants the scars.

She said, “If I went through it, I’m going to show people.”

Just, wow.

That’s what every single one of us should do.

Show our scars.

Show the world what you went through, what experiences you’ve had.

Whether the scars are from bad experiences or good, whether they’re psychological scars or physical scars, don’t cover them up.

Be proud of what made you who you are today, scars and all.

Okay.

Jumping off my soap box and into Festergrimm by Thomas Taylor.

This is steampunk meets Frankenstein.

It’s fantasy with a foot in the real world.

I was sucked in by the first couple of paragraphs: an antique steam train, a grand hotel, a cold and blustery day in an English village called Eerie-on-Sea, a tumbledown railway station, and a mysterious and important guest.

Now, who could put down a book with those ingredients?

Then add in a creepy robot/waxwork/human bits/Frankenstein-esque monster called Festergrimm, and away we go!

Herbie Lemon and Violet Parma (both charming main characters) are parentless friends in this seaside town, trying to figure out why the villainous Sebastian Eels has returned to Eerie-on-Sea.

Eels says he’s returning to open the Eerie Waxworks Museum and bring something “fun” back to the town.

But Herbie and Violet are positive he’s up to no good.

And the waxworks museum?

It’s full of dusty old pirates and monstrous mermaids made from wax, and quite possibly pieces and parts of actual humans.

The kids hear of the legend about a bereft doctor who once-upon-a-time had a toy shop in the building and built the Festergrimm robot to find his non- human daughter who went missing in the underworld Netherways.

Herbie and Vi are certain that the Festergrimm robot or the wax museum are hiding something that Eels wants.

The kids need to unravel the mysterious legend and prevent Eels from resurrecting the Waxworks Museum and the Festergrimm robot.

Unless Eels can put a stop to Herbie and Violet first.

He’s quite the villain, and the kids think they’re prepared for him because of the previous book adventures they’ve had.

But they may be wrong.

Festergrimm is dark, funny, whimsical, fanciful, creepy, and fantastical.

I’d suggest it for readers in the 10-13 age group.

About the Book

Available at amazon.com

The previous three books in the Mysteries of Eerie-on-Sea series (which I have not read) are Malamander, Gargantis, and Shadowghast.

The fifth and final book in the series, Mermedusa, is due to be released this year.

Fun fact: Thomas Taylor is also an illustrator, and his first consignment as a newly minted graduate from art school was for J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

Keep reading!

~ Gail

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