Reviews: The Night Gardener

Hello, Friends!

It seems like this month is just the month of caution.

The Night Gardener, by Jonathon Auxier is about Molly and Kip, two siblings who go to work in a
freaky old mansion everyone claims is haunted. At first, besides the run-down mansion in the middle of nowhere and the tree that is almost a part of it, everything goes fine. The pair finally have a roof over their heads, and food. Although their position isn't the best, and the family is sometimes hard to please, it's much better than traveling, not knowing when their next meal will be. But then, footprints start appearing, footprints that could not belong to anyone living in the house, and the Windsor family keeps getting sicker and sicker--something that could not be, just could not be, "just a touch of the fever," as the doctor keeps saying. Could the mansion be haunted, just as the villagers say it is? And if so, what is haunting it?

If anyone has ever heard of this book, you'll know it's often described as a cautionary tale. This is very true. I gave The Night Gardener four stars, because I loved Molly and Kip, and their relationship, and that, even though Molly is only fourteen and Kip is only nine, they don't do stupid things most kids their age in books would do. Their ages do not impede upon the story for the reader, or only include a certain age group. In other words, the book did not read younger, despite the young characters. I also loved the Windsor family (their employers).

I love this book. You should just go read it. Then you'll know what I mean. (But beware, it is a haunting tale, so if that will freak you out, then maybe don't read it.)

The book also contains many good questions to think about, turn over in your head again and again. . .Questions that will come up a while later while you're walking home from school, or doing art in your room. . .

And, after all, it is a cautionary tale, so it examines why humans do what they do, and what is actually good for us. . .

Spruce Nogard

Attributions: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-night-gardener-jonathan-auxier/1116852579?ean=9781419715310