Cemetery Street

First The Graveyard Book, now Cemetery Street. Sounds like I'm going goth. I do have a fascination with cemeteries, but trust me. It is purely coincidental that I'm doing these two reviews back to back.

I wrote a critical essay about Cemetery Street as part of my graduate studies at Vermont College. I've included the bulk of it here.

Magic Ants to the Rescue
Writing a mystery’s conclusion may be the most difficult part. So much room exists for error, offering so many ways to disappoint the reader. A writer on deadline may scramble to wrap up the plot quickly to get the book sent to the publisher. A desperate writer will search for something, anything to solve her dilemma. Unfortunately, this can often result in rash decisions. If the author calls upon the reader to stretch too far in suspending their disbelief, the reader will feel like time was wasted on this protagonist. The reader thought this was a hero’s journey to solve the mystery and set the world right. But without careful attention, this journey may lead to nowhere. Hammering the last nail into her protagonist’s heroic coffin, Brenda Seabrooke summons up a deus ex machina to wrap up Cemetery Street.

In a fantastic twist, Seabrooke robs Courtney of the apprehension of her kidnappers. The publicity-seeking, demon-impersonating criminals who killed her brother’s puppy and locked her in a crypt are done in by organized insects. Courtney tracks down the kidnappers and chases them to their van, just as it pulls away.

The van’s doors opened at the same time. Dr. White rolled out one side, Leindorf the other. They rolled in the parking lot and screamed as they tore at their clothes (Seabrooke 184).

We learn shortly that “very angry ants” are the cause of all this rolling and screaming. As explanation, Seabrooke offers Bucky’s Halloween bag tossed in the back of the van.

Giant ants may work for Indiana Jones in South America, but Seabrooke made absolutely no mention of ants at any point in the previous 184 pages. If ants had spoiled the picnic, if Courtney had been bitten by an ant or if she had taken time to watch ants travel, then this might have had a whisper of credibility. But, as presented, it is completely fantastical.

Others may argue that this ending works. Perhaps Seabrooke was trying to counteract the darkness of the animal murder and the suspected Satanism in the book with a lighthearted approach to catching the criminals. At least a few notable people must have taken this position, Cemetery Street is a current finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Mystery presented by the Mystery Writers of America.

The first half of Cemetery Street is a tightly woven web of mystery and suspense. The reader is enchanted by Courtney, we sympathize with the challenges she faces and root for her success from the beginning. We worry about the impending danger that seems to be headed her way. But we’re confident that her wit and ingenuity will ultimately lead to justice prevailing.

We will never know if Courtney was brave enough and resourceful enough to foil the criminals because Seabrooke snatches the opportunity away from her. When writers resort to outlandish means to resolve the situation, it undermines the entire book. Although the language, character development and pacing of Cemetery Street was excellent, this disappointing ending will be the thing readers remember most about it.

Here's a book trailer for it.

The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman's Newberry winning novel, The Graveyard Book, opens with a man named Jack murdering an English family. But the youngest child, a toddler, escapes to a nearby graveyard. There he is taken in by the inhabitants of the graveyard who raise him as their own. This story is superb. The mystery is tight and the graveyard ambiance is maintained throughout the book.

I do wonder if Mr. Gaiman was inspired by the saying, “You don't know Jack.” He's right, we don't. (and aren't we glad?)

I listened to the audio version of this book, which is read by the author. If you pick this up, you are in for a treat. Not only do you get Gaiman's aristocratic British accent, you also get exactly the inflection he intended in writing the book. Directly from his lips to your ears – it doesn't get any better than that.

And with any luck, I'm all high-tech today and here is a book trailer for The Graveyard Book.

Plus, here is an interview with author Neil Gaiman on The Colbert Report.

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Where the Wild Things Are

Is he cool or what? This was part of the egg rolling Easter celebration at the White House.

Witches of Dredmoore Hollow

By Riford McKenzie, published by Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2008.



If you are a fan of the Addams Family, you will love this novel. It is a kooky story about witches and curses and awful aunts who kidnap young Elijah, hero protagonist. But I won’t tell you why. That’s part of the mystery.


McKenzie maintains first person narration throughout this novel through the point of view of Elijah. The story is creepy, but in a fun, lighthearted way and although there is the threat of serious violence, none of it is taken too seriously because the tone and humor are spot on and put the reader at ease.


This book has been nominated for an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America. I say it is a serious contender.


I’ll be reviewing all of the nominees in the juvenile category before the awards are announced on April 30.

Room One

Obviously, it has been far too long since I've posted or shared any of the great books I've been reading.

And, let me tell you, as a student in the MFA program at Vermont College, I've been doing A LOT of reading. Since I already have this huge store of books to share, I should be updating on a much more regular basis.

So, let's get started.


Clements, Andrew. Room One. New York: Simon & Schuster: Audioworks, 2006.
I listened to the audio version of this book and really loved it. The cover seems a little young for the story, I was expecting about a fourth grade book, but I found the mystery a very compelling middle grade read.

Clements used third person to tell this story and about 90 percent of the book is from Ted’s point of view, but he does shift to other points of view occasionally. Unfortunately, he didn’t take full advantage of the shifting view points by using them only to convey important information that the reader wouldn’t have otherwise. In fact, much of the resolution of the story is conveyed through the epilogue using various methods including news reports and articles. It seems entirely possible that he could’ve stayed with Ted’s POV, making the reader identify more with the character.


Clements also wove the family impact of the Iraq war into the story, making the book very topical. I was particularly interested in that aspect, since it is a subplot in the manuscript I am currently revising.


I highly recommend this book. While the protagonist is a boy, the story features a very strong girl, providing appeal for both genders. You can bet I'll be adding more of Mr. Clements books to my reading list.

This book won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 2007.

The Collectors

My book club selected The Collectors by David Baldacci as this month's pick.

Baldacci currently has two books on the bestseller list - Collectors' sequel, Divine Justice just released a few weeks ago, and its prequel Stone Cold is holding on to a spot on the mass-market fiction list.

Once again, I have to thank my fellow book club members for pushing me to pick up a book I might not normally read, but really enjoyed.

Baldacci weaves a tight plot that involves the Speaker of the House, the Library of Congress, the CIA and a casino heist, a la Ocean's Eleven. There's a big reminder here that things are not always what they seem - the heart attack may be a murder, the spy may be a con artist and the guy who mows the grass at the cemetery - there's no telling who he might be.

I do have to mention my disappointment in the audio version of this book. Three different actors were used to read the various characters with a constant narrator. This narrator read all the attribution tags which made for a slight pause between speakers. It didn't work for me.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

What a fun read this was!

This contemporary book is set in an elite East Coast boarding school. The main character, Frankie, has blossomed between her freshman and sophmore years of high school and is finally noticed by the cool, upper classmen on campus.

As she begins to enter their world, she learns that her boyfriend, Matthew, is a member of a secret all-male society know as the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds.

The book explores class, feminism and discovering yourself in a unique and poignant way. Plus, the author, E. Lockhart took the liberty of having some fun with words in the book. Check out this snippet:

"Prefixes like 'in,' 'non,' 'un,' 'dis,' and "im" make words negative, yes? There may be grammatical particulars I am not addressing here, but generally speaking. So you have a positive word like "restrained," and you add the prefix "un" to get a negative: unrestrained.

"Possible. Impossible.

"Sane. Insane."

Frankie calls these neglected positives. She also has imaginary neglected positives (INPs) like petuous, meaning careful from impetuous; ept meaning competent from inept and turbed meaning relaxed and comfortable from disturbed.

Disreputable History is a nominee for the 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. It is my goal to read all of the nominated books this year.