How do you feel about kids who see ghosts? Generally, I don’t love the creepy kid genre, but this book is more of a “haunted kid” vibe. He’s not inherently creepy, but you know he’s been through some things.
Our main character is Mallory, who is a recovering drug addict. She’s about a year and a half sober and living in a halfway house / community home / something like that, and trying to get a job to keep her life together. She’s a likeable character, especially when we finally hear her getting into drugs backstory. Throughout the entirety of the book she’s protective of the kid. Even at the end when it doesn’t really serve her anymore.
There’s a lot of rich people stuff in this book, but nobody seems like a true asshole. We come to learn that there are definitely a few very much assholes in this story, but not for a while. I don’t want to call this a slow burn, because it’s never boring, but we don’t’ just start out with like the Babadook creeping around. Mallory gets a summer live-in (a cottage in the backyard woods) babysitting job, and all seems well for a while. Then the semi-disturbing drawings and activities start. Mallory and the gardener (who in a refreshing twist is also rich!) spend the summer trying to figure out a mystery with limited success. I really can’t say that I saw the twist coming, but it fits in well with the story. I loved that we got a “where are they now?” follow up at the end, because when I like a book I’m always craving closure!
