Thursday, April 28, 2011

Creepy Tree: Dead Boys

The-Dead-BoysI'm in a Wii Rock Band with my children, although I only sporadically attend our performances.  Our band name is Invisible Trees, and we even have artwork to commemorate it.  About the only creepy feature the sycamore tree in Royce Buckingham's Dead Boys doesn't have is invisibility; otherwise it spans the landscape of horror fiction.  The Cybils Fantasy and Science Fiction (Middle Grade) category takes a dark turn here.

Roots that spring underground to catch you, drag you under, and bury you? Check. Gaping maw to devour you? Check. Ability to summon you into the dark reality of its true power? Check. Perhaps most devastating to my Houston-raised mind -- cunning enough to break the air conditioner on a hot desert day? CHECK. This action packed story skimps a bit on character development, but provides a rich suite of dead kids to balance that. I found it spooky, and I think I may only offer it to my sixth grader in daylight. The fourth grader would like it, but he's buried in books lately.  B

The link may benefit the Cybils committee, if I did it right.  Which is doubtful.  And if anyone clicks on it to buy the book, which is even more unlikely.

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