The Plentiful Darkness

June 15, 2021
Children disappear into a strange world of darkness. In the town of Warybone, several orphans collect and trade magical moonlight (a power source). Three orphans band together as the "roughhouse boys"--including one tomboy. But 12-year-old Rooney de Barra is still going solo after losing her parents to the feather flu. For Rooney, the only thing worse than her rival roughhouse boys is the growing problem of children disappearing from the streets at night. Until one day it happens to her. Rooney follows Trick Aidan into a strange "splotch of darkness" created by a magician. As the pair fall into the "starless, moonless murk," they find themselves in a "warped mirror" of the real Warybone. Other stolen children eventually greet them in a forest, singing a creepy tune that ends with the lyrics "There's no escaping / The plentiful darkness." As the realm unravels its mysteries, the darkness tightens around them. Can the children escape before they become part of it? Kassner's latest is deliciously on-brand, with inventive magic, lyrical writing, and that just-right creep factor. Third-person narration switches between focusing on Rooney and on the mysterious magician, creating a slow reveal to a shockingly tender twist. Vivid descriptions help establish a strong sense of place that feels imaginatively expansive yet forebodingly claustrophobic. With the exception of one secondary character, the majority of the cast reads as White. Well worth the plunge. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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July 1, 2021

Gr 3-6-Rooney De Barra's life is difficult: She's an orphan living on the streets with only rats for company. Having been rejected by the Roughhouse Boys, the ragtag group of parentless children who terrorize the town, she lives in a desperate competition to collect moonlight which she sells to buy food. It seems like life couldn't get much worse for Rooney, until it does. She catches the eye of the witch who stalks the town and finds herself flung into the Plentiful Darkness: a place where all seasons of the year exist, but only in nighttime mode. Ruling this place is Sorka of the Darkness, whose subjects include children who have disappeared from the town without a trace. Soon joined in the murk by her nemesis Trick Aidan, Rooney struggles to learn how to deal with this strange new place, only to discover the reason Sorka is trapped here and why it may mean none of them will ever see the light of day again. Part spooky, part fantastical, this is a strange little tale that weaves in important life lessons without being preachy, and features an impatient heroine who struggles with her flaws even as she's trying to work her way out of the void. The unrelenting darkness is an interesting concept, but hinders world-building to a certain extent. Readers who enjoy Adam Gidwitz's "Grimm" series will enjoy this title too. VERDICT Purchase where shivery fantasy for tweens is in demand.-Elizabeth Friend, Wester M.S., TX

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 2, 2021
Pale-skinned orphan Rooney de Barra, 12, survives on the fictional streets of Warybone by harvesting moonlight with her enchanted mirror. But when her rival, roughhouse boy Trick Aidan, who is also white, steals her mirror, Rooney is determined to retrieve it—even when that means following Trick into a strange patch of darkness cast by a mysterious magician. In the darkness, Rooney and Trick discover a shadowy, claustrophobic world filled with broken objects and lost children led by the sullen, capricious, and pale Sorka, also 12. To escape the darkness before it consumes them, Rooney and Trick must join forces with their fellow captives, including brown-skinned recent arrival Devin Hayes, and find a way to bring light into the darkest shadows. As newfound bonds of necessity grow between characters and Rooney is forced to challenge her expectations and assumptions, Kassner (The Forest of Stars) allows the heroes a satisfying measure of growth. Leaning heavily upon atmosphere and lush descriptions, with setting almost a character itself, this eerie tale might have been further enriched by additional exploration and worldbuilding; still, it succeeds in delivering a robust message of resilience and hope. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary.

August 1, 2021
Grades 4-7 Kassner (The Forest of Stars, 2020) deals quite literally in dark magic in her tale of Rooney de Barra, a street kid since her parents' untimely deaths to the feather flu. Rooney keeps to the shadowy alleys, waiting for opportunities to snatch valuable moonlight with her lunar mirror without getting snatched herself, as something has been abducting Warybone's children. Despite her precautions, one night Trick Aidan, a detestable "roughhouse boy," steals Rooney's mirror and, in hot pursuit, she follows him into an unnatural puddle of darkness--leading them to become the two newest victims of Warybone's resident witch. Plunged into an eerie world of darkness and danger, ruled by a mercurial but magical girl, Rooney and Trick team up to survive and hopefully escape. Kassner deftly conjures the story's unsettling atmosphere and unique shadow world, while imparting personal revelations to Rooney that make way for the friendships she's always craved. An obvious pick for dark fantasy readers, this will also please fans of Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon (2016) and Tahereh Mafi's Furthermore (2016).

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