The Curse of Eelgrass Bog

Twelve-year-old Kester “Kess” Pedrock and her older brother struggle to maintain their family’s Unnatural History Museum in eerie Wick’s End while their scientist parents are in Antarctica; without a steady flow of paying customers, the facility grows more decrepit daily. Determined to attract new visitors, Kess endeavors to find a rumored “undiscovered monster” on the outskirts of creepy Eelgrass Bog. Despite feeling drawn to the area, Kess is strictly forbidden from visiting by her best friend Shrunken Jim, a companionable demon’s head in a jar who warns that the bog lies atop the Drowned World, an eldritch realm of megafauna, “half-rotten” creatures, and ghastly witches who have succumbed to its dark, all-consuming magic. But after newcomer Lilou Starling—who gives Kess a “warm, sludgy feeling”—asks for Kess’s help in breaking a mysterious curse, the pair quickly realize that the answers they seek lie deep within the heart of Eelgrass Bog, prompting them to venture into the Drowned World. While the engrossing mystery wraps up too early on, debut author Averling laces the overall setting with beguiling magical elements that make for an inventive adventure. Characters read as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. (Jan.)