Thirteens (The Secrets of Eden Eld #1)

Eleanor Barton, who will turn 13 in a few days, on Halloween, has just moved into Ashford House in picturesque Eden Eld, Ore., to live with her Aunt Jenny and Uncle Ben. Hoping to put her tragic past behind her, Eleanor is determined to ignore the “wrong things” only she can see—including a grandfather clock with backward-moving hands that has appeared outside her room, and an enormous black dog with glowing red eyes that seems to be following her. But new friends Pip Foster and Otto Ellis can see the wrong things, too, and soon Eleanor learns there’s more to Eden Eld than meets the eye. The truth behind why the wrong things appear—and why those who see them disappear—may lie in a book of unusual fairy tales and Ashford House itself. Though characterizations are slightly flat, Marshall (Rules for Vanishing) excels at employing eerie, atmospheric narration (“And everywhere, the purple flowers grew, their petals peeling back from their centers like sneering lips”). A fast-paced plot combined with the unsettling implications and logic of fairy tales ensures that this supernatural series starter will keep readers up at night. Ages 8–12. [em]Agent: Lisa Rodgers, JABberwocky Literary. (Aug.) [/em]