“Already though, she understood the difference between being a child and being an adult. The difference is when someone says he can keep the bad things away, a child believes him.”
-Joe Hill, NOS4A2
A fun ride through the “inverse” of Vic, the Brat’s, imagination. Yes, it is quite disturbing and I feel very lucky that I survived my childhood without a trip to Christmasland with Charlie Manx.
Vic grows up with imperfect parents and at a young age she figures out a way to go “finding”. She jumps on her oversized Raleigh bicycle and takes her first trip through the Shorter Way covered bridge. This bridge that was recently destroyed, now only exists in her imagination and she rides through her “inverse” to the exact site of the missing object she is looking for, even if it is hundreds of miles away.
Over the years, Vic learns that she is not the only one that can travel the inverse. She finds a spunky librarian that learns secrets from scrabble tiles who reveals to her the story of The Wraith. The Wraith is the vehicle, a Rolls Royce, of Charlie Manx who abducts children and parents to go to Christmasland. And trust me, no matter how much you like Christmas, you do not want to go to Christmasland!
This is a very creepy story and it’s only made creepier by the freaky illustrations scattered throughout the pages. I will admit I had fun reading it! It was a definite page-turning adventure.
I highly recommend this for a creepy Halloween read and give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Thanks for reading my review! And Happy Reading!!
Book Oracle 