Information

Goodreads: The Creepening of Dogwood House
Series: None
Age Category: Middle Grade
Source: Library
Published: 2024

Summary

After his mother’s death, Roddie goes to live with his aunt, whom he barely knows, in their ancestral home known as Dogwood House. His aunt thinks they can reconnect there to their family’s hoodoo roots. But the house is the creepiest one Roddie has ever seen. And an ancient evil dwells there.

Review

I was inspired to read The Creepening of Dogwood House by Jenna’s four-star review over at Falling Letters. I am always up for a not-so-spooky middle grade! However, though I found the book’s focus on hoodoo practices unique, and I enjoyed the characterization of Roddie’s aunt and uncle, I ultimately did not connect with the story. It moves far too slowly, only picking up the pace when about to end. I wish I loved The Creepening of Dogwood House more, but I mostly enjoyed only the final quarter of the book.

Books about grief seem really trendy in middle grade right now, and The Creepening of Dogwood House fits right in. It begins with Roddie trying to process his mother’s death, going to counseling, and generally feeling a bit disconnected. The book deals with this issue sensitively and tries to, I believe, give an idea of what healthy coping mechanisms might look like. Roddie talks to his aunt about his mom and tries to find objects that make him think of her. Readers wanting a book that directly addresses grief will find that here.

And, I admit, it was really refreshing to see some responsible adult figures in middle grade. I was convinced that his aunt would turn out to be terrible, as Roddie had never met her before, she was estranged from his mom, and she suddenly pops up with a husband Roddie hadn’t heard about and suddenly wants to take him to the family house she fled. Said family house is in a complete state of disrepair (even though the story mentions that it had been being rented out?) and is completely spooky. The story really was not setting up the aunt and uncle for success. I thought, even if they are nice people, they would at least end up possessed or turned briefly evil by something in the house. But, no. They are caring adults who try to treat Roddie well. It probably says something about middle grade fiction that this is the most surprising aspect of the book.

The story itself is really unevenly paced. It dwells a lot on Roddie’s feelings, of course, but also likes to describe the house in-depth and otherwise get bogged down in bits that do not necessarily move the plot forward. This is pretty unusual for the middle grade market right now; most books seem to be so fast-paced that the characterization and worldbuilding often suffer instead. I would be interested to know how the target audience feels about this. I, for one, admit I got really bored about halfway through. A spooky book should really be inspiring some sort of tension or creeping horror, but I got none of that here.

I liked the inclusion of hoodoo practices and the idea of Roddie reconnecting with his family’s traditions. I also enjoyed the depiction of his aunt and uncle. Ultimately, however, I found The Creepening of Dogwood House rather dull for a story about a haunted house.

Information

Goodreads: A Tale of Plagues and Perfumes
Series: None
Age Category: Middle Grade
Source: Library
Published: 2026

Official Summary

Every scent tells a story.

The last thing Nia wants is to be branded a “Sinsory.” Where she comes from, that’s just as deadly as the devastating plagues that sweep through their land. That’s why she keeps her unusually keen sense of smell a secret. Only two people in the city of Yerat know of her special her beloved Auntie and her best friend, Fox. But when the worst plague in a century hits their desert continent, all of that suddenly changes.

An invitation arrives in the shape of a jar of blackcurrant jam for Nia to attend the Cloister, a select and secluded school for children with heightened senses. There she meets Scentiers, like her, but also Gazers, Whisper-Gatherers, and many more, whose sensory powers go far beyond what regular folk can smell, see, or hear.

It’s there that Nia learns her nose knows far more than she ever dreamed . . . maybe enough to find the cure for the plague. Or even sniff out the sinister secrets hiding in the Cloister’s walls.

The Inquisitor’s Tale meets Impossible Creatures in this immersive middle grade fantasy adventure that follows a girl who must use her remarkable sense of smell to save the world from a perilous plague.

Review

A Tale of Plagues and Perfumes strikes that sweet spot publishers always seem to be looking for in middle grade: it has a unique premise and is slightly morbid while also making a ton of jokes about the morbidity so that the “darkness” is actually funny. Oh, half the population is about to die in a horrifically painful and contagious plague? Sure, that’s kind of scary, but they’re also going to have a lot of oddball rituals about it that make the whole thing seem like a joke! Classic middle grade.

The authors’ quest to be quirky occasionally leads to small plot hiccups I noticed as an adult, but which I’m sure most children won’t mind. For instance, there’s an entire scene where Nia and her aunt meet with a prominent local figure, who is alternately described as a “friend” the aunt “knows,” and yet the aunt must humorously prostrate herself and declare the other woman’s greatness. Because it’s funny, I suppose. I was just left puzzled by what their actual relationship was or why this even mattered. It’s one scene that has no real bearing on the plot, so in that sense it’s not a big deal. But to me, it was indicative of the small ways in which the book might have been more tightly edited.

Overall, however, the plot is interesting and goes just as one might suppose. Nia is recruited for her once-in-a-generation ability to smell, so of course she is going to put that talent to good use to save the day, running into various obstacles and making friends along the way. A few small plot twists readers might or might not see coming, but fun in general. I think young readers will love this.

If you’re on the lookout for a middle grade that’s a tiny but macabre but still a bit silly and entertaining, A Tales of Plagues and Perfumes will work for you.

Information

Goodreads: Graciela in the Abyss
Series: None
Age Category: Middle Grade
Source: Library
Published: 2025

Summary

Drowned at sea, Graciela awakens later to help her friend Amina greet the newly awakened sea ghosts, and to grind sea glass for the shore. She never realized that her twelve-year-old Jorge is one of the humans who find and enjoy her works. But when Jorge discovers an old weapon that can kill sea ghosts, their worlds collide. Jorge wants to destroy it. Graciela doesn’t trust him. But they will need to work together to save the ocean.

Review

Graciela in the Abyss sometimes feels uneven and it sometimes feels like the kind of book that will be a Newbery contender. It is an interesting mix! I imagine that this is the kind of book that generates mixed reviews. It’s a bit weird and creepy, but that is what makes it intriguing. And it wants to be deep, but sometimes that is a little too obvious. Ultimately, I enjoyed the original premise, and that was enough for me to overlook the somewhat flat characterization, as well as the heavy-handed character arc. I think perhaps Medina wanted the book to be short and perhaps that meant some details were left to the wayside. Fair enough. I think tweens who like somewhat creepy reads will like Graciela in the Abyss.

To get the weird and creepy part out of the way, Graciela in the Abyss begins with Graciela falling off a cliff into the sea and dying because she is too stubborn (some might say annoying) to listen to her big sister. She then awakens 100 years later as a sea ghost. The sea ghosts have various jobs. Some guard shipwrecks. Some cause mischief like big waves or capsized boats. Some make the eerie moans one hears in the sea fog. Graciela’s friend/mentor/guardian greets newly awakened sea spirits. So, yes, there is death here. And decaying bodies. I thought it was a cool premise.

For me, the weak part of the story are the characters. Graciela and Jorge feel a bit flat. Graciela is the stubborn, selfish one who wants to get her own way, but also is dealing with trauma from her death and can’t let go. She lost her family and her life was cut too short, and now she’s afraid of losing her friend Amina. Jorge is the nice, kind, thoughtful protagonist whom readers feel sorry for because he has cruel parents. I wanted a bit more from them–more than the character arc Medina gives us.

Graciela’s character arc is pretty textbook. The story informs us multiple times that Graciela is stubborn and selfish and unable to let go–so of course this book is going to be about her learning to let go. This happens in a very odd (I thought) way at the end, when Graciela essentially has to give a performance of what she has learned. The moral is announced in far too heavy-handed a manner. And, at times, I have to admit, the book seems purposefully written in the type of style meant to garner Newbery attention.

The illustrations, however, are wonderful. They are weird and creepy–just like the story. So, though I did not always connect with Graciela or feel that her story was told in the most nuanced way, I did enjoy how the artwork intersects with the text.

Graciela in the Abyss is a peculiar book. I think tweens will like it for the creepy aspect. I think educators and librarians will enjoy it for its handling of death, grief, and trauma. (Award committees and educators seem to love middle grade books about death–and there has been a higher than usual number of such books being published in recent years.) I liked it because it is is unusual.