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Reviewed by: Lisa Rice, Middle School Librarian Title: The Clackity
Author: Lora Senf Illustrator: Alfredo Caceres Series: Book 1 of 2 in the Blight Harbor series
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Year: 2022 Good for Grades: 5-8 Genre/Type of Book: Horror, Scary stories
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Death & dying is mentioned, loss of parents, scary situations
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: I liked the spooky cover of the book and with Halloween on the horizon, it seemed like a perfect time to read this mostly black, with some orange on the cover, book. Also, what is a Clackity? If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be: My quote would be the advice given to Evie on p.44: "Be strong and brave if you have to but be smart first."
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Review:
Blight Harbor, the setting of the story, is the 7th most haunted town in America. Evie's parents are missing (although most say they are dead) so Evie has lived with her Aunt Des for the past four years, goes to school, and volunteers at the local library. I like Evie already! On her way to the library, she waves and acknowledges the ghosts enjoying the day just like everyone else. Aunt Des, in fact, is thought of as a witch as she helps people with "other-wordly concerns." In the library, the head librarian is sitting and reading during the workday. I'm sure it is professional reading of book reviews. Evie gets caught up in the adventure of needing to rescue Aunt Des from serial killer John Pope, who was active from 1919-1921. She makes a deal with the Clackity- in exchange for the life of her aunt, she will bring the Clackity John Pope.
I really liked this book even more than I thought I would. It really reminded me of one of my favorite books from when I was growing up- The Phantom Tollbooth. The idea of an adventure/journey/quest, meeting all sorts of weird, different, wonderful characters, telling stories, solving riddles- it was all there, with a spooky twist. Someone else said it reminded them of Small Spaces, another book I really enjoyed, and I would agree. I didn't think this book was overly spooky.
This book has illustrations sprinkled throughout and if I were going to make a recommendation, it would be to add more pictures. The pictures add to the spookiness of the book, and I'd like to see more of them as there are some unusual and fun scenes where an illustration would be perfect.
The cover of the book is in black and orange, so it is perfect for Halloween. It has a girl on the front, so I think my middle school girls will be more apt to choose it. It has good messages for middle school girls: be brave, be strong, do what you can to face your fears. The book deals with grief and loss as well and has good messages about how to deal with them. For example, Aunt Des says, " If I hid all my hurt away inside of me, my insides would get moldy like wet laundry left in the washer for too long. Together, we work hard to hang those things out to dry." She also encourages Evie to own her own power, whether it is wearing a fierce necklace, getting a new haircut, or using her intelligence.
I liked the characters in this book, and enjoyed the time spent with them, hearing their stories. The Clackity is a shape shifting creature, so named because of the way its bones click and clack whenever it moves. A tiny sparrow helps Evie through her journey and offers advice along the way. There's a trio of witches who are trying to get back at their mother. The settings are fun too- for example, there is a museum that Evie gets lost in. It is a museum filled with all the bits and pieces of all the stories she loved the most, and she is dying to spend more time looking through the museum, but for Pope slowly following her.
I think this is a great fit for a middle school library and is just a fun read!
Number of party hats:
Find resources for The Clackity at Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website