Joy Wells is a proud resident of Spooking, the terrible town at the top of the hideous hill. At the bottom of the hill is Darlington, a plastic suburban “paradise” where Joy and her brother go to school. When the mayor of Darlington announces that a water park is going to be constructed over the Spooking bog, Joy is horrified. She decides that she has to save the mysterious bog and the endangered species in it—but someone is determined to stop her! The Addams Family meets Carl Hiaasen in this quirky mystery with an environmental twist.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 5–7—Joy Wells, 11, loves the town of Spooking. It is dark, damp, full of crumbling mansions, and has a gothic atmosphere that suits her perfectly. Joy does not love neighboring Darlington, where she and her brother go to school and are treated poorly by students and teachers alike; nobody likes "Spookies." She is convinced that her favorite horror writer, E. A. Peugeot, was inspired by Spooking and that the bog fiend from his most famous tale endures in its bog. When Joy learns that a planned tourist attraction will destroy the area, she takes action. Her opposition to the project brings her to the attention of the villainous mayoral assistant, Mr. Phipps. He is a bitter, complicated man whose motivations stem from a deep hatred of and desire to destroy his hometown. He sees his childhood self in Joy's odd ways and simultaneously wants to save and defeat her. The themes of conformity and environmentalism versus business opportunity are explored with sophistication. This novel is for fans of black humor and real horror, perfect for those looking for a more literary R.L. Stine. With the help of a fortune-telling hermit woman, Joy manages to save the bog, but further mysteries are left for future novels about Spooking.—Caroline Tesauro, Radford Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"FIENDISH DEEDS hits the ground running with a feisty protagonist, unlikely allies, and a sinister adversary as it introduces a grand adventure touched with mystery, action, horror, and the barest hint of romance." --Teensreadtoo.com
"Bracegirdle . . . is a witty, intelligent voice that reads like a not-so-bloodless Lemony Snicket." --Montreal Mirror --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Bracegirdle . . . is a witty, intelligent voice that reads like a not-so-bloodless Lemony Snicket." --Montreal Mirror --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spooking is a Joy ;),
By
This review is from: Fiendish Deeds (Joy of Spooking (Hardback)) (Hardcover)
Just as I suspected it would, The Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds has earned a place on my list of all time favorites. I love the concept, I love the characters and the storyline is engaging and relevant. But most of all I love P.J.'s writing - it's my exact kind of slightly dark humor and is full of gems like Joy's brother Byron's thoughts when the two meet a filthy but surprisingly friendly old "witch" woman at the bog:
"Byron continued to stare at her suspiciously. He'd read the fairy tales, and such chumminess usually meant a kid-size oven was preheating somewhere nearby." But I'm getting ahead of myself. Joy, Byron and their parents live in Spooking - "the terrible town on the hideous hill." They don't exactly fit in with the cookie-cutter residents of Darlington, the sprawling neighbor city where they have to attend school. Joy's hobby is researching the legend of the bog fiend and the horror writer E.A. Peugeot and she'd really rather have nothing to do with Darlington at all. She does venture there to accompany Byron to a couple of parties (the precocious 8 year old has a crush on a darling of Darlington), and she is forced to confront some of its citizens in her quest to prevent a water park from being built over her beloved bog. This is a story about preserving diversity - both in nature and in society. But it is far from being preachy - it is fun and exciting with a liberal portion of spookiness. The villain, major assistant Mr. Phipps, is exactly the kind of well-rounded, conflicted fiendish deed doer that makes a juicy character - we get the sense that he was once quite like Joy before something went terribly wrong. I eagerly await the next two books in the planned trilogy to find out more about Mr. Phipps' background and follow Joy and Byron's further adventures. Highly recommended to all readers 8 and up.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Joy of Spooking,
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This review is from: Fiendish Deeds (Joy of Spooking (Hardback)) (Hardcover)
The minute I saw the creepy, Tim Burton-reminiscent cover, I desperately wanted to read this book, and reading the first chapter only made it more appealing. Bracegirdle (an unlikely name if I ever heard one) can write very, very well, and he has an imagination that just won't quit. Chapter one opens with an Edgar Allen Poe quote, and it's clear that Bracegirdle is channeling classic horror writers (he references Poe, but Lovecraft also jumps to mind). Joy Wells lives in Spooking, the "hideous hill" surrounded by the newer, suburban, cookie-cutter town of Darlington. The Darlings, as they call themselves, fear Spooking and mock the kids who come down for school at Winsome Elementary. Joy, a devoted horror fan, loves Spooking and has nothing but scorn for the neat, boring lives of the Darling kids who torment her at school. She becomes convinced that her favorite horror writer, E. A. Peugeot, set his stories in and around Spooking, and decides that the Bog Monster in her favorite story must be real. Meanwhile, plans to drain the bog and replace it with a water park are afoot.
The brilliance of this story is in sharp, accurate prose (often infused with delightfully dry wit) and a masterful sense of creepiness (I actually got shivers at the very end). The characters are classic, but complex. Joy's attitude about Spooking is balanced by Bracegirdle's descriptions of the town's decrepitude, and by one Darling child who is shockingly nice to her. Phipps, the villain, is one of the best horror villains in kids' literature. Parallels to Joy's attitude and situation make it apparent that they would have been kindred spirits, but something in Phipps's past changed him, and I can't wait to read about his background in one of the future books. Phipps is a toadying, bitter assistant to the mayor with his own agenda for getting rid of Spooking, and an annoying, Dursley-ish (but smarter) boy cluelessly helps him. Joy tries desperately to save the bog through a variety of means, involving several memorable side characters. The preservation of the bog brings in an environmental element, but it doesn't dominate the story. The balance between Spooking and Darlington is rich and complicated, and there is more than enough to fuel a trilogy. Joy is a delightful heroine with her stubborn Spooking pride and moments of self-awareness. I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait for Book Two next summer.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fiendeshly fun read!,
By
This review is from: Fiendish Deeds (Joy of Spooking (Hardback)) (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Where to begin? First I would like to refer to other reviews here by lenore531, and Allison M. Campbell. They simply took the words right out of my mouth. Really spot on reviews that capture the essence of this book perfectly!
P.J. Bracegirdle creates a world where the sunny, safety of the suburbs and the things that go bump in the night collide in a brilliant mix of chills and tongue-in-cheek humor, all while conveying insightful, sarcastic social commentary that I think both children and adults will easily resonate with. In many ways I found his writing style reminiscent of Mark Twain and Tom Robbins. As I followed the main character Joy along on her spooky adventures, I kept thinking of when I first read about that infamous rascal, Tom Sawyer as a boy. Joy is carefully crafted in a way that is equally accessible to both boys and girls. Possessing a compelling fascination with the macabre, a taste for adventure, as well as a sharp and observant wit, Joy comes across like a blend of Tom Sawyer, Hermione from the Harry Potter series, and Wednesday from the Addams Family and all the while forced to attend school in an environment best suited for the Brady Bunch. And for those who get the joke, the hilarity ensues. To sum it up, this book is a sorely needed antidote for a Disney-saturated culture. It serves as both a safe haven for social outcasts of all kinds and an enlightening lesson to the Darlings of Darlington. If you grew up watching monster movies, if you're a Tim Burton fan, if Halloween is your favorite holiday, then this book is for you. If your kids loved movies like "Halloweentown," or "Corpse Bride," then they're sure to love this.
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