A stranger comes to a depressed English mining town, bringing changes that first delight but then threaten teenaged Jules and the other town inhabitants.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A stranger calling himself Mr. Stands comes to Eastfield, a dying English mining town, and offers to make people's wishes come true. A toy dog becomes real and longed-for luxuries suddenly appear, apparently at his command. Jules, Rachel and Jules's brainy friend Steve are suspicious of Stands's motives and the minor miracles he works. Predictably, few other townspeople are. Stands promises--or threatens--his masterwork on a mysterious, unnamed Big Day. Then Laurie, Jules's sister, disappears, and the threesome tracks Stands and Laurie to the town's closed mine. There all is climactically revealed--not only Stands's plan and Laurie's place in it, but also how he can be stopped. Westwood's suspenseful supernatural fantasy rises above certain trite elements (among them, Jules's and Rachel's inevitable romance). He offers some surprises, too, and brings to life the gritty details of contemporary life in England and whispers a question: "Do we really want all our wishes to come true?" This compelling story will reach even those readers not normally addicted to the fantasy genre. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up-- While the full impact of motion pictures and television on the form and content of books for young readers is probably incalculable, there is--at the least--a conspicuous influence, particularly in the field of horror and fantasy. Consider, for example, this first novel by Westwood, whose sensibility seems to have been formed by exposure to Twilight Zone episodes, Steven Spielberg movies, and--yes--to such literary antecedents as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. To pursue the point, consider Westwood's setting and plot. Readers find themselves in the village of Eastfield, a mining town figuratively sentenced to death by the closure of the local colliery when--unexpectedly--something wicked this way comes. It is the sinister and shadowy Mr. Stands, who has the power to grant wishes. In his wake inanimate objects come to life! The dead walk! The little sister of teenage protagonist Jules is spirited away to a stygian netherworld! A final, heart-pounding confrontation ensues deep underground in the coal mine of doom! Good triumphs! Or does it? To his credit, Westwood does move his plot along fairly briskly, manages his special effects well, and induces an occasional shudder. Unfortunately the muscle spasm more often induced is a wince at the book's unnecessary obscenities, awkward diction, and derivative plot points which are, finally, the real horrors here. --Michael Cart, Beverly Hills Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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