Customer Reviews

Unearthly Asylum (Joy of Spooking)

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Joy of Spooking is back, this time in a bid to prove that favorite author E.A. Peugeot wrote his horror short stories about her beloved Spooking, a fact that would surely bring much needed capital into the town before it crumbles entirely. Meanwhile, Joy's nemesis, Mayoral Assistant Octavio Phipps has his eye on appropriating Spooking's insane asylum for his own dastardly purposes.

UNEARTHLY ASYLUM is a sequel, but it could also very well be read as a standalone. Both the writing and the plotline strike me as very sophisticated for the middle grade bunch, so it's probably best enjoyed by precocious readers with an appetite for the weird and spooky (but not outright scary).

Being one of the few children from Spooking, Joy has always been a loner at her school in cookie-cutter perfect Darlington. And now that her brother Byron has found a friend (the off-putting Gustave), Joy is grumpier and more withdrawn than ever - so much so, her mother decides to put her in therapy. The novel gets off to a slow start as it seems to revel in Joy's isolation and prematurely crotchety behavior. Fortunately, this section is pepped up by the ever-engaging Mr. Phipps, with his hilarious mix of groveling and snarls.

Once the insane asylum plot kicks into full gear, it is back to intrepid Joy we know and love, complete with Byron back at her side. The story is less reality-based this time around and ventures into a decidedly paranormal realm. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Spooking in the promised third installment of the series SINISTER SCENES (due Summer 2011).

Sequels are tricky things, what with the balancing act of preserving what made the first book good while creating a fresh story. The more I enjoyed the first book in a series, the more anxious/hopeful I feel as I approach the second. A good first book could be a fluke, after all. I loved the first book in the Joy of Spooking trilogy, FIENDISH DEEDS. I will not keep you in suspense: the second book more than realizes the potential of the first to kick off a fantastic trilogy. Now I'm conflicted, because I can't wait for the third book, SINISTER SCENES, in Summer 2011, yet that will be the end of the series!

In FIENDISH DEEDS, we met Joy, a morbid yet likable young denizen of Spooking, her decaying hometown perched on a hill outside the perfect, cookie-cutter suburb of Darlington, where she attends school with the insufferable Darlings. Joy adores everything about Spooking and is convinced that her favorite horror writer, E.A. Peugeot, was writing about Spooking in his chilling tales. When the presumed bog of his stories is threatened by the ambition of the mayor's assistant, Octavio Phipps, she springs into action. In UNEARTHLY ASYLUM, Joy is out of sorts because her little brother/sidekick is occupied with a new friend and her mission to prove that Spooking was the home of Peugeot runs into a major obstacle. Meanwhile, Phipps has a new plan to destroy Spooking, involving the creepy old asylum (the possible setting for Peugeot's story, "The Asylum"). When her beloved pet frog turns up on the wrong side of the asylum wall, Joy mounts a rescue operation. Will she make it out in one piece? Will she find proof of Peugeot's presence in Spooking? Will she uncover the secrets of the strange asylum? Good heavens, you don't really think I'd answer these questions, do you? Go read the book.

The snappy dialogue and clever wit of FIENDISH DEEDS continue in the second book. I was delighted to find that Joy was not only as delightful as she was in the first book, but Bracegirdle has added new dimension to her character. In the first book, her loyalty to Spooking was unwavering; in the second, she begins to see that decay may also have a downside. She also considers the possibility that she might be mistaken about Peugeot having lived in Spooking. Phipps, Joy's nemesis, is also fleshed out further. We learn more about his past and the source of his hatred for Spooking. His interaction with Joy is a delight. As Joy's mother decides to send her to a psychiatrist, attitudes toward mental illness are touched on.

A sample of Bracegirdle's witty phrasing: "Her already excitable character had become impossibly effervescent, and like a shaken pop bottle, she seemed about ready to explode." (p. 158)

Source disclosure: I received a review copy of this book.