Ghosts of Weirdwood: A William Shivering Book by Christian McKay Heidicker

Abstract

Reviewed by: Ghosts of Weirdwood: A William Shivering Book by Christian McKay Heidicker Natalie Berglind Heidicker, Christian McKay Ghosts of Weirdwood: A William Shivering Book; illus. by Anna Earley. Holt, 2021 [352p] (Thieves of Weirdwood) Trade ed. ISBN 9781250302908 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250302915 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5–7 Following the events of Thieves of Weirdwood (BCCB 4/20), it’s 1907, and Wally is training to become a Novitiate at Weirdwood Manor while storyteller Arthur [End Page 299] fails to convince the Wardens to keep him on. Arthur returns home to find that the daughter of his late gang leader has the dragon-bone quill that brings stories to life, and she demands Arthur’s help to retrieve someone from the dead. Meanwhile, Wally tries and fails to defeat a new brand of Fae-born thugs, and Breeth the ghost girl is closer than ever to getting answers about her murder. In line with the first book of the series, this novel is suspenseful and chock-full of age-appropriate humor, from Arthur’s snarky ability to stretch the truth to the talking, lockpicking ferret woman from one of the pocket-worlds. Heidicker treats readers to some involved character development for Arthur, who learns to care about something other than himself, and Wally, who begins to criticize the tactics the Wardens use against their enemies. New readers interested in the premise have a lot of enjoyable world building to catch up on before they’re ready to read this one, but fans of the first title can rest easy knowing this is a worthy successor. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois