The Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor DeStefano, Lauren The Curious Tale of the In-Between. Bloomsbury, 2015 [224p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-61963-600-2 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-61963-601-9 $11.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7 Eleven years ago, Pram died inside her mother after the pregnant woman hanged herself, but doctors managed to get Pram breathing again and saved her life. Her two very practical aunts took her in and told her only that her mother died in childbirth and her father simply left. Pram still feels that she is “alive and dead at the same time,” a condition that is probably what allows her to see and speak with ghosts, one of whom, Felix, has become her best friend. Now, however, Pram finds a more corporal friend in Clarence, and the two set out to find Pram’s father and also the spirit of Clarence’s mother, who died in a car accident. They find assistance from Lady Savant, a powerful spiritualist, but it soon becomes clear that she has ulterior motives and that Pram, Clarence, and Felix are in serious danger. The arresting opening scene, in which Pram’s mother’s body is found, sets a macabre tone, but Pram’s practicality and genuine sense of curiosity warms some of the chill, and her thoughtful reflections on loss and grief add more poignancy than morbid drama. DeStefano’s vivid prose is both evocative and immersive, the subtly ambiguous period of the setting is effective, and Pram’s ventures into the spirit world are particularly memorable. Lady Savant may be cruel, but readers will likely find her sympathetic after Pram discovers the vicious things that were done to the spiritualist in the name of medicine (ironic, given that medicine is what saved Pram). Thematically haunting and skillfully executed, this blend of ghost story, family drama, and mystery will leave readers pondering the space between the living and the spirit world for some time. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois