Unearthly Things by Michelle Gagnon

Abstract

Reviewed by: Unearthly Things by Michelle Gagnon Karen Coats Gagnon, Michelle Unearthly Things. Soho Teen, 2017 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-61695-696-7 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-61695-697-4 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 When Janie's parents are killed in a helicopter crash, she is forced to leave Hawaii to live in California with the Rochesters, whom she's never met but who hold the key to her parents' past. Janie's bewildered by the cold reception she receives from Mrs. Rochester as well as their Filipino maid, Alma; why would her parents grant guardianship to people who obviously don't want anything to do with her? In fact, the only one who seems happy to see her is Nicholas, a strange six-year-old who insists that his dead sister talks to him and makes him do things, like periodically mess up Janie's room and desecrate her beloved childhood doll. Things get weirder as Janie meets Daniel, a classmate who has his own demons, and John, the only Rochester who is willing to tell her any of the family's secrets. He divulges too little too late, however, and Janie finds herself in grave danger, not knowing where to turn. The pacing here is terrific, but the details are somewhat clumsily handled, particularly when the need to hew close to Jane Eyre interferes with contemporary plausibility. The characters' emotional sails tack erratically according to the winds of the plot twists rather than through credibly developed psychologies; ironically, the most consistently believable character is the child ghost who tries to warn Janie off and then performs some rather unghostlike tricks to save her. Readers who are willing to forgive some procedural and emotional implausibility for an adrenaline buzz will enjoy this, though, as a thrilling climax allows all the loose ends and just deserts to snick into place in the end. Copyright © 2017 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois