Reviewed by: The Worlds We Leave Behind by A. F. Harrold Adam McConville Harrold, A. F. The Worlds We Leave Behind; illus. by Levi Pinfold. Bloomsbury, 2023 [256p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781547610952 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781547610969 $12.59 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr 5-8 Hex didn’t mean to make the little girl fall off the rope swing—the stone he threw was meant for his friend, Tommo—but now she’s lying in the creek, her arm broken. While Tommo rushes to get help, Hex flees the scene, leaving behind a mysterious old woman and dog that only he could see. What follows as the week unfolds is a cautionary tale of consequences and revenge, but also new possibilities, as Hex, Tommo, and the little girl’s older sister, Maria, become tangled in the web of a reality-shifting entity. Harrold hones in on the emotional stakes of late adolescence in this British import, with characters struggling to take accountability for their [End Page 224] impulsive actions as they leave childhood behind. Shifting perspectives coupled with third-person omniscient writing keep readers attuned to familial difficulties and emotional conflicts as the five days progress, making retributory punches and magical bargains for revenge understandable, if not justifiable. The message of forgiveness isn’t subtle, but it’s packaged in a well-delivered tragedy; while all the characters grow from their mistakes, the ends they meet are not always happy. Pin-fold’s stark, black-and-white illustrations sell the tone, lending an ominous feeling to mundane scenes of English neighborhoods that give way to gnarled woods and hair-raising encounters with the villain. The reveal of sci-fi elements in the third act will surprise those primed for a trickster fantasy, but genre-flexible readers who enjoyed the darkly folkloric tone of Paradise Sands (BCCB 11/22) will find shivers, philosophical musings, and an ambiguous ending on offer here. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois