The Empty Place

Cole, Olivia. The Empty Place
November 12, 2024 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Henry Lightfoot (whose real name is Henrietta), has struggled for a year after the disappearance of her father. If happened on her birthday, which adds another level of sadness to everything. He was an explorer, and a content creator for a YouTube channel who talked about having adventures. He went missing from the nearby Quivandel forest, which seemed very out of character. Henry has tried to come to terms with the disappearance, hanging out with her best friend Ibtihaj. When her father shows up, again on her birthday, Henry is glad he's back but has a hard time dealing with all of the emotions he return brings up. He gives her a necklace wrapped in a map, and doesn't have a good explanation for what happened. It would have been helpful if he had, because when she goes into Quinvandel to try to get away from the tension at home, she falls. She thinks it is a sinkhole, but it goes on for longer than she suspects it should, and when she lands, she is in a strange place, being pursued by monsters. She eventually runs into a boy who takes her to his community. Angie is the one who deals with newcomers to This Place, but even she doesn't have a lot of answers. No one does. There are a lot of odd things that happen; when new people come, their names appear over beds in the dormitory, and if they manage to leave, the name disappears. Javier cooks for everyone, even though no one really needs food. There's a concensus that time works differently , but no one seems to know how one can leave. Henry meets Wolfson, who was lost and came to This Place when he was very young, and who has only the vaguest memory that his mother and grandmother weren't nice. Ndidi, who is from Nigeria, isn't quite sure why she got lost, either. Things are becoming unsettled in the area, with animal attacks increasing, weather being odd, and time slipping about in even more unusual ways than it normally does. Henry works with Wolfson and Ndidi, who help out Angie, but also tries to follow her father's map and find clues to his existence in This Place. She talks to Christopher, the junk man, who has her father's compass, but he isn't helpful. She manages to get into the Small Place and meet Emma, who has managed to leave, but who has come back again. She manages to get to the fountain of truth, but it tells her that her father is a thief. When one of the women in the community house is bitten, the three children go on a quest to meet the witch, also known as the woman at the top of the world, to try to figure out a cure. Will they be able to figure out what is going on, and how to return to their homes? 

Strengths: The idea of slipping into another world is always amusing, and is always open to new interpretations. In titles as wide ranging as Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), Jones' The Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998), or Durst's Even and Odd (2021), there is something very appealing to middle grade readers about having adventures far from one's home. There are scary elements as well, since everyone wants to get home, but no one knows how. Henry puts in a good effort to discover facets about her father's personality as well as his visit, and attempts to use this knowledge to get home herself. This title explores the concepts of truth, being "lost", and discovering things that one must learn before being able to learn and grow. 
Weaknesses: Most portal fantasies have a little more action an adventure than this did. It was also a bit disconcerting that no one in This Place seemed to know much information about it, and we never really get a good explanation of what has happened to either Henry or her father. This has a bit of a young adult feel to the philosophical exploration. 
What I really think: This might be a good choice for readers who enjoyed allegorical fantasies like Britt's The Lost Track of Time or Malienko's This Appearing House. 

Brooks, Nick. Everything Interesting Keeps Happening to Ethan Fairmont

November 5, 2024 by Union Square Kids

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

While I really enjoyed Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont, I can't get my students (who are apparently oddly fantasy averse) to pick it up. There's probably a children's literature PhD thesis in this; do my students tend to pick up realistic, humorous books about sports and confine their fantasy to murderous ghosts because we are a Midwestern, suburban environment? I don't know. If your students like science fiction and fantasy series, definitely take a look at this one. 

From the publisher:
Nick Brooks, award-winning filmmaker and acclaimed author of Promise Boys, presents the thrilling conclusion to the Ethan Fairmont trilogy in which Cheese the alien returns to Earth to warn Ethan and his friends of an impending alien invasion.

Before last summer, Ethan’s life was rather uninteresting. Now, Ethan can’t stop interesting things from happening . . .

After a small, six-eyed alien crash landed into his life, Ethan made a new otherworldly best friend. Now Cheese has returned to Earth, bringing his family and a warning of the Light Thieves’ plans to invade. Ethan is already reeling from the kidnapping of his beloved guinea pig, Nugget, and a dangerous reality sets in after one bold Light Thief sheds its disguise to attack Ethan on his front lawn.

Ethan needs his friends now more than ever, but as he and RJ continue to clash, tensions continue to rise within the group. On top of all that, he still hasn’t figured out how to deal with his feelings for Di. With an alien invasion on the horizon, and The Bureau for Weird Happenings indisposed, can Ethan and his friends work together to save Earth once and for all?

E.T. meets Stranger Things in the final chapter of this remarkable middle grade sci-fi adventure series, perfect for readers ages 8 to 12.