It's
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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and #IMWAYR day
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July 21, 2026 by Viking Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Peter Carney and Adrian Lee are step brothers living in Barghest-on-the-Moor. Adrian’s father, George, is helping his brother, Lawrence, renovate Old Splinter, a creepy old mansion with a disturbing history while Peter’s mother works as a nurse and ethically taxidermies road kill animals in her spare time. The house is in terrible shape, and Lawrence keeps traveling back to Hong Kong to deal with his business there, leaving George to deal with damp, rotted floorboards, and a horrible smell in the house. Peter and Adrian have befriended Alfie, a charming unhoused man who lives in a clothing donation bin and likes to scare people for fun. He tells them that the owner of Old Splinter was a magician named Wolfgand Ravenite who bought a “wishing claw”, a disturbing mummified human hand, and had it grafted onto his body. The lore is that the claw will grant wishes, but they come with a horrible price. The boys are intrigued, and since George is concerned that the family finances are keeping him tied to his brother, they even hunt down the claw, which is in the possession of local bully Jethro and his father. The claw has brought them great wealth, but certainly doesn’t make them happy. They steal the claw, even though they promised Alfie they wouldn’t. They wish for a dog, and get Poe, a black labrador who seems to have come out of a picture. They wish for something embarrassing to happen to Jethro, but what happens is more disturbing than they would have wished. Finally, they wish for enough money to leave Old Splinter, which results in Lawrence’s death. The family gets money, but Peter feels so guilty that he wishes for Lawrence to come back to life. This does not go well, and Lawrence’s zombie-like qualities eventually make it clear that this was not a good choice. Will Peter and Adrian be able to save their family?
Strengths: Creepy tales are always in demand, and the cover of this is great. There are plenty of creepy details about the history of the house, and some macabre discoveries. This really takes off after Lawrence’s death as it becomes clear that a week of being buried didn’t treat him well, and the boys approach solving the problem in a good way, and have some support from both parents and Alfie. I’m not a horror fan myself, so I enjoyed the happy ending. This was an interesting book about the price of wishes.
Weaknesses: This is a British title, but I think my readers will be okay with the haunted setting on the moors. It got off to a bit of a slow start, but definitely became quite scary.
What I really think: Readers who have met Jacob’s 1902 The Monkey’s Paw will enjoy this updated reimagining of the tale, which becomes quite the scary zombie tale. It’s also an instructive look at how badly wishes can go wrong, right up there with White’s Wish Monster or Snyder’s Bigger Than a Breadbox! Fans of Alexander’s The Fear Zone might also like this. I never have enough horror books, so will purchase this one.
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