August 4, 2026 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
After the adventures in Misfit Mansion, Iris is glad that things have calmed down and that she can live with her friends, even though she is concerned that Agnes and Kel have their own interests and may not want to talk to her anymore. Larkspur is still not very friendly, and even Mathias seems to be distancing himself. When the town agrees to have the annual Harvest Festival at Misfit Mansion, there is a lot of work to be done, and Iris is very busy. When Pippa, a rare Pied Piper Parrot, shows up, her sad song starts to affect the residents, and an effort is made to find her missing friend, Piccolo. Larkspur is irritated when the parrot bonds with him, and also still irritated by Mathias’ past as a horror hunter with his Aunt Anemone. As tensions escalate between Iris and her friends, and secrets emerge about the history of horror hunters, will the Harvest Festival, and perhaps the fate of Misfit Mansion, be in jeopardy?
Strengths: The illustrations are very appealing, and the color palette is bright despite all of the problems the characters experience. Misfit Mansion is an appealing place, with all of the different “horrors”, which are really just misunderstood mythical creatures. The idea of the Pied Piper parrot is interesting. The current opinion that issues are made worse if you don’t talk about them, and that you should share your emotional upheaval with your friends, is definitely upheld. The townspeople accepting the horrors feels very allegorical and could apply to lots of different situations in today’s world.
Weaknesses: The multiple layers of conflict, as well as repetitive explanations of it, slowed this one down quite a lot. I was hoping that the monsters could embrace a little more joy after all the problems of the first book.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like the Lumberjanes series or other angst ridden magical graphic novels like McClaren’s Crumble.
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