Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town!
Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden?
Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parents’ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fair’s spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?
It is such a pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Scareground today. Many thanks to Angela Kecojevic, Neem Tree Press and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel.
With Halloween not far away, Scareground is an ideal spooky novel for older middle-grade readers. It's a gripping, action-packed adventure which explores some fascinating themes which mean it would make a fabulous classroom read as well as a book for home.
The wonderfully named Nancy Crumpet is a daring, engaging protagonist whose mysterious past and strange gifts are central to the story. When we first meet her, she is tiptoeing across the rooftop of the bakery where she lives, revenge in mind. Even at this early point in the book, there's an intriguing juxtaposition between the warmth and love she enjoys with Ma and Pa Crumpet, and her desire for something more. The importance of family and friends is explored throughout the storyline as Nancy has to figure out what she really wants. Despite this being a children's book, it's certainly not a simple tale and there are some complex emotions examined here.
The Victorian era setting makes for an atmospheric backdrop as Nancy and her best friend, Arthur Green seek adventure and the truth. The writing throughout is beautifully evocative, with the redolent descriptions of delicious baked goods, everyday life in Greenwich and the dark mysteries of the Scareground all richly compelling. Arthur appears to come from a more privileged background than Nancy, who was adopted and doesn't go to school, but Angela Kecojevic sensitively reminds her readers that everybody has their own worries and problems. As the pair are forced to face their greatest fears, the strength of their friendship is often heartwarming but it is tested too, and the character development is excellent from start to finish.
Of course, it's the Scareground itself which is the most exciting and genuinely chilling aspect of the book. Full of danger, magic and amazing illusions, there's a dark lyricism to Angela Kecojevic's writing which will capture the imagination of anybody fortunate to read this enchanting story. There's an incredible pirate ship, a ghostly carousel, a revolting abundance of black slugs and a horribly malevolent presence as Nancy and Arthur experience astounding escapades and terrifying encounters – most notably with the curiously enigmatic Skelter Tombola – in the increasingly tense plot.
Scareground is a delightfully macabre book, filled with intrigue and peril but it's also an empathetic, hopeful tale of love, courage and belonging. I'm thrilled the conclusion promises more to come as this is a superbly spine-tingling read; I thoroughly recommend it.
Scareground is published by Neem Tree Press, it can be purchased from their website, bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Amazon or your favourite independent bookshop.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Great review. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to read it and comment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog tour support x
ReplyDelete