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FindingJane
Mar 07, 2016FindingJane rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Is Charlie’s new stepmother a witch or is he simply projecting his grief over his mother’s death onto the all-too-human woman who’s taken her place? Is the stepmonster causing his nightmares or is it something more sinister at work? This book teases us with the possibilities even as it explores the strange Netherworld where Charlie finds himself helplessly bound in nocturnal journeys. His diurnal hatred for his stepmother takes a nasty turn as he finds himself apparently at her mercy in a place where he doesn’t know the rules and stands a real chance of being eaten—or worse. The black-and-white illustrations by Karl Kwasny are evocative, playful and/or creepy, with bugs and interesting floral dotting the pages. Whether they are shadowy figures, expressive drawings or silhouettes, they are a welcome addition to the prose writing; you really can’t imagine the book without them. (As an extra delight, grab the pages in your right hand and flip them from front to back while staring at the top right-hand corner.) Mr. Segal cunningly mixes in references to Disney’s animated “Cinderella”, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth”, et al, in this story about a boy running from his worst fear and lashing out at everyone around him as a consequence. I know of Mr. Segal primarily as an actor. His first novel is an excellent revelation, an entertainment suitable for adults and children alike. Teenagers might not care so much; the book has little to say about them in particular. But it has a message about confronting one’s fears lest they fester and worsen over time and that’s a lesson to which anyone can relate.