The Secret of Nightingale Wood

Starred review from August 21, 2017
Set a year after the end of WWI, this compelling debut places imaginative 12-year-old narrator Henrietta “Hen” Abbott in an impossible situation. After the death of Hen’s brother, her father moves the family from London to the countryside, only to depart to the continent for work, leaving Hen’s mother struggling with mental illness and cared for by a sinister doctor. “Suddenly I felt dangerously alone,” Hen recounts. “Mama was ill and drugged. Father was not here. Doctor Hardy thought I was going mad, and Nanny Jane had become his spy.” She finds solace in the woods and meets a supposed witch (whom she dubs Moth) living in a caravan. The mystery surrounding this woman becomes a central thread, and her character extends needed kindness to Hen, supporting her efforts to save her family. Strange effectively weaves in fairy tales, poetry, and themes common to classic children’s literature, reflecting Hen’s love of books. A brave heroine propels this strong and richly layered novel, a memorable portrait of grief, resilience, and rebirth. Ages 8–12.

Starred review from August 15, 2017
Moving from London to the countryside, Henrietta, a 12-year-old white English girl, encounters mysterious secrets threatening to destroy her family.In the summer of 1919, Henry and her family arrive at Hope House, with its gardens and "wilderness of woodland," seeking a "fresh start." Unwell since her son's recent death, Henry's mother immediately collapses; local Dr. Hardy sedates and confines her in a locked room. Simultaneously, Henry's father exits abroad for his job, leaving Henry and her baby sister with their nanny. Alone, Henry spends days rereading familiar books and fairy tales and nights reliving the terrifying fire that killed the brother who haunts her. Magnetically drawn to Nightingale Wood, Henry discovers a woman called Moth living in a caravan harboring her own secrets like a "forgotten, fairy-tale princess." When Dr. Hardy commits her mother to an asylum, removes her sister, and suggests she suffers the same mental illness as her mother, a resolute Henry attempts a daring rescue, aided by Moth. In an imaginative, compelling first-person narration, Henry wraps her story in fairy tales, exposing her guilt, grief, isolation, and fear as she unravels the stunning secrets of Nightingale Wood. An evocative, beautifully written, mesmerizing debut tale with lush fairy-tale themes and a poignant exploration of mental illness--enthralling. (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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November 1, 2017

Gr 5-7-It is 1919, and 12-year-old Henrietta and her family have just moved from London to Hope House in the country after the tragic death of her older brother. Henry's mother is shut up in her room, heavily medicated, and Henry's father leaves the country on business. Nanny Jane has Henry's baby sister, "Piglet," to manage, leaving Henry alone to read her books and explore the Nightingale Wood. Following a mysterious firelight, Henry meets a wild, witchy woman named Moth who lives in the woods and seems to want to help. Meanwhile, Dr. Hardy keeps upping Mother's medication and conspires to commit her to the Helldon mental institution and remove Piglet into his own care. Henry must find a way to save her mother, bring her father home, and protect Piglet, all while she solves the mystery within the Nightingale Wood. This is a haunting gothic tale of love, courage, healing, and family. The story deals with grief, PTSD, and mental health in a tender and moving way. Henry is a thoroughly lovable character, and the setting is dark and mysterious without being too scary. Strange has a wonderful way of evoking classic fairy tales and the love of books while keeping the mystery moving along. VERDICT An excellent addition to middle grade shelves, especially where readers crave atmospheric, slightly dark stories.-Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenix

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2017
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* It's 1919, and in the aftermath of the Great War, almost everything seems tattered by loss. Hen Abbott's mother, however, is in particularly bad shape. It started with the death of Hen's older brother, Robert, and continued with the birth of her baby sister, nicknamed Piglet. Seeking a fresh start, Hen's father shuffles the family from London to Hope House, a slumping seaside estate flanked by forest. But Mama's condition, an unspoken mixture of melancholy and withdrawal, is worsening, and when Hen's father journeys abroad for work, Hen's family is left at the mercy of callous Dr. Hardy, a keen proponent of mandatory bedrest and heavy sedatives. The circumstances are no doubt bleak, but Hen is not alone: at night, a golden glow from deep within the woods beckons her. Its unlikely source may help Hen save her motherand transform her world. Eerily reminiscent of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's nineteenth-century short story, The Yellow Wallpaper, Strange's debut achingly illuminates the horrors of the rest cure, as well as the enduring sting of profound grief. Yet, in defiant Henand her glittering, fairy taleflecked imaginationStrange presents a worthy antidote to both. Interweaving bright, poetic prose with gothic imagery and deft allusions to literary classics, from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland to John Keats' Bright Star, Strange crafts a gorgeous, utterly enchanting classic of her own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
In 1919, twelve-year-old Hen's family moves to an English country house to recover from the recent death of Hen's brother. Then Hen meets a thin, ragged woman living in nearby Nightingale Wood. Might she be someone who understands Mama's incapacitating grief? Suspense and uncertainty build inexorably in this satisfying story; Hen's avid reading of fairy tales, Keats, and Victorian children's books enhances the narrative's rich literary texture.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2018
It's 1919; the Great War is over; and twelve-year-old Hen and her family--Mama, Father, baby "Piglet," and Nanny Jane--have just moved to an English country house where they hope to recover from the recent death of Hen's brother. But Father must rush off to the Continent on business, and Mama, incapacitated by grief, is virtually incarcerated in her room by sinister Doctor Hardy, who is plotting to lock her up in an asylum. Then Hen meets a thin, ragged woman who lives in nearby Nightingale Wood. Is she a witch? A forgotten fairy-tale princess? Or might she be the one person who really understands Mama's grieving? Suspense and uncertainty build inexorably in this story that seems to tremble between realism and fairy tale, with the prospect of horror continually on the horizon. Strange vividly evokes the era's frightening approach to mental illness and its "man of the house" order of authority; in Hen, she creates a protagonist both loving and lovable, stalwart in her efforts to save her mother and, indeed, her wholJan/Feb 2018 p 89 Battlesong [Icebreaker] by Lian Tanner Intermediate, Middle School Feiwel 297 pp. 8/17 978-1-250-05218-6 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-250-12888-1 $9.99 Gwin's people are Fetchers, traveling acrobats and musicians who bring hope to the downtrodden villagers and "fetch" any ancient mechanical objects that come to light in order to forestall their destruction by the oppressive, anti-technology Devout. When Gwin's father is captured by Devout Brother Poosk, Gwin's efforts to rescue him bring her in contact with Petrel and Fin of the Oyster ship and Sharkey and Rain of the submarine-dwelling Sunker children (Icebreaker; Sunker's Deep). They're all on the lookout for the Captain, a mechanical boy programmed with all the world's knowledge who can help them rebuild once the Devout are vanquished, but the Captain is damaged and it's unclear whether he can be repaired even if they find him. The myriad threads developed in the previous two books of the trilogy come together here, as Tanner applies all the tension of hand-to-hand combat, strenuous journeys, and mind-bending puzzles while her heroes fight through to a final confrontation that requires shipmates, Sunkers, mountain folk, and villagers to join forces against the Devout. The series winds up with an easily digested diagnosis of what caused the anti-technology backlash in the first place--"This isn't about machines; it never has been. It's about how we treat each other"--as Petrel's journey from parentless "Nothing Girl" to a treasured member of a family comes to a triumphant close. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)