SuitabookGrief and change
Sarah is unhappy about spending the summer at her late grandmother’s house while her parents prepare it for sale.
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Book details
Mark Steensland - Author
A portal fantasy and mystery built around a bereaved child, a family house full of secrets, and a dangerous shadow-world. Expect suspense, unusual creatures and questions about trust and courage.
A girl stumbles into a fantastic world in this tale perfect for fans of Coraline, Alice in Wonderland, and The Twilight Zone. Spending the summer at her grandmother's house is the last thing Sarah wants to do—especially now that Grandma Winnie has died—but she has no choice. Her parents have to fix the place up before they can sell it, and Sarah and her brother, Billy, have to help. But the tedious work turns into a thrilling mystery when Sarah discovers an unfinished letter her grandmother wrote: Strange things are happening behind the bookcase. . . . Sarah's mother dismisses the letter as one of Grandma Winnie's crazy stories, but Sarah does some investigating and makes a remarkable discovery: behind the bookcase is a doorway into Scotopia, the land where shadows come from. With a talking cat named Balthazat as her guide, Sarah begins an unforgettable adventure into a world filled with countless dangers. Who can she trust? And can she face her fears, not only in Scotopia, but also back at Grandma Winnie's house, where more secrets and strange goings-on await her?
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Sign in for personalised guidanceA portal fantasy and mystery built around a bereaved child, a family house full of secrets, and a dangerous shadow-world. Expect suspense, unusual creatures and questions about trust and courage.
Sarah is unhappy about spending the summer at her late grandmother’s house while her parents prepare it for sale.
Sarah investigates the doorway, enters Scotopia and faces dangers and frightening events in both the other world and the house.
Sarah finds an unfinished letter, investigates claims her mother dismisses and wonders whom she can trust while secrets surround the house and Scotopia.
The tone may be unsettling: the story includes dangerous creatures, locked sleeping souls, a malignant cat, stitched-shut sentinels, a partly missing face and a giant bat with a boy’s face.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the book’s treatment of its main themes is not yet firm enough; some draft conclusions still depend on unresolved evidence.
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