Bryant Hill’s 62 Perrin Street feels like a novel in name only – as it is mainly a faithful recounting of a year or so in a young boy’s life, as written by the man who was once that young boy. He describes the innermost thoughts of the ghost he once saw in the house at times, which is the most fictional and speculative aspect of the book, as it includes the opinions of a person who was deceased at the time. The description online lets the reader speculate as to the truthfulness of the story, but to this reader it seems entirely real except for the speculation about the ghost’s own perspective.
Martin Lastrapes blends magical realism with emotional depth and sinister temptations in Grover Wilcox Goes to the Circus. Grover Wilcox’s life goes from disenchanted to inexplicable after a klutz moment in the kitchen leaves him engulfed in flames. Instead of burning to death, however, Grover emerges unharmed. As he starts to wonder whether he might be fireproof, Grover learns that his father has mysteriously collapsed, and the doctors cannot determine what might be wrong. Excited at the prospects his newfound ability could bring him, but terrified at the thought that he may lose his father, Grover’s mind is in a rage.
When elementary school teacher Mandy Rose’s job is cut, she finds herself in a position where she needs to take whatever teaching position is quickly available. Her husband, Rick, mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. This left her responsible for her two young sons. The family desperately misses their father and is very worried about what might have happened because he was extremely stressed at work. Mandy readily accepts a teaching position in the quaint Victorian seaport village known as Port Townsend. Her family expresses concern about this because the area is known to be haunted. The teacher she is replacing also seems to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Despite this, Mandy packs up her two boys and two dogs and moves them to Port Townsend.
