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Returning to the Embassy of the Dead

Embassy of the Dead: Hangman’s Crossing 

by Will Mabbitt; illus. by Taryn Knight 

240 pages; ages 8-12

Walker Books US, 2021

Jake, fresh off his adventure in book #1 of Embassy of the Dead, is trying to get back to his normal life. But, since he can see ghosts (not to mention has one hanging out in his house) he has been appointed as an “official Undoer”, someone who helps ghosts pass on. So Jake ignores the summons to the Embassy.

Until he can’t. There is a state-of-emergency and the Ambassador needs to swear in the newest Undoers so that the elder, elite Undoers can head off on a mission to save the dead-world. At the ceremony, each new Undoer is sworn in, receives an official ID card, a special box, and a name. “Wormling” is NOT the name Jake would have chosen.

After the ceremony Cora, former hockey player and now Jake’s ghostly assistant, wanders into a room. Jake sees a line of photos of a missing ghost – a test pilot from the 1920s. She was investigating a gang involved in the illegal trade of artifacts stolen from the afterworld, but no one has seen her for weeks.

Jake’s first assignment is to locate a career criminal haunting a snookers club in London. Jake’s ghost-handler is so recently dead that it’s his first case, too. What could possibly go wrong?

What I like about this book: 

• This is the perfect book for today’s political climate. It is about followers of a corrupt leader, growing in power and working to overturn the rules of the Afterworld.
• There is a Plague demon
• A wardrobe turns out to be a portal to another world
• There’s an out-of-body experience
• And lots of Old Magic

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Read All About It!

 The Daily Bark: The Puppy Problem 

by Laura James; illus. by Charlie Alder

128 pages; ages 7-10

 Bloomsbury Children's Books ~ releases January, 2022)

Gizmo was a city dog – until he wasn’t. For some inexplicable reason, Granny packed up the car, loaded up Gizmo, and drove away from the only home he’d ever known. Now he’s far from his familiar world of groundskeepers and manicured landscapes. There are flowers. And bees. And mud!

And the dogs out here in the country are …. Ginormous! Well, at least they look that way to Gizmo, who is a tiny little sausage dog. A sausage dog, NOT a sausage! he has to remind his new friend Jilly, an Irish wolfhound. At least the puppies are Gizmo’s size, more or less. They are cute, energetic, and friendly.

They are also being put up for adoption to people who might live far, far away. And Jilly has no idea what to do to prevent this from happening. Luckily, Gizmo has a nose for a story, and he knows this one will sell. So he does what any newshound would do: start a newspaper. Soon the New Dog in Town finds himself editor-in-chief.

STOP the PRESSES!

Will Granny discover muddy paw prints on her keyboard? 

Will she miss that ream of printer paper? 

Will the puppies be saved?

And why does Jilly insist that Gizmo read the news out loud? 

As a journalist, I totally enjoyed this first book of a new series. I can’t wait to read what adventures lie ahead, and what new stories the Daily Bark will paw-print. I wonder whether they’ll do doggie-bag reviews of local eating establishments… 

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review ARC provided by the publisher.