Guest: A Changeling Tale

Gr 4-7--It's Mollie's fault when the Kinde Folke (a group of spiteful fairies who are neither delicate nor kind) kidnap her brother and leave Guest in his place--a sickly fairy halfling who does nothing but bite, pinch, eat...and tear her family apart. Eventually, a desperate Mollie treks to the Darklands with Guest in tow, determined to make the fairies give her brother back now that Guest is healthy again. Everyone they meet along the way has their own secret agenda, but worst of all is the Queen of the Kinde Folke. And Mollie's brother, once discovered, has no wish to leave his new family to return to a life of poverty with his old one. Can Mollie's bravery make up for her habit of speaking before she thinks? This tale by Hahn, notable for her "just right" scary stories for the upper elementary school crowd, is somewhat different than her usual offerings, veering more toward fantasy than horror. The creepy atmosphere and Mollie's determination offset her rather slow-moving journey to the Darklands, and the absence of neat endings lends a touch of reality. VERDICT A solid purchase for upper elementary school students who like a dark tale grounded in myth.--Elizabeth Friend, Wester Middle School, TX

In a striking departure from her more familiar ghost stories, Hahn (The Girl in the Locked Room) draws from Irish folklore to tell a darkly haunting tale. Mollie has grown up in a comfortable home in a village guarded by chilling superstitions. Local legends warn of the Kinde Folke, beings known to steal human babies and replace them with vile changelings. When Mollie removes her baby brother's protective necklace given to him by Granny Hedgepath, who is rumored to be a witch, Thomas promptly disappears, and a goblinlike creature is left in his place. Mollie leaves the village with the changeling child, whom she names "Guest," in hopes of finding the elusive Kinde Folke and pleading with them to exchange Guest for Thomas. Hahn blends sinister magic and unexpected tenderness as Mollie's relationship with the changeling child--who grows at a preternatural rate, quickly learning to walk and talk--evolves from spiteful to sympathetic and, finally, to loving and protective. Magical forces and frightening figures lurk throughout Hahn's story, which pays tribute to its source material while maintaining a quality of emotional rawness and originality. Ages 10-12. (Sept.)