Gloom Town, written by Ronald L. Smith, reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary:  Rory and his mom Hilda live in a poor and deary part of Gloom Town.  Hilda works two jobs in order to be able to put food on the table and pay rent.  Their landlord is a terrible person and his threats force Rory to go out and look for a job as a 12 year old boy.  Rory’s friend, Izzy, works as a fortune teller at the local pub.  Rory lands a job as a gentleman’s valet and Foxglove Manor, which has a lot of rumors about it floating around town.  It’s a big step for Rory because he has to move into the Manor House and be at Lord Foxglove’s beck and call.  He is not allowed to talk about salary or pay, but he does get a generous advance, which should be enough to pay rent for the rest of the year.  After working there for a while, Rory begins to realize and feel that something is amiss.  People are not what they seem and Foxglove Manor is a scary place to be.  He tells Izzy about some of his worries and she promises to help him.  Eventually, Izzy and Rory realize that everyone has lost their shadows (which are connected to souls) and that a terrible creature is getting stronger because of the shadow harvesting.  Rory is worried that he will not be able to survive his job and die like his predecessor did.

Straight Talk for Librarians:  Having read and enjoyed some of Ronald L Smith’s previous books, you can tell this is his setting and style of storytelling.  Diving into the book, it seems like it will be realistic fiction.  The story IS set in what seems like a fictional English seaside town.  But right away you get the feeling something is wrong and that evil might be lurking beneath the surface - then the story has elements of magical realism.  There is a little bit of dabbling with the occult in this story.  I’m not sure that the creature is connected to a mythological creature or if it is made up by the author.  Either way, it is a bit scary (in a fun way).  I enjoyed the friendship between Rory and Izzy.  The mystery part of the story began to be solved when Rory started telling adults about his problems and allowing his friends to help him.  The cover art on this book is gorgeous and speaks to the diverse characters without trying too hard.  The author always includes diversity in his books in a natural way.  Lots of bad creatures die, which resolves the storyline. The author throws in some twists and turns at the end, which makes the end even better and pulls together some treads from the beginning.  This is a great pick for a middle school library.  I’d recommend it to students looking for stories about witches, mages, scary creatures, mystery, high paced adventure and a fun cast of characters.