Description
A captivating, spooky mystery for middle-grade readers from acclaimed author Allison Rushby.
Do naught wrong by the mulberry tree, or she’ll take your daughters … one, two, three.
Ten-year-old Immy and her family run away from their storm cloud of problems to a tiny village in Cambridgeshire, England. When they find an adorable thatched cottage to begin a perfect new life in, the only downside is the ancient, dark and fierce-looking mulberry tree in the back garden. And the legend that comes with it – the villagers say the tree steals away girls living in the cottage on the eve of their eleventh birthday. Of course, Immy thinks this is ridiculous. Then she starts to hear a strange song in her head… Allison Rushby’s new novel for middle-grade readers is a captivating, spooky mystery.
Review
This is a spooky middle-grade reader that grabs you and won’t let you stop reading.
After Immy’s Dad, a doctor, didn’t force an elderly patient to stop driving, resulting in the death of a Mum and a baby in Australia, the family is seeking a new start. Immy’s surgeon Mum got a job at a hospital in Cambridge, England, and here they are.
But this small English village has some deeply held beliefs, the main one surrounding the scourge of the mulberry tree in Lavender Cottage, the house Immy’s family is renting. Two girls who lived there had, on the eve of their eleventh birthday, disappeared without a trace. Immy was to turn eleven soon, and the town is up in arms about this crazy risk.
With themes of prejudice, depression and its causes and flow on effects, empathy, and kindness, this is a heart-warming story about hope, bravery and facing your demons, both real and imaginary.
It is an enchanting story for readers 10 and older.
Reviewed by Rob
