Tell the Story to Its End

Gr 6 Up—A sinister debut novel. It begins with a familiar premise—young Oli has been uprooted from urban London and transported, willy-nilly, to the rural home of his uncle. Once he is there, his mother and his adult relatives encourage him to make friends, but mysterious whisperings about the unexplained absence of his father, and his mother's strained expressions escape the facade of normalcy that his family members try to maintain. Oli does make friends, but it isn't enough—there is something in the attic that seems to irresistibly draw his attention. Eren, an eerie, unsettling creature, thrives on Oli's storytelling—at first a seemingly perfect opportunity for Oli, who has been thwarted in his attempts to get answers from his mother. However, as Eren's demands become more and more voracious, the protagonist wonders how far he can be drawn into Eren's web of fantasy and storytelling and whether he will ever be able to return to the real world. The ending might confuse and distress some readers. The occasional black-and-white ink illustrations add to the haunting atmosphere of growing suspense as Oli gets drawn further into Eren's world.