“Nell held the stuffed animals just out of his reach, trying not to laugh as the hob jumped up in the air for them. His long ears flopped back and forth, and his snot went flying.

‘Give them to me, give them to this hob!'”

Themes:

• Resisting temptations
• Putting the needs of others above your own
• Inclusion in family and friend units/feeling known

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding is fantastic! This is the first book by Alexandra Bracken that I’ve ever read, and I’m now certain I’ll love everything she’s done! To start with, the atmosphere is absolutely wonderful. It has that New England at Halloween vibe we all love. I read it last month, and it’s the PERFECT October read. I mean, most of the story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts—need I say more? And the town Prosper’s family founded, Redhood, mixes that New England feel with a power family element I loved. We’re also told of the realm from which the demon Alastor hails, and I’m hopeful that we’ll get to visit it in book two!

One of the things that so impressed me about this novel was the complexity of the plot, despite the book being quite character driven. You spend a lot of time worrying about Prosper, getting to know him and Nell, wondering what’s up with Uncle Barnabas and Prosper’s whole family back home. You are thinking about the plot as it’s seen from Prosper’s perspective. But then by the end you’re like, oh yea, wow, there’s like this whole other world Alastor comes from, and he is part of the royal demon family there, and that’s really the essence of this whole plot. read more