CAROLINE & MORDECAI THE GAND

In Gunhus’ middle-grade novel, a grieving girl falls into a fantasy world and must find her way home while coming to terms with her loss.

Thirteen-year-old Caroline’s father died in a car accident just four weeks ago. He’d been out driving to buy some marshmallows for her, so she feels terrible guilt along with her grief. Thinking about her dad is too painful, so she decides to wall off her memories of him and ignore them. However, the future of who Caroline will become rests on how she copes with what happened—and that, in turn, will depend on how she reacts after she unexpectedly falls through a portal and into another world. This new world is strange and dangerous—tree-faring folk lie in wait to eat unwary travelers; the smoky, nightmarish Creach, which hunts those who have despair in their hearts—but the land is beautiful, too. Caroline meets Mordecai the Gand, an itinerant lute player whom she joins, hoping to find a way home and keep her sad memories at bay. The newness and sense of adventure bring Caroline to life again, but it comes at the cost of cutting herself off from her old existence. As her travels continue, she begins to suspect that Mordecai’s way of life, enticing though it is, may come at too high a price. Can Caroline help her new friend and, in doing so, find her own path back to herself? Gunhus writes in a style that will be easily accessible to middle-grade readers, yet it also has a profound simplicity that adults will appreciate. Caroline may be an embodiment of childhood grief, from a narrative standpoint, but she has a distinct personality of her own—empathic, forthright, willful—and those around her give this parable additional character. The plot seems straightforwardly aimed at readers in Caroline’s position, but it never feels strained; the pacing is gentle, though never too slow, and the dialogue rings true. Throughout, Gunhus captures poignant moments and images—such as that of the ethereal krybird—that will allow readers to recognize the author’s intent and find comfort along the way.

A sad, heartfelt quest tale that offers light at the end of the tunnel.