THE CATS OF SILVER CRESCENT

An evocative, vintage setting houses a dark—yet adorable—secret.

Twelve-year-old Elisabeth “Elsby” MacBride arrives in Snipatuit, Rhode Island, from Brooklyn to stay with her mysterious aunt Verity in her Carpenter Gothic–style home for the summer. One stormy night, three talking cats show up and ask for her help. They invite Elsby to their house, which is just next door. The sinister small-town New England setting seeps into the narrative, with the cats’ magical origins connecting to wealthy early Snipatuit landowner Algernon Endicott and his strange, castlelike library, filled with occult books. While visiting the library, Elsby meets a goth girl named Penelope Peres, a volunteer who has a morbid fascination with the town’s history of ghosts and spells. Together, the girls dive deeper into the cats’ strange powers. Noel’s writing embraces a comforting historical atmosphere. Allusions to classic literature, including Beowulf, T.S. Eliot, and Emily Dickinson, are juxtaposed with references to astrology and planetary activity that support the supernatural storyline. The imaginative descriptions, well-developed characterization, and sophisticated vocabulary will appeal to keen readers. Meanwhile, coming-of-age themes explore tween friendships and belonging. The combination of anthropomorphized cats with menacing magic will satisfy a diverse range of readers. Elsby reads white; olive-skinned Penelope is cued as being of Portuguese descent.

An ominous and well-executed supernatural fantasy with cozy mystery undertones.