Keith Graves

I received this book just in time for Halloween. Though the book is meant for younger readers, it doesn't hold back when it comes to the gruesome. Deliciously horrific, I was both shocked and entertained while reading the bits about Fetid's fetish and habits for all food, well, living. Reluctant readers and young horror fans alike will be begging for more from Graves.

Huh.
I'm not sure how to describe this story, or why I really found it so interesting. This is a completely macabre story where it is difficult to figure out who is the victim. Clearly, the grotesque hunchback Fetid Stenchley is the most evil of all villains. After all, he's a murderer, cannibal, and recent escapee from the Asylum for the Dangerously Insane. But is it really his fault? He was brought up as a lab assistant to the great scientist, professor Celsius Hibble. But as you learn show more more and more about the renowned scientist, you begin to wonder if he intentionally kept Stenchley an illiterate lackey. After all, Hibble was into all forms off cloning, splicing, and corpse reanimation. What's to say he never experimented in his assistant?
However, the majority of the story is focused on Josephine, a young girl recently transplanted with her family to Awkward Falls, in northern Manitoba. On her first night in town, she befriends the next door neighbor, Thaddeus. Thaddeus has been dabbling in mad science himself, and is being raised by a robot butler. As Thaddeus and Josephine race to survive Stenchley's evil plot, they uncover a past that is as dangerous as it is unbelievable.
The plot was snappy, and was more unpredictable than I would have imagined. I really felt it was more a book for adults who still want to be kids than a kids book... as a teacher, I can't imagine any of my students reading this and a) understanding what was going on half the time, and b) not be freaked out with some of the descriptions. show less

Gruesome but lively. Dark but humorous. The Orphan of Awkward Falls tells the story of twelve-year-old Josephine Cravitz's arrival in the northern Manitoba town of Awkward Falls, where her scientist father has taken a university research position, at roughly the same time that a violent cannibalistic inmate (Fetid Stenchley) has escaped from the Asylum for the Dangerously Insane. Josephine discovers a mysterious boy genius living in the dark rundown mansion next door, supposedly the grandson show more of Celsius Hibble, the Nobel-prize-winning scientist, whom Stenchley murdered some ten years back. Stenchley returns, of course, to Hibble's mansion, for, though he murdered Hibble, his employer, it was a crime of passion. He had felt cruelly displaced in Hibble's affections by Hibble's genetic experiments--specifically by one of Hibble's young clones of himself, whom Stenchley now intends to do away with. Stenchley's return to the mansion forces Josephine and Thaddeus on a dark adventure in which they attempt to escape Stenchley as well as Hibble's other disturbing creations--hybrids of spiders and baboons, panthers and buffalo. Stenchley knows enough about his previous employers' infernal machines to change his appearance so that he resembles Thaddeus and Thaddeus appears to be him. This only adds to the troubles of Josephine and Thaddeus. As well, Stenchley resurrects his zombified master, who follows him about throughout this dark and fast-paced tale.
The Orphan of Awkward Falls is certainly not a typical children's novel. A cannibalistic lunatic and lots of violence may make some parents hesitant about this book. However, I know that there are many kids, particularly boys, in grades five to eight who would lap up this book. The book shares some features with the opening scenes of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book (in which a gruesome family murder is described) as well as the works of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl. But it also resembles Darren Shan's Demonata and Cirque du Freak horror series as well.
I was initially put off by the macabre qualities of the book, and I had abandoned it for some time. However, when I returned to it, I found it fast paced and disturbingly engaging. The illustrations the author includes (very Brian Selznick) and an attractive cover add to the novel's appeal.
Apart from the dark qualities of the narrative, my chief criticisms are picky ones. In the early part of the book, we're told that the "governor" is coming to the Asylum for the Dangerously Insane to observe one of the treatments that Stenchley endures on a daily basis. However, the governor and the first lady then appear to morph into the "mayor " and his wife. It seems that the author can't figure out what to call these officials, and this causes some confusion for the reader. Additionally, the author should have been corrected on details of Canadian government: Canadian provinces are governed not by "governors" but by "premiers". Minor quibbles as I said, but still...details that should have been attended to.
Parents and young readers should be warned that this is not a book for everyone. It is definitely not for the squeamish. show less

The Cravitz family moves around a lot, and it's with some trepidation that thirteen year old Josephine finds herself in Awkward Falls, a small town in northern Canada. After all, who wants to live in an small, old town that smells like sauerkraut? It isn't long before Josephine stumbles upon a mystery in the gloomy house next door.

The current occupant, Thaddeus, is a boy who conducts his own mad scientist type experiments and resurrects dead pets while he waits for his parents to return. But show more the story gets even weirder. Awkward Falls is soon on the alert when cannibal Fetid Stenchley escapes from the Asylum for the Dangerously Insane. Years ago Thaddeus' grandfather was murdered by Stenchley, who worked as a lab assistant. Now that Stenchley is on the loose, he has nowhere to go but to the only place he knows as home.

With time running out and danger around every corner, Josephine, Thaddeus, an automaton, and a talking cat must join forces to solve the mystery of Thaddeus' lineage and escape from Stenchley's evil plans. "The Orphan of Awkward Falls" is a fun and entertaining adventure filled with action. In addition to the darkness of the story, I especially enjoyed the contrast between Josephine's healthy vegan lifestyle and Thaddeus' candy filled one - clever!

The Bottom Line: This quirky mystery is full of gruesome fun. With the peculiar characters and the themes of friendship and family, Keith Graves' first novel is a winner. It's the perfect read for teens who love books that are a bit unusual with some gore thrown in for good measure. Graves' black and white illustrations are fantastically dark and add to the story. In fact, the book cleverly begins and ends with the illustrations rather than text. This quick paced read is highly recommended for teens in grades 8 and up as well as for adults who like reading something just a little different and morbid. Note: According to the publisher, this book is recommended for kids ages 8 to 12. However, due to some of the gore and violence depicted in a few scenes, it might not be suitable for younger kids who are a bit squeamish or sensitive. show less