Fiendish Deeds

The minute I saw the creepy, Tim Burton-reminiscent cover, I desperately wanted to read this book, and reading the first chapter only made it more appealing. Bracegirdle (an unlikely name if I ever heard one) can write very, very well, and he has an imagination that just won't quit. Chapter one opens with an Edgar Allen Poe quote, and it's clear that Bracegirdle is channeling classic horror writers (he references Poe, but Lovecraft also jumps to mind). Joy Wells lives in Spooking, the "hideous hill" surrounded by the newer, suburban, cookie-cutter town of Darlington. The Darlings, as they call themselves, fear Spooking and mock the kids who come down for school at Winsome Elementary. Joy, a devoted horror fan, loves Spooking and has show more nothing but scorn for the neat, boring lives of the Darling kids who torment her at school. She becomes convinced that her favorite horror writer, E. A. Peugeot, set his stories in and around Spooking, and decides that the Bog Monster in her favorite story must be real. Meanwhile, plans to drain the bog and replace it with a water park are afoot.

The brilliance of this story is in sharp, accurate prose (often infused with delightfully dry wit) and a masterful sense of creepiness (I actually got shivers at the very end). The characters are classic, but complex. Joy's attitude about Spooking is balanced by Bracegirdle's descriptions of the town's decrepitude, and by one Darling child who is shockingly nice to her. Phipps, the villain, is one of the best horror villains in kids' literature. Parallels to Joy's attitude and situation make it apparent that they would have been kindred spirits, but something in Phipps's past changed him, and I can't wait to read about his background in one of the future books. Phipps is a toadying, bitter assistant to the mayor with his own agenda for getting rid of Spooking, and an annoying, Dursley-ish (but smarter) boy cluelessly helps him. Joy tries desperately to save the bog through a variety of means, involving several memorable side characters.

The preservation of the bog brings in an environmental element, but it doesn't dominate the story. The balance between Spooking and Darlington is rich and complicated, and there is more than enough to fuel a trilogy. Joy is a delightful heroine with her stubborn Spooking pride and moments of self-awareness. I highly recommend this book, and I can't wait for Book Two next summer.

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Just as I suspected it would, The Joy of Spooking: Fiendish Deeds has earned a place on my list of all time favorites. I love the concept, I love the characters and the storyline is engaging and relevant. But most of all I love P.J.’s writing – it’s my exact kind of slightly dark humor and is full of gems like Joy’s brother Byron’s thoughts when the two meet a filthy but surprisingly friendly old “witch” woman at the bog:

“Byron continued to stare at her suspiciously. He’d read the fairy tales, and such chumminess usually meant a kid-size oven was preheating somewhere nearby.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Joy, Byron and their parents live in Spooking – “the terrible town on the hideous hill.” They don’t show more exactly fit in with the cookie-cutter residents of Darlington, the sprawling neighbor city where they have to attend school. Joy’s hobby is researching the legend of the bog fiend and the horror writer E.A. Peugeot and she’d really rather have nothing to do with Darlington at all. She does venture there to accompany Byron to a couple of parties (the precocious 8 year old has a crush on a darling of Darlington), and she is forced to confront some of its citizens in her quest to prevent a water park from being built over her beloved bog.

This is a story about preserving diversity – both in nature and in society. But it is far from being preachy – it is fun and exciting with a liberal portion of spookiness. The villain, major assistant Mr. Phipps, is exactly the kind of well-rounded, conflicted fiendish deed doer that makes a juicy character – we get the sense that he was once quite like Joy before something went terribly wrong. I eagerly await the next two books in the planned trilogy to find out more about Mr. Phipps’ background and follow Joy and Byron’s further adventures. Highly recommended to all readers 8 and up. show less

This first book in The Joy of Spooking series introduces the very original and very strange character of Joy Wells. Wise beyond her twelve years, Joy enjoys dressing in the vintage clothes of dead people, sneaking into graveyards and other haunted places in the middle of the night, and reading scary stories, especially those written by the mysteriously vanished author E.A. Peugeot. Joy lives in a dying town called Spooking, but since there is no school she and her brother are forced to go to school in the neighboring city of Darlington, where they are taunted daily and called “Spookies.” Joy is angered when she learns that Darlington plans to build a water park over a bog in Spooking. She became interested in the bog after reading show more one of E.A. Peugeot’s stories, “The Bawl of the Bog Fiend.” She wonders, was Peugeot onto something? Is there really a bog fiend, and did it have something to do with Peugeot’s disappearance?

I like the character of Joy – she’s funny, smart, and doesn’t care what people think of her. The writing style is humorous in a dry-wit kind of way, and the villain of the story is realistically creepy. However, I don’t know how it will do as a series. I enjoyed reading it, but the ending didn’t leave me dying to know what happens next. If you’re in the mood for an environmental mystery with quirky characters, then check out this book. show less

I labeled this book as fantasy, but I think it's a very mysterious fantasy. I expected it to be sort of like Lemony Snicket books - a witty, black humor kind of thing. It is like that, but it's also much more unusual than I expected. The author doesn't get all cutesy or spare any gory details - there are some very nearly adult themes in the book. The plot is clearly setting up for a series, so there are some elements that seem vague and confusing for now, but all in all I was very interested by this unusual story, and I will definitely read the sequel.

Reviewed by Rebecca Wells for TeensReadToo.com

Joy Wells, connoisseur of classic horror stories, the famous author E. A. Peugeot, and the swamp in her hometown of Spooking, has a problem. In fact, she has several.

First, she is forced to abandon her creaky old town of Spooking to descend to the suburban city of Darlington to attend school. Second, no one else seems to appreciate how amazing the spooky Spooking swamp is. And third, she has discovered that someone in Darlington has a plan to build a water park over her beloved swamp!

The Spooking swamp is the source of endless entertainment and speculation for Joy, especially because it may have eerie connections to E. A. Peugeot's haunting masterpiece, "The Bawl of the Bog Fiend." Joy loves show more the swamp, but it appears that no one else does, and without opposition, it is clear that the Spooking swamp will soon be extinct.

What can Joy do but oppose this horrendous plan, taking a stand against those determined to annihilate the swamp - and the town of Spooking - forever?

FIENDISH DEEDS lays the groundwork for what promises to be a unique and compelling trilogy. The premise of this young adult book is interesting and, though the conflict acquires a certain level of melodrama through Joy's point of view, it still manages to nudge the reader towards speculations about the meaning of progress and the value of history. Joy is a fearless and quirky protagonist who unhesitatingly draws the reader into her own interests and cares, including the ever present E. A. Peugeot, a clever doppelganger of Edgar Allen Poe.

FIENDISH DEEDS hits the ground running with a feisty protagonist, unlikely allies, and a sinister adversary as it introduces a grand adventure touched with mystery, action, horror, and the barest hint of romance. I was utterly disappointed to reach the end of the book only to find that FIENDISH DEEDS raises innumerable questions that it then refuses to answer. My only consolation is that there is a second (and third) book to come. show less

Joy is determined to stop the building of a water park over her beloved swamp and is certain that the swamp contains a bog fiend in it. Joy is a highly imaginative young girl who is obsessed with the macabre. She loves how her town Spooking is full of run down houses and other scary things. Joy hates the nearby town, Darlington, because it is so normal and perfect. I found Joy to be a very fun character and P.J. Bracegirdle does an excellent job of portaying her thoughts and making her a consistent character. The plot centers around Joy struggling to save the swamp and Phipps', a mysterious and sinister man, efforts to destroy it. The reader does not know a lot about Phipps, but as the book continues the reader realizes how few morals show more Phipps has and how far he is willing to go to destroy Spooking. Since, this is the first book in a trilogy Phipps is still around at the end of the book. The contrast of the two towns is very interesting and the setting of the bog is down very well. There are themes of good vs evil and go against the norm. Readers who like humor, mystery, and light horror elements should enjoy this book. Recommended. show less

Joy Wells lives in the crumbling town of Spooking with her parents and her younger brother, Byron. Spooking lies high on a hill overlooking the city of Darlington. The town has seen better days, most of the homes are uninhabited or need major repair. The shops on Main Street are all closed. The few kids that live in Spooking are bussed down to Darlington to go to school.

Darlington, down the hill from Spooking, is a perfect and unimaginative place. The houses are all alike and the people are all strangely cheerful. At school, the kids from Spooking are picked on and called "Spookys". They, in turn, despise the stuck up Darlington kids and call them "Darlings".

Joy is a smart and imaginative young girl with a pet frog who thinks he's a dog show more (he barks!). She loves to read the spine-tingling tales of her favorite author, E.A. Peugeot. Peugeot mysteriously disappeared years ago and was never heard from again but there is speculation that his stories might leave clues to what happened to him. In Joy's favorite story, "The Bawl of the Bog Fiend," the hero of the story is attacked by the monster in a bog that sounds very like Spooking's own bog which lies at the bottom of the hill. Joy is convinced the author actually wrote the story about Spooking.

Unfortunately, Darlington has plans for that bog. The greedy Mayor MacBrayne and his right hand man, the evil Mr. Phipps, have decided that the bog is the perfect place to build a water park. Joy is determined to do whatever is necessary to stop the destruction of one of her favorite places. She and her brother have some hair-raising experiences in her quest and a big adventure on Halloween night.

P.J. Bracegirdle (his real name!) has written an imaginative and exciting tale and filled it with characters both endearing and dastardly. It is a perfect story for everyone from eight to eighty and beyond! I'm looking forward to the further adventures of Joy, Byron and the town of Spooking. Book Two will be published in the summer of 2009. show less