December 1, 2021
Henry (Alice) brings readers a story inspired by the tale of Ichabod Crane and Sleepy Hollow. Taking place more than a generation after the first sighting of the headless horseman, the story follows Ben Van Brunt, grandchild of Abraham and Katrina, who are never interested in reliving the past. Ben and best friend Sander spend their days exploring in the woods. But when they discover the gruesome murder of a child, the horseman and his curse are once again a plague on the town. Narrator Em Grosland is effective as Ben and Sander but struggles with the darker characters. Ben's queerness is slightly mishandled during the final stages of the story, as the narration turns from Ben's unwavering admiration of his grandfather and desperation to be just like him, to his insistence that he is a boy. The conclusion takes quite some time, but interested readers will hang in till the end. VERDICT An optional purchase.--Lesley Mason, Carteret Cty. P.L., NC
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 19, 2021
The horror in this sequel to the classic Irving yarn from Henry (Near the Bone) isn’t particularly fresh—it’s a straightforward monster-in-the-woods scenario—but there’s still plenty to keep the pages turning. Twenty years after the events of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 14-year-old trans boy Ben Van Brunt is raised by his grandparents, the rollicking Brom “Bones” Van Brunt and prim Kristina Van Tassel, in the small New York town, his parents long dead in mysterious circumstances. Skylarking in the autumn woods, Ben witnesses village men conferring over the headless, handless body of another local boy. Later, Ben’s sense of an eerie presence in his grandfather’s fields is confirmed when he spies a creature sucking blood from a second victim. This monstrous evil is not the Horseman—though Ben senses him, too, as a weird guardian with altogether different intentions. Uncovering those motivations, as well as his family history and why the evil haunts it, soon consumes every aspect of Ben’s existence. Occasional wobbles of worldbuilding—how are there residents Ben doesn’t know in a one-street village?—and the handling of Ben’s gender identity, combined with flip-the-switch character development, tarnish but do not ruin the experience. Readers won’t be wowed, but they will be entertained. Agent: Lucienne Diver, the Knight Agency.