I’ve been fortunate enough to hit a rich vein of children’s fiction in recent weeks, and I’ve arguably saved the best for last. The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good, by Kirsty Applebaum, is a gentle gothic tale for middle-grade readers, with a creepy garden at its center.
What Is The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good?
The novel opens with a pair of children on a dare. They must enter the spooky garden of Stillness Hall. Imogen is there only because she knows that her “friend” Bex will never do it. Imogen wants to dump Bex for the new cool friends she’s made. Bex’s failure will mean Imogen can walk away.
Fran is on her way to stay with her cousin Imogen. She doesn’t want to. She doesn’t like stuck-up neat-freak Imogen, but her mum and dad are going away on business, so she has no choice. Fran arrives with excuses of school projects to avoid spending time with Imogen. Imagine her surprise when Imogen’s parents say they have no children and that Imogen’s room is “full of junk.” They don’t remember their own daughter.
Bex doesn’t remember her either. The owner of Stillness Hall comes to visit Fran’s Aunt and Uncle, and is surprised to see a child there. “Keep away from the Garden,” she says, suddenly unfriendly. Peturbed, Fran creeps into Imogen’s abandoned bedroom and discovers a diary there. Imogen’s diary that suddenly stopped almost a year ago. What is going on? Why should she stay out of the garden? And, where on Earth has her cousin gone?
Why Read The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good?
The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good, simply, is an excellent book. It would have been good, even without the extra fairytale chapters that slip in between the chapters of Fran’s quest to find out what happened to Imogen. In between Fran’s story, we read another tale about the original owners of Stillness Hall, and their sick son. A quest for a magical flower, and the terrible consequences of magic wishes granted without thinking through the request’s exact wording.
“Wish tales gone wrong” are a staple of the gothic genre for a reason, and Applebaum breathes new life into this well-used device. I really enjoyed the otherworldly hints of the fairy tale, and the two stories in the book meld to make a terrific whole. The modern-day narrative examines acceptance, bullying, and the nature of friendship, delivering a heart-warming mystery story.
While the book is composed using two different styles, it remains extremely readable throughout. The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good is first-class children’s fiction; reading it actually made me feel warm inside as I basked in its quality. It’s hard to describe the joy of reading an almost flawless book. Perhaps I’ve overhyped the book now, but trust me, you won’t regret reading about Fran, Imogen and the mystery of Stillness Hall. Wonderful stuff!
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I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
