Grim Hill: Carnival of Secrets. (Grim Hill, Book 6). Linda DeMeulemeester. Burnaby, BC: Grim Hill Press (www.grimhill.com), 2013. 207 pp., trade pbk. & e-book, $10.00 (pbk.), $4.25 (ePub). ISBN 978-0-9921652-1-5 (pbk.), ISBN 978-0-9920923-5-1(e-book). Grades 4-7 / Ages 9-12. Review by Inderjit Deogun. ***½ /4

excerpt:

We stood on Sookie’s porch stunned by what we had seen. It was getting towards mid-afternoon and now I was faced with a difficult choice: enlist Sookie’s magic to save our friend Lea, or risk losing Lea to the terrible wrath of Fairy.

Sookie’s black cat crept up beside me and stared, making me feel uncomfortable – almost as if it couldn’t wait to hear what I had to say. I began sneezing. Sookie shooed the cat off the porch for my sake. If only I could get my sister to help us for all our sakes.

“What should we do, Cat?” asked Amarjeet. I couldn’t decide. I lived every day with the terrible results of the last hard choice I’d made. Because of that decision our town was a mess, and my sister was a supernatural terror. And I felt like it was all my fault. I sighed. Once again, there was no other option but to use Sookie’s magic. Except I knew in my bones I was supposed to fight Sookie’s witchy ways – I was the fairy fighter and she was my sworn enemy.

Sookie is a full-fledged, adult witch. However, her age and temperament just don’t match up which leads Cat to believe there’s more to Sookie than meets the eye. The same holds true for the ghastly carnival that has the townspeople under a supernatural trance. It’s up to Cat to make things right. Only this time she may not be able to save everyone.

     Grim Hill: Carnival of Secrets is the final installment in Linda DeMeulemeester’s award-winning series. The final book finds Cat and her friends traveling back in time where Cat comes face to face with her greatest fear. And that’s just the beginning for Cat because she must also learn from her mistakes if she’s going to succeed in saving the town. In the pages of Carnival of Secrets, DeMeulemeester crafts the high-flying adventure devout readers have come to associate with the “Grim Hill” series, one with a consistent pace that keeps readers at the edge of their seats until the very last page. DeMeulemeester also leaves readers wondering if one day Cat, the fairy fighter, and Sookie, the witch, will find themselves on opposite sides in the battle of good versus evil.

Highly Recommended.

Inderjit Deogun is a communications professional in Toronto, ON.

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