The Plentiful Darkness

by Heather Kassner

Overview

In Heather Kassner's spine-chilling fantasy novel, reminiscent of Serafina and the Black Cloak, an orphaned girl chases a thieving boy into a magician’s land of starless, moonless gloom where other children have gone missing before her.

"Gleams with an eerie magic, its characters burning bright and fierce. A visual treat of a tale." —Stefan Bachmann, international bestselling author of Cinders and Sparrows

In order to survive on her own, twelve-year-old Rooney de Barra collects precious moonlight, which she draws from the evening sky with her (very rare and most magical) lunar mirror. All the while she tries to avoid the rival roughhouse boys, and yet another, more terrifying danger: the dreaded thing that's been disappearing children in the night.

When Trick Aidan, the worst of the roughhouse boys, steals her lunar mirror, Rooney will do whatever it takes to get it back. Even if it means leaping into a pool of darkness after it swallows Trick and her mirror. Or braving the Plentiful Darkness, a bewitching world devoid of sky and stars. Or begrudgingly teaming up with Trick to confront the magician and unravel the magic that has trapped Warybone’s children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250764003
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	08/03/2021
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,082,828
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Heather Kassner loves thunderstorms, hummingbirds, and books. She lives with her husband in Arizona, waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the rain, photographing hummingbirds, and reading and writing strange little stories. The Bone Garden is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

08/02/2021

Pale-skinned orphan Rooney de Barra, 12, survives on the fictional streets of Warybone by harvesting moonlight with her enchanted mirror. But when her rival, roughhouse boy Trick Aidan, who is also white, steals her mirror, Rooney is determined to retrieve it—even when that means following Trick into a strange patch of darkness cast by a mysterious magician. In the darkness, Rooney and Trick discover a shadowy, claustrophobic world filled with broken objects and lost children led by the sullen, capricious, and pale Sorka, also 12. To escape the darkness before it consumes them, Rooney and Trick must join forces with their fellow captives, including brown-skinned recent arrival Devin Hayes, and find a way to bring light into the darkest shadows. As newfound bonds of necessity grow between characters and Rooney is forced to challenge her expectations and assumptions, Kassner (The Forest of Stars) allows the heroes a satisfying measure of growth. Leaning heavily upon atmosphere and lush descriptions, with setting almost a character itself, this eerie tale might have been further enriched by additional exploration and worldbuilding; still, it succeeds in delivering a robust message of resilience and hope. Ages 8–12. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

07/01/2021

Gr 3–6—Rooney De Barra's life is difficult: She's an orphan living on the streets with only rats for company. Having been rejected by the Roughhouse Boys, the ragtag group of parentless children who terrorize the town, she lives in a desperate competition to collect moonlight which she sells to buy food. It seems like life couldn't get much worse for Rooney, until it does. She catches the eye of the witch who stalks the town and finds herself flung into the Plentiful Darkness: a place where all seasons of the year exist, but only in nighttime mode. Ruling this place is Sorka of the Darkness, whose subjects include children who have disappeared from the town without a trace. Soon joined in the murk by her nemesis Trick Aidan, Rooney struggles to learn how to deal with this strange new place, only to discover the reason Sorka is trapped here and why it may mean none of them will ever see the light of day again. Part spooky, part fantastical, this is a strange little tale that weaves in important life lessons without being preachy, and features an impatient heroine who struggles with her flaws even as she's trying to work her way out of the void. The unrelenting darkness is an interesting concept, but hinders world-building to a certain extent. Readers who enjoy Adam Gidwitz's "Grimm" series will enjoy this title too. VERDICT Purchase where shivery fantasy for tweens is in demand.—Elizabeth Friend, Wester M.S., TX

School Library Journal

2021-06-01
Children disappear into a strange world of darkness.

In the town of Warybone, several orphans collect and trade magical moonlight (a power source). Three orphans band together as the “roughhouse boys”—including one tomboy. But 12-year-old Rooney de Barra is still going solo after losing her parents to the feather flu. For Rooney, the only thing worse than her rival roughhouse boys is the growing problem of children disappearing from the streets at night. Until one day it happens to her. Rooney follows Trick Aidan into a strange “splotch of darkness” created by a magician. As the pair fall into the “starless, moonless murk,” they find themselves in a “warped mirror” of the real Warybone. Other stolen children eventually greet them in a forest, singing a creepy tune that ends with the lyrics “There’s no escaping / The plentiful darkness.” As the realm unravels its mysteries, the darkness tightens around them. Can the children escape before they become part of it? Kassner’s latest is deliciously on-brand, with inventive magic, lyrical writing, and that just-right creep factor. Third-person narration switches between focusing on Rooney and on the mysterious magician, creating a slow reveal to a shockingly tender twist. Vivid descriptions help establish a strong sense of place that feels imaginatively expansive yet forebodingly claustrophobic. With the exception of one secondary character, the majority of the cast reads as White.

Well worth the plunge. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"Though the darkness is indeed plentiful, this book gleams with an eerie magic, its characters burning bright and fierce. A visual treat of a tale." —Stefan Bachmann, international bestselling author of Cinders and Sparrows

Praise for The Forest of Stars

* "Irresistible." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Kassner’s writing dazzles . . . a tale of hope, courage, and friendship." —Newbery Honor winner Ingrid Law

"Like the carnival at its heart, this story is richly magical and delightfully eerie." —Cassie Beasley, New York Times bestselling author of Circus Mirandus

"Fans of Kelly Barnhill and Neil Gaiman will love Kassner’s sometimes sinister, always magical carnival in this evocative fantasy about finding your place in the world." —School Library Journal

"The writing is rich and sensuous, and stylized black-and-white drawings add to the dreaminess. It’s a captivating tale, brimming with magic, marvels, and the reminder that “friendship [is] a sort of magic all its own." —Booklist

"A dark and dazzling tale, glistening with marvels, mysteries and the magic of friendship." —Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs

"Woven together with atmospheric, lyrical language, this is a sparkling tale about grief, hope, and found families. The magic of this book will touch your heart and send it soaring." —Amanda Foody, author of Ace of Shades

"A spellbinding tapestry of dreams and nightmares, shadows and hope." —J.A. White, author of The Thickety

"A dark, glimmering story that combines the coziness of a classic fairy tale with the joyful inventiveness of poetry, THE FOREST OF STARS is a heartfelt, hopeful novel about owning your magic and finding your place in the world that fans of Catherynne Valente will love." —Hayley Chewins, author of The Turnaway Girls

"Told in prose both dark and glittering, Kassner's mesmerizing, magical story of friendship, belonging and loss will have readers eager to join the Carnival Beneath the Stars and the extraordinary characters found inside its tents." —R. M. Romero, author of The Dollmaker of Kraków

From the Publisher