Great Halloween Book!

The Wednesdays

by Julie Bourbeau

Random House/Alfred A. Knopf

August 14,2012

received by NetGalley for review

Fun, spooky book.  Something lurks halfway up the mountain...but only on Wednesdays.  The people of the small village stay inside and board up their houses.  Everything closed for 24 hours.  Imagine living in a town that closes an entire day.  The only people outside are the foolish tourists who don't know any better.

Max V. Bernard can't stand to stay inside on Wednesday.  Unbeknownst to him, his curiosity will get the better of him.  He goes outside on a Wednesday to try and discover what all the fuss is about.  He meets the small gargoyle like creatures that terrorize the town on Wednesdays.  The small creatures wreak havoc on anything, light bulbs blow out, tires are flattened, rose bushes are destroyed, sprinkler systems go off at all hours, well, you get the idea.   Max interacts with these strange creatures and...well, no spoilers allowed here.

This is a wonderfully unique and delightfully spooky book.  Great for Halloween time reading.  This book is great for middle grade students.  They will love the strange creatures of Wednesday.  The will thrill at the rabble rousing the creatures do throughout the town.  There is nothing too terribly frightening about the book.  The illustrations are well done and cute.  The book itself is downright fun.  Max and his friends are great characters.  The parapsychologist adds a bit of humor, especially when he and his profession are attacked by Max's cynical and sarcastic mother.

The Wednesdays' themselves are both nasty and comical at the same time.  I enjoyed reading this strange and unique book.  I think children will love this book.