Tag: Book Love

The Spell of a Story – Mariajo Ilustrajo

A young girl comes home after her last day of school with terrible news. She has to read an entire book during the school holidays.

Just one? For the entire school holidays? That is terrible news.

She hates books.

Blasphemy!

Her sister takes her to the library,

Ooh, the mother ship!

where she’s introduced to the book that will change her life.

Okay, so what you’re telling me is the sister is the hero of this story.

I love books. I love books about books. I love books about loving books.

The words in this one are wonderful, sure, but it’s the illustrations I keep going back to. Our soon to be kindred spirit is absolutely adorable!

Seeing our reluctant reader glued to the page is what joy is made of. Witnessing the moment she transforms into one of us is pure magic.

Prior to their visit to the library, the colours are muted. You can see more vivid colours beginning to escape the pages in the library and when the girl begins to read.

Muted colours

Once her imagination sparks, though, that’s when the colours come to life.

The colours come to life

I appreciated the sneaky inclusion of the author’s other books on the classroom bookshelf. Be on the lookout, as I always am, for Mary Poppins. You may also find a Lost polar bear.

You don’t need a spell to convince me of the life changing magic of books. My hope for this book is that it’s the first adventure for tomorrow’s bookworms.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, an imprint of The Quarto Group, for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

From the award-winning creator of Flooded and Lost comes a magical story about the joy of discovering a connection with books for the very first time.

This brightly illustrated adventure story is perfect for kids who claim to hate reading, as the enchanting narrative opens their eyes to a fantasy world created by words on a page.

In this spellbinding story, we meet a little girl excited for the end of term. No more school! However, she’s given the very unreasonable task of reading a whole book over the holidays. A whole book? but she HATES books. Luckily, her sister takes her to the library and says she has just the thing.

Slowly, the little girl is drawn into a world of adventure inside her own imagination, for the very first time. Even the greyscale world starts to fill with colour as she is carried away in the story. A little fennec fox leads her to meet fairytale witches and creatures as they find ingredients to cast a special spell at the end of her book.

The little girl is dismayed to learn that this spell seemingly hasn’t changed a thing. However, the little fox points out that she is completely transformed: discovering the power of her imagination has changed her forever.

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The Book of Doors – Gareth Brown

‘Don’t let the world pass you by.’

The first thing you learn about Cassie is that she works in a bookstore. So, basically, she’s a kindred spirit.

It’s just beginning to snow as she’s getting ready to close Kellner Books for the night. Mr Webber, a regular, is mid coffee. He’s reading The Count of Monte Cristo again. Mr Webber loves the classics.

‘A good story is just as good the second time around.’

This is the night that Mr Webber gives Cassie a book. All books are special but this one is life-changing. I mean, more than other life-changing books. Cassie gets a glimpse of just how much when she gets home that night. You see, Venice isn’t usually in her bedroom.

This is the Book of Doors and the possibilities are endless. It’s one of the most coveted books in the world and many who seek it have nefarious agendas.

Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.

The heart of this book for me was Mr Webber. He was an absolute sweetheart. He could have been on every page and I still would have wanted to spend more time with him.

I wasn’t a fan of the way two characters spoke at times. One of the baddies was misogynistic, racist and made light of domestic violence at one point. You can be the biggest Bad without resorting to any of this and, other than making me despise them more, it added nothing to the story. Neither did Izzy body shaming herself.

I’ve decided I should never live above a cheesecake shop. I am, however, ready to move in to the Shadow House.

This book contains a lot of magic. My favourite magic, though, was the ice cream that didn’t go off in ten years. Not that ice cream will ever have a chance of expiring in my home but I liked the idea that, if you were so inclined, you could go back and finish off that ice cream you started eating a decade ago. Although, now that I think about it, if you’re the sort of person who could leave ice cream unfinished for years, I’m not sure I trust you. This type of magic may be wasted on you.

I don’t know if you can read this book without thinking about how you would use the Book of Doors. I’d be walking through my maternal grandparents’ front door in the 90’s. They were my favourite people and there are so many things I want to tell them about: what’s happening in my life, stories they’d laugh at, movies and books I know they’d love. I’d want to hear more stories about their lives and have the opportunity to have random conversations with them about whatever.

I also thought about which book other than the Book of Doors I’d like to have in my possession. There are so many that wield enormous power, that could be used to change the world, for better or worse. I think the Book of Joy is the one for me, though. The possibilities alone make me smile.

‘It’s always about the books, isn’t it?’

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bantam Press, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, Penguin Random House UK, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Because some doors should never be opened.

New York bookseller Cassie Andrews is not sure what she’s doing with her life. She lives quietly, sharing an apartment with her best friend, Izzy. Then a favourite customer gives her an old book. Full of strange writing and mysterious drawings, at the very front there is a handwritten message:

This is the Book of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door.

Cassie is about to discover that the Book of Doors is a special book – a magic book. A book that bestows extraordinary abilities on whoever possesses it. And she is about to learn that there are other magic books out there that can also do wondrous – or dreadful and terrifying – things.

Because where there is magic there is power and there are those who will stop at nothing to possess it. 

Suddenly Cassie and Izzy are confronted by violence and danger, and the only person who can help them is Drummond Fox who has a secret library of magical books hidden in the shadows for safekeeping, a man fleeing his own demons. Because there is a nameless evil out there that is hunting them all…

Because this book is worth killing for.

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Good Girls Don’t Die – Christina Henry

“This is how people die”

This is my first Christina Henry read and now I need to read everything she’s ever written. I loved the blurb and expected this book to be fun, but not this much fun!

Desperately trying to survive the horror stories they’ve been cast in without their consent are Celia, Allie and Maggie.

Celia has a husband and young daughter she doesn’t recognise. She owns a restaurant near her home in a town she doesn’t know. Unsure if she’s experiencing amnesia or something more nefarious, Celia suspects that this is not her life.

“You’re the number one suspect.”

Allie’s girl’s weekend was hijacked by her friends’ boyfriends. Now she’s using her horror movie knowledge to avoid being added to the body count.

“Movies are fun and all, but that kind of stuff doesn’t usually happen in real life. Usually.”

Maggie has twelve hours to successfully complete the Maze. Her daughter’s life depends on it. Although characters reference The Hunger Games while Maggie does her best to ensure her insides don’t become her outsides, I kept thinking of Squid Game.

“Let the game begin”

There was plenty of action and blood spatter, and I enjoyed the anticipation as the body count grew. I loved figuring out what was going on along with the women and watching them use their individual skills and knowledge to outwit, outplay and outlast.

“Men always underestimate women”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books introducing me to a new favourite author.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Celia wakes up in a house that isn’t hers. She doesn’t recognise her husband or the little girl who claims to be her daughter. She tries to remember who she was before, because she is certain that this life — the little family-run restaurant she owns, the gossipy small town she lives in — is not her own. 

Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip — but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. The cabin looks recently assembled and there are no animals or other life anywhere in the forest. Nothing about the place seems right. Then, in the middle of the night, someone bangs on the cabin door… 

Maggie, along with twelve other women, wakes up in a shipping container with the number three stamped on the back of her T-shirt. If she wants to see her daughter Paige again, Maggie must complete The Maze — a deadly high-stakes obstacle course. 

Three women. Three stories. Only one way out…

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A Study in Downing – Ava Reid

Effy has read her copy of Emrys Myrddin’s Angharad so many times she can quote entire chunks of it verbatim. A student of architecture (because women aren’t allowed to study literature), Effy has a unique connection to the story.

Though she had read Angharad for the first time at thirteen, she had been dreaming of the Fairy King long before that.

When she learns that designs are being sought for Hiraeth Manor, which will house the recently deceased national treasure’s writings, Effy jumps at the chance. While the odds are slim that a university student a mere six weeks into their degree will be chosen, Effy’s determined to make her design stand out.

Upon arriving at Hiraeth Manor, Effy meets Ianto Myrddin, Emrys’ son, and Preston, a literature student. Ianto is … odd and she’s not a fan of “smug, pedantic” Preston. (Effy’s words, not mine.)

Effy’s disdain for Preston grows when she learns the focus of his study, to discredit Emrys Myrddin. Fair enough, too. If your intention is to cast aspersions on one of my favourite authors, we’re going to have a problem.

A book featuring a character who’s this passionate about a book was always going to end up on my radar. Set it in a location like Hiraeth Manor, which you should really explore yourself before anyone describes it to you, and I’ll be planning a road trip. Add fear, uncertainty, some trauma, magic and a mystery to solve, and consider me sold.

I may have to rethink my ‘I don’t do romance’ stance. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and now this book have both well and truly sucked me in, and I haven’t had a problem with the romance components of either. I was actually looking forward to the characters finally getting their acts together and declaring their love.

“Oh, stop it. You’re being so relentlessly you.”

And now I must retreat into the forest to contemplate my fractured bookish romance worldview.

This book describes dissociation in one of the most authentic ways I’ve ever read. The impacts of the trauma Effy has experienced also rang true.

The writing is beautiful, even when it’s describing darkness. It took me much longer than I expected to finish this book, not because I wasn’t enjoying it but because I wanted to linger over each sentence. I didn’t want to miss a thing and I’m keen for a reread.

I’ve agonised over this review for weeks. There’s so much I want to say but I don’t want to ruin anything. I expect this will be one of my favourite reads of the year.

But if fairies and monsters were real, so were the women who defeated them.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Effy has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad – a beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy’s tattered copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at her prestigious architecture college. So when the late author’s family announces a contest to design his house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favourite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them – and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

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What You Are Looking for is in the Library – Michiko Aoyama

Translator – Alison Watts

How uncanny the way what one reads can sometimes synchronise with reality.

A book about books and a librarian who recommends the right one at the right time is always going to be a must read for me. I’ve experienced bookish transformative magic and have long suspected some librarians are particularly gifted in wielding it.

This book introduces you to five people who are at a crossroads in their life. Whether they’re unsatisfied with their job, wanting to follow a dream or are searching for purpose, they all find their way to the librarian.

‘What are you looking for?’

After a short conversation with Sayuri Komachi, the librarian, she produces a list of books on the subject they have requested but invariably also sneaks in a surprise title that appears entirely irrelevant. It is this title that leads the reader on a journey of self discovery, while trying to decipher the meaning of the librarian’s bonus gift.

The comparisons between this book and Before the Coffee Gets Cold made sense early on. Each chapter focuses on a specific individual, although as you make your way through the book you discover connections between characters and their backstories. One of my favourite things about this book was searching for the ways in which the seemingly unconnected stories interwove.

One description, which initially niggled at me, became something that impacted my enjoyment of the book. Every character, upon seeing the librarian for the first time, noted their shock at her appearance. She’s described as “huge”, “really huge”, “large” (multiple times), “very large” (more than once) and “humungous”. She has “plump fingers”. Characters are surprised she can move quickly and that she is capable of the fine work of felting.

The paleness of her skin was also consistently commented one; it reminded one character of a “white glutinous rice cake”.

Comparisons are made between her and a polar bear, the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, Disney’s Baymax and Genma Saotome from Ranma ½. While I’m usually up for any Ghostbusters reference, all of the comparisons felt disparaging rather than descriptive.

I haven’t been able to find a better word to describe my experience of this book as a whole than ‘soft’. It’s easy to read. The characters aren’t difficult to get to know and you don’t need to think deeply to follow the story. It’s a nice, feel-good read and there are sentences that leave you feeling warm and squishy. Ultimately, though, while I will remember how it made me feel, I don’t think any of the individual stories are going to linger with me long term.

Everybody should have their own story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Doubleday, an imprint of Transworld Publishers, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Sayuri Komachi is no ordinary librarian. Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it.

In this uplifting book, we meet five of Sayuri’s customers, each at a different crossroads:

– the restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills
– the mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave
– the conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store
– the gifted young manga artist in search of motivation
– the recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose

Can she help them find what they are looking for? 

What You Are Looking For is in the Library is about the magic of community libraries and the discovery of connection. Already loved by thousands of readers all over the world, this inspirational tale shows how, by listening to our hearts, seizing opportunity and reaching out, we too can fulfil our long-held dreams.

Which book will you recommend?

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Book Towns – Alex Johnson

It probably shouldn’t delight me so much to learn that there’s an International Organisation of Book Towns, but here we are.

A book town is simply a small town, usually rural and scenic, full of bookshops and book-related industries.

I’m in need of a round the world trip now that I’ve read about book towns in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA and Wales.

For each of the book towns explored in this book, you’ll learn its history as well as some must browse bookstores and festivals, and websites so you can delve deeper. There’s plenty of information to entice you to spend your book budget in each town.

I’m always on the lookout for fun facts. Here are my favourites…

Hay-on-Wye, Wales was the first book town. Bookseller, Richard Booth, came up with the concept. He also crowned himself King of Hay in 1977 and declared his town an independent kingdom.

Book stalls in the grounds of Hay Castle

P.L. Travers was living in Bowral, Australia as a teenager when she created Mary Poppins. In 2011, 2,115 people created a very appropriate umbrella mosaic.

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Fontenoy-La-Joûte, France has a signpost in the village centre that points to other book towns around the world. It also points you to some other locations, including “Atlantis, and Edgar Rice Burrough’s fictitious ‘hollow earth’, Pellucidar.”

You need to be between ten and fifteen years old to use Biblio Tøyen, a library in Oslo. It includes a Volvo truck with a kitchen in the back and reading sofa in the bonnet.

Livraria Bertrand in Lisbon, Portugal is the world’s oldest bookshop. It opened in 1732.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Frances Lincoln, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group, for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

The so-called “Book Towns” of the world are dedicated havens of literature, and the ultimate dream of book lovers everywhere. Book Towns takes readers on a richly illustrated tour of the 40 semi-officially recognised literary towns around the world and outlines the history and development of each community, and offers practical travel advice.

Many Book Towns have emerged in areas of marked attraction, such as Ureña in Spain or Fjaerland in Norway, where bookshops have been set up in buildings including former ferry waiting rooms and banks. While the UK has the best-known examples at Hay, Wigtown and Sedbergh, the book has a broad international appeal, featuring locations such as Jimbochu in Japan, College Street in Calcutta, and major unofficial “book cities” such as Buenos Aires.

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Ghostwritten – Ronald Malfi

In the beginning of The Neverending Story movie, the bookseller tells Bastian that the books he reads are safe. The books you’ll encounter in the four novellas that comprise Ghostwritten are most certainly not safe.

The Skin of Her Teeth

Gloria’s client, Davis McElroy, has been adapting a bestseller into a screenplay. He’s usually reliable but he’s missed his deadline and it’s up to Gloria to salvage the deal. This book doesn’t like change.

“The simplest thing,” Finter said, “is to give it what it wants.”

The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride

Danny and Tommy Drake have been hired to deliver a package. There are specific rules they need to follow:

  • Don’t open the briefcase.
  • Don’t touch the contents of the briefcase.
  • Follow the route that has been mapped out by the client to get to the drop off location.
  • Ignore anyone who asks to see the book.

The rules are very important. This book is out of this world.

“How can a book be dangerous?”

“Because they contain all the powers of the universe.”

This Book Belongs to Olo

Olo is having a birthday. He will be ten years old. At his party there will be cake, games, prizes and surprises. This book has no words.

“Well, everybody knows how to play hide and seek, I think,” said the girl. “It’s just that, it’s kind of a baby game.”

“Not the way I play,” he said, then tugged the clown mask back down over his face.

The Story

Grady is determined to figure out what story Taryn was working on when she died. This book is Choose Your Own Adventure.

You have been approved to read the Story.

The four novellas have common themes but there are other connections to be found between them. Your attention to detail will be rewarded and I expect a reread will help me discover crossovers I missed the first time around.

It’s difficult for me to choose a favourite story but I definitely had a favourite character, chronically lonely but ever enthusiastic Olo. I’m always a sucker for books about books and here I was treated to four compelling reads. This may only be my second read by this author but Ghostwritten has confirmed my suspicions that I’ve been missing out on something special. I have lots of catching up to do.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

From the bestselling author of Come with Me, four standalone horror novellas set in a shared universe!

In The Skin of Her Teeth, a cursed novel drives people to their deaths. 

A delivery job turns deadly in The Dark Brothers’ Last Ride. 

This Book Belongs to Olo sees a child wielding dangerous control over an unusual pop-up book. 

A choose your own adventure game spirals into an uncanny reality in The Story. 

Full of creepy, page-turning suspense, these collected novellas are all about books, stories, and manuscripts. The written word has never had sharper teeth…

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Library Girl – Karen Henry Clark

Illustrations – Sheryl Murray

When she was a child, Nancy was teased about her love of reading. The school library was her favourite place and when she learned about the existence of the public library, entire worlds opened up to her. She devoured everything she could, starting with books about horses.

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With some encouragement from the librarians, Nancy stepped outside of her comfort zone, giving a talk about horses at the library. This is how Nancy found both her confidence and her calling.

Once challenged to write a six-word memoir, Nancy wrote: “Girl discovers books, then discovers life.”

And what a life it’s been. Nancy has won awards and written books. She even has her very own action figure !

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Nancy’s story speaks to the magic that exists in libraries and the superpowers librarians have to change lives.

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More bookish superheroes need action figures.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Little Bigfoot, an imprint of Sasquatch Books, for the opportunity to read this picture book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Library Girl is the inspiring childhood story of how beloved librarian, author, and Seattle icon, Nancy Pearl discovered her strengths and realised her passion. It is a loving tribute to the power books and librarians have to transform children’s lives.

Nancy Pearl loved books and spent so much time in her school library that her grade school classmates teased her, calling her “library girl.” When she discovers her neighbourhood public library is open on Saturday, she begins the adventure of her lifetime. There, an inspiring librarian recognises her abilities, recommends books that ignite her vivid imagination, and provides experiences to bolster her burgeoning self-confidence. As she loses herself in the books she finds herself in their pages and comes to recognise her strengths. Her self-discovery brings a realisation at a young age that she wants to become a librarian so she can help children discover their dreams. 

This young girl, Nancy Pearl, grows up to become “America’s Most Celebrated Librarian,” devoting her life to talking about books up and down library aisles, on radio and television, at conferences and colleges around the world. Ultimately, she authors books about books, believing that reading allows people to find dreams of their own … with the turn of every page.

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The Cat Who Saved Books – Sosuke Natsukawa

Translator – Louise Heal Kawai

‘You know, I’ve been thinking about books.’ 

I absolutely love books about books! This one was all the more interesting to me because, not only does it feature a used bookstore and bookish missions, the missions are led by a talking cat!

Tiger, a ginger tabby, casually shows up at Natsuki Books in the week after Rintaro’s grandfather dies. It turns out this feline, who’s not backward in coming forward, needs the bookish assistance of hikikomori Rintaro. 

‘We’ve come to free your books.’ 

Together, this unlikely team enter a series of labyrinths to save books from those that don’t treat them with the reverence they deserve. 

‘Helping people may not be my forte, but when I hear that books need my help then I’m ready.’ 

I was so ready to tag along for these magical quests in aid of the written word. I was anticipating the fun of confronting readers who perpetrate bookish crimes like failing to return them to their owners and the owners whose books are sad because they’ve been patiently waiting in the TBR line for years already, yet their owner refuses to stop buying more.

The actual confrontations were less exciting than I’d anticipated and the talking cat wasn’t as much of a novelty as I’d hoped. 

I found some bookish quotes I loved. 

‘A cherished book will always have a soul. It will come to its reader’s aid in times of crisis.’ 

I really enjoyed thinking about what it is about books that makes them so extraordinary and how they impact on the lives of readers. 

Unfortunately, though, there was a disconnect that I was unable to resolve. I’d hoped this would be a book I’d be raving about to anyone who’d listen, but it fell flat for me.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

Grandpa used to say it all the time: books have tremendous power. But what is that power really?

Natsuki Books was a tiny second-hand bookshop on the edge of town. Inside, towering shelves reached the ceiling, every one crammed full of wonderful books. Rintaro Natsuki loved this space that his grandfather had created. He spent many happy hours there, reading whatever he liked. It was the perfect refuge for a boy who tended to be something of a recluse.

After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro is devastated and alone. It seems he will have to close the shop. Then, a talking tabby cat called Tiger appears and asks Rintaro for help. The cat needs a book lover to join him on a mission. This odd couple will go on three magical adventures to save books from people have imprisoned, mistreated and betrayed them. Finally, there is one last rescue that Rintaro must attempt alone…

The Cat Who Saved Books is a heartwarming story about finding courage, caring for others – and the tremendous power of books. Sosuke Natsukawa’s international best seller, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai, is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper.

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The Devil Makes Three – Tori Bovalino

Spoilers Ahead! (marked in purple)

“I think we summoned the devil”

One of the most important things I can tell you about this book is that most of it takes place in a library. Sure, there’s a resident devil, but don’t let that put you off. This is a library with seven floors of books, including countless grimoires, and a secret passageway. I’m pretty much ready to move in.

I liked Tess’ ability to come up with creative insults and her dedication to her younger sister. I was really looking forward to seeing how her experience with ghosts, having “grown up under the watchful presence of a host of ghosts that haunted her family’s central Pennsylvania farmhouse”, was going to come into play. Unfortunately, while I definitely saw opportunities for some helpful chats with the recently deceased, this remained firmly in fun fact territory.

I also liked Eliot, who made an indelible impression on me when he requested 147 books from the library at once. My kind of bookworm. His love for his mother made me like him even more. It also didn’t hurt that he smells like pages and vanilla.

While I liked both Tess and Eliot, I never really connected with either of them. The emotion wasn’t there for me and the one scene that I was expecting would ramp it up happened off page.

There is an actual devil in this book but the Big Bad for me was Eliot’s father. He’s absolutely detestable.

I liked the story and wanted to know what was going to happen but this wasn’t the compulsive read I had expected.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Once Upon a Blurb

When Tess and Eliot stumble upon an ancient book hidden in a secret tunnel beneath the school library, they accidentally release a devil from his book-bound prison, and he’ll stop at nothing to stay free. He’ll manipulate all the ink in the library books to do his bidding, he’ll murder in the stacks, and he’ll bleed into every inch of Tess’s life until his freedom is permanent. Forced to work together, Tess and Eliot have to find a way to re-trap the devil before he kills everyone they know and love, including, increasingly, each other. And compared to what the devil has in store for them, school stress suddenly doesn’t seem so bad after all.

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