Elizabeth and Zenobia

September 25, 2017
After Elizabeth Murmur’s mother abandons Elizabeth and her father, they move into his childhood home, Witheringe House. Accompanying Elizabeth is her constant companion Zenobia, who her father dismisses as an imaginary friend but who Elizabeth knows is something... else (“There’s a faintness about her that makes it hard to tell where she ends and the rest of the world begins”). Unlike timid, scared-of-everything Elizabeth, Zenobia adores the gloomy, fog-shrouded mansion and is obsessed with conjuring a “Spirit Presence.” Elizabeth reluctantly follows Zenobia to the forbidden East Wing of the estate to perform séances, where they unravel a mystery surrounding Elizabeth’s father’s sister, who disappeared at age seven. Rounding out the gothic atmosphere of Australian author Miller’s first children’s book is a lurking housekeeper, a magical storybook, a cemetery, and a garden tended by a gardener who the adults claim doesn’t exist; Bryksenkova’s stark b&w spot illustrations add to the overall creepiness. Readers will be absorbed by Elizabeth and Zenobia’s conversations, the complex and chilling plot, Elizabeth’s transformation from meek to brave—and the mystery of what, exactly, Zenobia is. Ages 9–13.

January 22, 2018
Actor Arserio’s crisp narration of Miller’s middle grade novel captures the moody atmosphere of its gothic setting and the endearing nature of the friendship between its two protagonists. Mixing elements of ghost story and coming-of-age tale, the story follows a young, timid girl named Elizabeth, who, after being abandoned by her mother, moves with her distracted scientist father into his childhood home, an empty mansion called Witheringe House. Lonely and unable to attract her dad’s attention, Elizabeth finds companionship in Zenobia, a snarky friend who no one else can see. As Elizabeth and Zenobia roam the mansion, they detect ghosts and spirits that Elizabeth’s father and the stoic housekeeper dismiss as figments of Elizabeth’s imagination. Arserio reads the tale in low and mysterious tones that add intrigue and suspense. The book balances gruesome, spooky elements with the friendly banter between Elizabeth and Zenobia; Arserio’s narration provides the right proportions of tension and humor. Ages 9–13. An Amulet hardcover.

July 5, 2016
Painfully quiet Elizabeth and her delightfully devious and not-quite-imaginary friend Zenobia move into Witheringe House, the old manor where Elizabeth’s father spent his childhood. It is also where Elizabeth’s aunt Tourmaline vanished at the age of seven, and it is to Zenobia’s great surprise that Elizabeth, who is scared of everything from snakes to gloves without hands in them, insists they solve the mystery of Tourmaline’s disappearance. There is a lot in Elizabeth and Zenobia that recalls the classic The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I felt the same excitement and anticipation reading Elizabeth and Zenobia’s discovery of Witheringe House and its secrets as I did reading Mary Lennox’s journey through the gloomy moors of Misselthwaite Manor. As Elizabeth and Zenobia explore the forbidden East Wing of the house further, the dread and mystery slowly builds, and by the time I reached the end of the book my heart was racing and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I loved Elizabeth and Zenobia. It’s the perfect book for 12-year-old readers (and maybe some very brave 11-year-olds) who are looking for a simple, good-old-fashioned scary manor mystery. I cannot wait to hand-sell it. Dani Solomon is a bookseller at Readings Carlton