Creepening of Dogwood House

Description: "At night, Roddie still dreams of sitting at his mother's feet while she braids his Afro down. But that's a memory from before. Before his mom died in a tragic accident. Before he was taken in by an aunt he barely knows. Before his aunt brought him to Dogwood House, the creepiest place Roddie has ever seen. It was his family's home for over a hundred years. Now the house--abandoned and rotting, draped in Spanish moss that reminds him too much of hair--is his home, too. Aunt Angie has returned to South Carolina to take care of Roddie and reconnect with their family's hoodoo roots. Roddie, however, can't help but feel lost. His mom had never told him anything about hoodoo, Dogwood House, or their family. And as they set about fixing the house up, Roddie discovers that there is even more his mother never said"---

Brief description:

Eden Royce is a writer from Charleston, SC, now living in the garden of England. Her debut novel, Root Magic, was a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winner, and a Nebula Award Finalist for outstanding children's literature. She is also a Shirley Jackson Award finalist for her short fiction for adults. You can find her online at edenroyce.com.

Review Quotes:

"Royce employs marvelously eerie ambiance to craft a tale that is at once a moving narrative about grief and remembrance and a frightening, slow-burning haunted house adventure." - Publishers Weekly

"Eden Royce's thriller has all the earmarks of a classic haunted house tale paired with deeply-woven family traditions centered on hoodoo and Black hair. While the horror plot will keep you turning the pages, it's the emotional story of grief and family healing that will have you cheering at the end." - Tracey Baptiste, New York Times-bestselling author of The Jumbies

"Royce's latest offers readers a strong, character-centered, hoodoo-infused narrative that's a tribute to the beauty of Black hair. Richly detailed settings and themes of family, heritage, and grief provide anchors for the creepy mystery. A thrilling, hair-raising story with strong cultural roots and a well-developed sense of place." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Royce effectively builds suspense while cleverly interweaving facts about hoodoo. She provides a realistic portrayal of the way grief ebbs and flows amidst a kid-friendly scary story that includes a quest for answers, a confrontation with a monster, and a house that transforms to reveal family secrets after dark." - The Horn Book

"Royce offers up an excellent middle-grade horror story full of eerie atmosphere that nicely folds in the importance of connections to cultural history, meaningful examinations of grief, the literal power of Black hair, and how to find light in darkness." - Booklist

"Royce charms readers with another work of intriguing supernatural fiction laced with historical context. By both offering engaging characters and successfully demystifying hoodoo, this will encourage discussion among kids that may spark a curious exploration into their own culture." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books