Spooky Reads Day 23: The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B Dunkle

Title: The Hollow Kingdom
Author: Clare B Dunkle
Page Count: 230
Rating: A
Format Read: Paperback
Genre: Fantasy (somewhere between Middle Grade and YA)
Keywords: Elves, Goblins, Magic
Kid Appropriate: Tweens and older

Synopsis from Goodreads:

"She had never screamed before, not when she overturned the rowboat and almost drowned, not even when Lightfoot bucked her off and she felt her leg break underneath her with an agonizing crunch. But now she screamed long and loud, with all her breath."

Hallow Hill has a strange and tragic history. For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from the estate, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have come to live at Hallow Hill. Brought up in a civilized age, they have no idea of the land's dreadful heritage-until, that is, Marak decides to tell them himself.

Intelligent, pleasant, and completely pitiless, Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be a king-and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom.

The Hollow Kingdom is a 2004 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

My Review:

I adored this fantasy book full of magic and reminiscent of a classic, dark fairytale when I read it over ten years ago. Now as an adult I associate it with my time reading Outlander. The mix of a world removed from the human realm, ugly goblins, rare elves, and spooky magic make this a great pick for the Halloween season as well as fall and winter in general. Check this one out if you like classic fairytales, tough heroines, romance, and magic!