***
I've been waiting for this one for, well, what feels like a long while (especially since the publication date got pushed back!). It's a middle-grade fantasy novel (*swoon*), and its packaging--both title and cover--is fantabulous. Looky look:
release: September 27, 2011
Summary (from author website):
Life for Yorik Mortwell, a poor orphaned servant at Ravenby Manor, had never been easy. Especially when Master Thomas, the Manor’s spoiled heir, threw a rock at Yorik and he fell from a tree. Dead.To Yorik’s surprise, he rises as a ghost. Unfortunately, his second life also has a second master, the bossy and all- powerful Princess of the Aviary Glade. She commands Yorik to haunt Master Thomas and the rest of the Manor. Yorik is happy to obey, but much stands in the way of his revenge: a pack of demon-hounds; mysterious, inky blobs of pure evil; and the impending annihilation of Everything. To save the day— and himself—Yorik must rise above vengeance and stop following anybody’s orders but his own.
Guys, not only is this written by Stephen Messer, who got middle-grade fantasy down pat with his debut Windblowne, The Death of Yorik Mortwell has got illustrations by Gris Grimly. And trust me--they're adorable. Just check out these "photographs" by Gris:
<-- Stephen Messer, the author...
and Gris Grimly, the illustrator. -->
Um, can you say amazing package? Middle-grade doesn't often get too morbid, so this one sounds delightful! (...No, that doesn't mean I consider being morbid delightful. It's just that MG lit can afford to be morbid. Yes?)
