THE NIGHT GARDENER

THE NIGHT GARDENER by Jonathan Auxier

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier is fantastic!

Brother and sister, Molly and Kip, are in need of a place to work and live since their parents are lost at sea. Hired on as servants at a crumbling estate in the middle of a "sour" woods, they soon find out that a strange tree and a mysterious visitor are slowly stealing the lives of the family that live there, and it's not the first time it's happened.

This book is not what I would call horror, because it is not bloody or gory. However, the mysterious visitor is definitely scary. He does slowly take the lives of people by their decisions to pursue their wants in life. He does have graves predug for his victims. Wrapped in the middle of this story is Auxier's strong messages that he gives to his readers - choosing things over people and the consequences of that, and the difference between stories and lies. My age recommendation is going to be 6th grade and above on this one.

ALONGSIDE ACTIVITY-Be sure and check out the author's notes at the end where he shares all of the classic books that influenced the writing of this one. Some as far back as from his childhood.