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Title | Goblin Secrets
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Author | William Alexander
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Cover Art | Alexandre Jannson
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Publisher | Margaret K. McElderry Books - 2012
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First Printing | Margaret K. McElderry Books - 2012
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Title | Ghoulish Song
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Author | Alexander William
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Cover Art | Erwin Madrid
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Publisher | Margaret K. McElderry Books - 2013
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First Printing | Margaret K. McElderry Books - 2013
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Category | Middle Grade
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Rownie, Kaile, Shadow
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Main Elements | Goblins, ghouls, witches, steampunk
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Website | williamalexander.com
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 Goblin Secrets
In the town of Zombay, there is a witch named Graba who has clockwork chicken legs and moves her house around—much like the fairy tale figure of Baba Yaga. Graba takes in stray children, and Rownie is the youngest boy in her household. Rownie’s only real relative is his older brother Rowan, who is an actor. But acting is outlawed in Zombay, and Rowan has disappeared.
Desperate to find him, Rownie joins up with a troupe of goblins who skirt the law to put on plays. But their plays are not only for entertainment, and the masks they use are for more than make-believe. The goblins also want to find Rowan—because Rowan might be the only person who can save the town from being flooded by a mighty river.
This accessible, atmospheric fantasy takes a gentle look at love, loss, and family while delivering a fast-paced adventure that is sure to satisfy.
Ghoulish Song
A brave girl flees a ghoul while trying to save her town in this lively, fast-paced companion to National Book Award winner Goblin Secrets.
Kaile lives in Zombay, an astonishing city where goblins walk the streets and witches work their charms and curses. Kaile wants to be a musician and is delighted when a goblin gives her a flute carved out of bone. But the flute’s single, mournful song has a dangerous consequence: It separates Kaile and her shadow. Anyone without a shadow is considered dead, and despite Kaile’s protests that she’s alive and breathing, her family forces her to leave so she can’t haunt their home.
Kaile and her shadow soon learn that the troublesome flute is tied to a terrifying ghoul made from the bones of those who drowned in the Zombay River. With the ghoul chasing her and the river threatening to flood, Kaile has an important role to play in keeping Zombay safe. Will Kaile and her shadow be able to learn the right tune in time?
Set in the delightful and dangerous world of Goblin Secrets, Ghoulish Song is a gripping adventure laced with humor and mystery from National Book Award–winning author William Alexander.
I can see why Goblin Secrets won an award, I absolutely loved the book. It took a combination of ideas and managed to meld it all together into a seamless whole. First we have steampunk, Rownie is adopted (well in service of) Graba (clearly a Baba Yaga figure) who is a witch with mechanical chicken legs that are very terrifying. Then there's the magic, with curses and charms, but most importantly masks and the magic that they contain. The masks of course come from a travelling performing group of goblins, who, by wearing said masks can make the audience believe what they say. All actors of course can do this, otherwise we'd find plays boring to watch if we weren't pulled into their magic, but these masks can do a little bit more. And then there is the River, an elemental essence that must be appeased so that it will not flood the city of Zombay.
Its a wonderful mix of steampunk and fairy tales, and the writing just drew me in right away. It's whimsical but also scary at times, with guards with clockwork eyes, pigeons that spy for Graba, and "coal" that is made from hearts to power automatons. It made me think of movies like Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, Hugo, and just about anything Tim Burton has made. In fact this book would make a wonderful stop-animation movie.
The only fault I could find in the book is that Changelings (the goblins) are not explained well enough. Rownie kept asking how one became one, but we never find out. What exactly are they, other than "changed"?
I wasn't sure if it was safe to hope that the second book would be as good as the first, and while it doesn't have quite the same effect on me as the first one did, this one is still a wonderful tale. We don't continue where were left off, but we pick up somewhere in the middle. In Goblin Secrets we see a young girl hand over a basket of bread to the goblins and receive a bone flute in exchange. In Ghoulish Song we find out that when she plays the flute, she sets her shadow free. Most everyone else assumes someone without a shadow is dead (though Kaile has two pieces of evidence otherwise), however the musicians of the bridge believe otherwise and recruit to protect the bridge from the flood (the same flood from Goblin Secrets)...but she fails the audition. Just as masks had power in one book, in this one it's music. This book would also be perfect for a movie, so many strange and wonderful things take place.
I very highly recommend both these books, and am only disappointed there's just the two of them.
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