I really enjoyed this; it was creepy and eerie, and fairly dark for a kids’ book. The story was tightly written, and the characters were flawed and yet still likeable. I liked that the premise isn’t clear right away; things get explained as the story unfolds. This distinctive fantasy is compelling and very memorable. I don’t want to say too much here, because I don’t want to give anything away, but this is a story that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. ( )

I enjoyed this book, because it was simply different than anything I'd read. Many times I feel like I'm just reading the same cookie cutter story, but this was an interesting and intriguing set up between the twin brothers and their family structure based on an Agreement their parents had made. It does a nice job of focusing on the topic of caste systems/groupings with a part fantasy-part dystopian-like vibe. A fast read with alternating narrators. ( )

When Gretchen approaches Lee to help her solve a mystery, he has to decide if he is willing to overlook a family feud and risk punishment to help and try to find a way to break his family's agreement with Death and Memory. His family has been separated his whole life. He and his brother can meet in the evening but neither of them knows the other parent.
Twists and turns, short chapters, and alternating points of view pepper this quick read. ( )

A wonderful spooky not scary halloween read. ( )

This review and others posted over at my blog.

I won a copy of this book from LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review.

In this world, Death, Memory and Passion are “living” beings, called Shades, and each town has their own trio, unbeknownst to most folk. The Vickery adults serve Death and Memory as apprentices and their sons are being trained to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Felix and his father service Death – Felix’s father is the local doctor, creating various tinctures, ointments and cure-alls to help those whose time hasn’t come yet, and watching over those lives Death extinguishes. Lee and his mother serve Memory – I’m not actually 100% sure how Lee’s mother is seen to the community. Magic isn’t widely known or believed, yet his mother is able to remove memories (both bad and good) from people’s minds and hold on to them. I suppose she could be viewed as a sort of therapist, but I’m not sure if people know they no longer have certain memories after visiting her. We don’t learn too much about Passion, as she’s not really the focus of the story.

In addition to having to assist their parents and essentially train to be apprentices, the boys live in separate halves of the house, east and west. Lee and his father literally can’t see or hear each other, even if they happen to be in the same room. Same goes for Felix and his mother. Their parents can’t see or hear each other and haven’t since the twins were born. On top of that, Felix is blind in one eye and wears an eyepatch – but if he lifts it up, he can see Death or Memory (and Passion). In turn, Lee is deaf in one ear, but can hear Death or Memory in that ear, should they choose to speak to him. Memory tends to hum a lot. This is all part of the Agreement. The expectation is that when the boys turn 16, they will sign contracts to Death and Memory and serve as full-fledged apprentices. Both boys are trying to find a way to avoid the contracts and break the Agreement so their family can be whole.

Lee is boisterous and outgoing and was raised in a somewhat normal environment. He can attend public school and his job is mostly just canning and labeling the memories his mother and Memory extract from their visitors. Felix, on the other hand, tends to be more serious, as he’s been forced to witness townsfolk die from a very young age and he’s not allowed to attend school or even leave the wood surrounding the house, except on Halloween. Then you have Gretchen; she comes from a long line of Summoners, those whose job it is to keep the Shades in line in service of the townsfolk. But only the first-born learns the Rites required to become a Summoner.

Gretchen feels ignored by her father, who happens to be the mayor, and harassed by her older brother, who is a bit of a rebel. Gretchen is rebellious herself, angry at her family, angry because she isn’t allowed to learn Rites and angry because she believes something suspicious is going on after the death of a classmate, but no one will listen to her. Gretchen is one of those annoying characters that grow on you – her attitude and anger are justified, but that doesn’t make her an easy character to read about. But she definitely shows the most growth throughout the story.

I enjoyed the characters and the plot was unique. I did wonder why Death, Memory and Passion were picked as the only three Shades to exist, but I can imagine the book would be pretty lengthy if more Shades were involved. You could definitely make an argument for those three things having a large part in everyone’s lives. I liked how each town has its own crew of Shades – they can have different personalities and ways of doing their job. It’s remarked that the Death in Chattanooga has his apprentice hand out chocolates to sweeten the journey to the afterlife.

This was a solid read with compelling characters, Felix being the most engaging given the solemnity of his “job.” The end wrapped up a little quickly, but I’m not too bothered by it. If there was a sequel (I could see it going either way), I would certainly pick it up. It wasn’t as moving as I’d like, though there are some decently emotional scenes.

I recommend this if you like:

+ Dark middle-grade
+ Family drama
+ Magical beings hidden in plain sight
+ Beautifully designed books ( )