Fall in love with these unique characters in a world of madness and magic.
Well written. Addictive. Charming. Entertaining.. and entirely unputdownable.
This book is easily my favorite read of 2022
I won The Clackity in a Goodreads Giveaway and, wow, am I grateful I had the opportunity to be so thoroughly swept away by this book.
Even if you’re not a fan of scary stories (not that scary, mind you, more.. eerie.) I would strongly suggest giving it chance.
You might be surprised.
I know I was.
Do not let the short length of this review fool you into thinking that this book did not meet expectation, that’s simply not true, I’m only attempting to omit as many spoilers as possible.
Happy Reading!
(Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases made through my links may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you.)
The Clackity by Lora Senf
Publication date: June 28, 2022
Pages: 287
Genre: Middle Grade, Fiction, Thriller
Standalone
Follow Evie as she faces down dark creatures, wins over peculiar characters, and learns to believe in herself.. all to save her beloved Aunt Des.
You won’t be able to put down this delightfully spooky story full of ghosts, witches, living tattoos, magical houses, possessed wildlife, and one very determined twelve year old girl on a mission.
Five Stars!
Characters: Unique. Fun. Interesting. Endearing.
Storyline: Spooky. Compelling. Addictive.
Pace: Perfect in all the right places.
Writing: Wonderful.
Cover: 5/5
POVs
One: Evie’s
Location: Blight Harbor, the seventh most haunted town in America.
Family. Loss. Love. Adventure. Growth.
This book exposes the struggle and courage of a young girl just trying to cope with her parents absence.
So when her favorite person, her aunt Desdemona, vanishes.. Evie will do and face whatever it takes to bring her home.
My love story with this book began with cover, as it often does for readers, and was further reinforced by each new character and obstacle unearthed between the pages of this spellbinding adventure that Lora Senf has created here.
I’m not kidding, guys, I adored this.
Dispersed throughout are curious illustrations of Coraline-esque artwork that are wonderfully fitting for the story and fun to stumble upon.
With only Evie’s POV to go by, I was initially concerned that it might be difficult to really get into, but I shouldn’t have worried.. Evie’s such a beautiful combination of fierce bravery, impulsiveness, compassion, and quick thinking that she’s a joy to follow.
In a book where the bad guys are almost indistinguishable from the good ones, and just as fascinating, this author has left little to find fault in.
(Though, by the end, I did end up distinctly irritated the word ‘abattoir’.. I understand you can only find so many ways to say ‘slaughterhouse’ but when something’s used enough to make a great drinking game.. it’s a bit much. Sorry, Lora!)
I am a little disappointed (who am I kidding.. it’s killing me) that I’m unable to use quotes at this time.. There are more than a few that I would have enjoyed sharing. Many of the thoughts, feelings, and moments expressed here are a testament to Senf’s remarkable talent for reaching the reader through her writing. And this a debut? Unbelievable.
Have I convinced you to read it yet?
Hell, I think I’ve nearly talked myself into re-reading it.
This book is a love song to fans of ghost stories everywhere and guaranteed to captivate readers of all ages.
I not only recommend you give it chance, I insist.
I really could continue to gush but then I risk spoiling something for you so.. I’ll stop here for now.
Thank you for checking out this review and I hope you enjoyed it!
What do you think..
Does this sound like something you or someone you know would read?
Wonderful review.
Thank you! ☺
I was instantly hooked by the cover, Sheri. That’s fabulous! And the story and characters sound like winners too. It’s clear that you enjoyed it, despite the “abattoir.” Lol. Thanks for sharing your recommendation. 🙂
The cover got me, too, and I’m so glad it did. I really can’t say enough nice things about this book.. Is it weird that I want everyone to love it because I do? 😅
You’re very welcome and thank you so much for taking the time to read my review.
Let me know if you do get a chance to read the book, okay? I’m really curious to hear everyone’s thoughts on it.
I will. I’m so overloaded with books (as I’m sure you are too), but it does sound wonderful.
No rush. There’s always so much to do and read that we fit in what we can. But thank you. 😊
Stay safe and I hope you have a beautiful week!
You too, Sheri
Thank you.🌷
So glad you loved this one! I haven’t heard of this til now but it sounds right up my alley. Adding to the TBR!
Oh.. I am a complete fangirl over this one. ❤️
It’s so full of fun and original characters, I think you’ll really enjoy it!
I love when a book does that. I’ve had some really great ones in the past couple months. Hopefully this will be one too!
Isn’t it great when that happens? This book actually pulled me out of a reading funk so I’m even more grateful I got a copy.
Any books really stand out for you lately?
Nice! My library system already has this one on order, so once the hubbub dies down I’ll give it a try.
Most recent knockouts are The Haar by David Sodergren and The Middling Affliction by Alex Shvartsman. Loved them!
Excellent! I think you’ll enjoy it.
And I have heard of neither of those (not even the authors) but I’ll check them out. We appear to share a similar love for all things creepy and unusual.
I hope I do too!
Yeah, they’re both worth a try, promise! I agree. 🙂 We both like something a bit out of the box. Anything that reminds me too much of our present reality is a turn off, so I lean towards the more fantastical stuff.
I checked those books out and, wow, I had to them both! I am a little bit more excited about The Haar, though, it sounds delightfully disturbing.
And I agree with with prefering the stories that are less realistic.. I feel like the best kind of books get you out of your head for a while.
Have a fantastic Fourth of July!
Oh yeah, the Haar was so disturbing! Glad you’re giving them a chance. Right, I usually prefer reading to be a break from reality. Take me to scary fantastical worlds! 😁
I did! Hope you did too
Of course! I love the disturbing ones.. anything that has me jumping at noises or flicking on lights is a winner in my book.😋
Glad to hear it! It was a surprisingly good day here, thank you!
Oh, then I think you’ll love it. It’s also got this element of tragedy that gave it some heart.
Hooray! Glad we both found a way to enjoy the holiday despite everything going on in the world. 🙂
That’s a bit unexpected.. but makes me all the more curious.
True.. it’s sad how screwed up things have become. And it’s everywhere, too. Normally a few countries have their crap managed but lately? Not so much.
Yeah, I agree it was very unexpected, but it actually made it even better. I’ll be giving another book of his a try sometime this summer and I hope that one is just as good. Fingers crossed!
Right? It’s hard to really know what to do these days, so I generally just stick to close friends and don’t really go out much anymore. There’s just too much crazy happening right now.
You just had to pick a book that’s a pain in the butt to find. Library? No. Bookstore? Nada. Even Thriftbooks didn’t have it. I’ll be keeping my eye out for now but I might just have to order it from Amazon.
Agreed. Keeping close to family and friends is about the best way to keep everyone you care about safe. I wish it were harder to believe how much violence and instability we’re seeing these days.. but it’s not.
Yeah, I had to have my library order it for me. It doesn’t help that it’s a new release and also indie, but I promise it’s worth it! 😂
Exactly. That’s really all we can do right now while everything’s up in the air. Here’s hoping this craziness stops soon!
Our library is too small and kind of gets a crap deal because of it. I’d be waiting for-freaking-ever if I tried getting it that way.
Here’s hoping. Here’s praying. Here’s sending a million wishes out into the universe. We need all the help we can get.
Oh man, that sucks! My old library way back when was smaller and they had kinda shoddy selection too.
Right, there still has to be hope this will be righted somehow. All about the positivity. ☺️
It’s the kind of thing you get used to when you don’t live in a bigger city.
And I don’t know that it will be righted.. Maybe we’ll learn from it, if we’re smart, maybe we can avoid the same in the future.. but it’s hard to take a thing back once it’s been done.
Right. I’m kind of on the outskirts, but luckily my library system has so many locations spread throughout Kansas City, even their most remote locations have the same advantages as the downtown ones.
Yeah, it’s tough to say what’s going to happen from here. I want to see people just wake up and stop judging/affecting others on things that are none of their business, but that would be something of a miracle at this point.
We’re in one of those small towns that maps don’t even acknowledge.. so just getting to the library is more of a chore than anything.
Most of my books have to be bought online.
And it would be nice.. it’s a shame the world doesn’t work that way. Far too many people have made it their business to judge everything these days.
Oh okay, I see your dilemma. Do you like living out there though? These days I prefer more wide open spaces wherever I live.
Yeah, it’s really sad. Oh well, gotta keep trucking regardless. Hopefully something good will come out of all this.
I do enjoy living further from the city than in one. I can understand why some people would prefer to but it’s too claustrophobic for me.
That’s true. One day at a time and hope for the best.
Yeah, once upon a time I lived smack dab in the middle of downtown Dallas. Doing that today would drive me nuts!
Yes! Fingers crossed that this too shall pass.
Oh snap.. I’m not sure you could pay me to live in Dallas. 😆
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