Weekly Reader: Nightfall Gardens (Nightfall Gardens Series Book One) by Allen Houston; Memorably Eerie Mysterious Novel Tribute To The Dark Gothic YA Novels of Our Youth

 

Weekly Reader: Nightfall Gardens (Nightfall Gardens Series Book One) by Allen Houston; Memorably Eerie Mysterious Novel Tribute To The Dark Gothic YA Novels of Our Youth

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: While I read Nightfall Gardens by Allen Houston, I kept picturing in my head the illustrations of Ed Gorey. Nightfall Gardens is that kind of deliciously wicked Gothic YA novel. It evokes the writing style of books like The House With A Clock On Its Walls by John Bellair, Bedknobs and Broomsticks by Mary Norton, or A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. It's that type of book where eerie things happen in a dark and imaginative setting to some young children. The best YA books are the ones that remind us that dark magical spooky things can happen even to young people and aren't afraid to give their young Readers a bit of a scare. Allen Houston excels at that.

Lily and Silas Blackwood are part of a family of traveling actors. They haven't exactly achieved success, because of dwindling audiences, leaky theaters, and a lead actor who is a full course ham sandwich. After their latest lackluster performance, Lily encounters a very sinister looking man who frightens her on sight and reveals that he is her uncle Jonquil.

Jonquil has reunited with his brother's family to inform them that his mother, the guardian of the mysterious Nightfall Gardens is dying. Nightfall Gardens needs a new female heir or all hell will break loose, literally, and to keep the family tradition going, Lily is selected for the position. After Lily's parents turn the offer down flat,  Jonquil and his men kidnap Lily to take her to Nightfall Gardens with Silas in tow. The children have to be prepared for Lily's new role as Guardian and Silas' as a Rider (or security guard for the Gardens and the people inside the manor). The Blackwood children are introduced to their eccentric grandmother, Deiva, and the Gardens' creepy denizens including ghosts, fauns, werewolves, gargoyles, and Cassandra, a sardonic girl with green skin and a huge grudge against the Blackwoods. Oh and should they want to leave, well they can't. The Nightfall Gardens are cut off from the rest of the world including Lily and Silas' parents.

Nightfall Gardens is one of those memorable settings that are found so often in children's literature: brilliantly imaginative, at times sinister, but knows how to capture that wonder and zeal. Think Wonderland, OZ, Never Land, Hogwarts, Fantastica, The Labyrinth, or The Woods in most fairy tales. We may be stretched by our wonder and imagination. We might love to visit these places but we never forget that there are often dark mysterious forces at bay.

Nightfall Gardens is like every haunted mansion that has ever existed and considering its backstory, it could be seen as the original haunted mansion. (I won't spoil the surprise but let's just say that it involves a certain Greek woman and a certain box which should not be opened.)

Nightfall Gardens gives an unmistakable eerie yet seductive aura from the moment that Jonquil and the Blackwood children enter and face a group of violent Pans. (Not cookware, Pan the satyr from Hellenic mythology. They were the wild feral creatures, half men and half goats, who loved to play their pipes, frolic in the woods, and do unspeakable things to ladies).

 It's the kind of place where that shadow that you swear is a rack of clothes really is a monster in the closet. "Dark is never far and is always looking for a way in," Jonquil says and he is not kidding. It is always dusk or dark around the Gardens. The Gardens themselves draw magical creatures towards it, making living there an unpleasant but enchanting home for the Blackwoods and all who inhabit it.

It turns out that the Pans are just the opening act because Nightfall Gardens is full of surprises. The very ground has weeds and vines that appear to trap and scratch the unwary traveler until they bleed to death. Rooms appear and disappear and mirrors show ghastly reflections instead of the person looking into them. That's not counting the animals and humans, or those that appear as such, that surround the place.

Shades, or Ghosts, take the form of Lily to trap Silas and almost succeed. The White Garden, where the Shades live, is also home to Demons, Banshees, Succubi, Lords of the Underworld, and Wicked Crones. Grandma Deiva is forever waiting for the ghost of her late husband, the children's grandfather, to escort her to her death. Before that, the children have close encounters with him. 

There are some enigmatic figures called The Smiling Ladies that Lily and Silas are advised to just stay away from ("Someone you don't want to meet unless you want eternal sleep," a character somberly says). These creepy creatures are all there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for something, and are ready for the moment when they can strike and shed some blood.

Nightfall Gardens is the first book in the Nightfall Gardens Series, so it does what most first books do: sets up the world. Houston makes the Gardens an unforgettable place that the Reader wants to explore at least through writing. (This Reader is too much of a coward to go to a place like that for real.) Like many, the first book isn't so strong in plot as it is in tone. Plot points are introduced, but due to the book being part of a series, are not resolved by the end. This suggests that these will be ongoing struggles, motifs, and themes that will occur throughout the series rather than being resolved by Book 1.

Besides setting, Houston does a good job in characterizing the Blackwoods. This is a family that has a tremendous burden. They don't want to do it. They have often fought against it, but they know that they have to. Many of them are willing to sacrifice their own personal happiness and welfare to remain in this haunted and disturbing estate for the larger picture of protecting the world.

Since Lily and Silas are new to this responsibility, they try to fight it. Lily in particular is somewhat narcissistic and longs to return to the legitimate stage so she can become a star. When she hears about a possible loophole, she spends some time looking for it so she and her brother can be freed and not have to suffer the burden that their ancestors did.

Silas is more pragmatic and realizes that his own protective nature towards his sister was the reason for his arrival. He wasn't supposed to come and just forced his way in. However, now that he is here, he is determined to do what he can to protect the Gardens and especially Lily.

Nightfall Gardens is one of those literary locations that you will never forget. You might be too scared to visit and you certainly wouldn't want to live there. But you don't mind reading about it, so you can get a good old fashioned Gothic scare.