Although Carole Poustie wrote this title as a
sequel to her debut novel, Dog Gone, In
the Dark is a brilliant, well-crafted page-turner that stands alone quite
confidently.
Ish is a young boy whose life becomes crumpled and
tossed by a single act of curiosity. He has poetic talent, which he believes he
inherited from his grandpa who has died.
After being told not to enter the old
cellar of his Gran’s house, he does exactly that, using the excuse of searching
for his grandpa’s book on the Mongolian Death Worm.
Deep in the dark spaces of the cellar, he discovers
a secret that has been kept from him in the form of a letter addressed to his
mother, stamped but never sent.
This letter sets off a chain of events and
revelations that will tear at the already fragile fabric binding relationships
within the family, and take Ish on a journey which could be seen as a rite of
passage.
All Ish knew about his life proves to be a lie. He
is determined to find the truth. But what he uncovers isn’t as idyllic as he
imagined.
Carole Poustie has succeeded in creating a novel
that will keep the reader riveted with surprising happenings, twists and turns.
The crisp prose, excellent characters and emotional tension keeps the pages
turning. The story is interspersed with Ish’s poems which reflect his thoughts.
These fluctuate emotionally with the happenings in his life. The poems all
appear collectively again at the end of the book.
This is an impressive novel about the importance of
identity; how secrets can destroy, but then rebuild lives when told, and how
misunderstandings can lead to the breakdown of family structures. It addresses human
weaknesses and imperfections, shows why the power of love can overcome even the
greatest of obstacles, and reflects on the reasons many families keep their
skeletons hidden in the closet.
Title:
In The Dark
Author:
Carole Poustie
Publisher:
Celapene Press, $16.95
Publication
Date: August 2017
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9781925572001
For
ages: 11+
Type: Middle Fiction
