A haunting story about love, friendship, and the family we make for ourselves, The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart is a new timeless classic for middle grade readers from bestselling author Lauren DeStefano.
Lionel is a wild boy, who doesn’t much like to be around other people. He’d rather be a purring cat or a wolf stalking the woods.
Marybeth is a nice girl. She doesn’t need to be told to comb her hair or brush her teeth, and she’s kind to everyone at the orphanage . . . Lionel most of all.
Different though they are, Lionel and Marybeth are best friends in a world that has forgotten about them. So when a mysterious blue spirit possesses Marybeth—and starts to take control—they know they must stop it before the real Marybeth fades away forever.
Written as a companion to A Curious Tale of the In-Between, The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart can also easily be read as a standalone. But fans of Curious Tale will find plenty to love in DeStefano’s newest middle grade, which once again features a winning friendship, a mysterious ghost, and a sinister element.
The real star of this book is the friendship between Lionel and Marybeth. Unlikely bedfellows, they find companionship in their differences and the peculiarities that set them apart from the other children in the orphanage where they live. Seeing how these two children fight for each other — fiercely so — is beautiful and heartbreaking, and is what makes The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart such a stunning story.
DeStefano’s characters show true depth of emotions — not just Lionel and Marybeth, but their caretaker, Mrs. Mannerd, who surprised me by becoming one of my favorites by the end of the story! And even the smaller players we meet along the way.
I loved seeing how everything pieced together as the story unfolded, and the mystery of the “blue spirit” was slowly revealed. With real stakes, The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart builds to a stunning climax and ultimate reveal that will leave readers wholly satisfied. Look for the book in stores September 13th.
Novel Novice 
Leave a Reply