Elizabeth Varadan | The Children’s Book Review | December 12, 2014
By N. D. Wilson
Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (April 8, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-0449816738
What to Expect: Football, Inter-Racial Families, Zombie Legends, Voodoo, Things That Go Bump in the Night, References to the Epic, Beowulf.
While Charlie’s family is in Tapir, Florida for the funeral of football coach, Willie Wisdom, his step-father, Prester Mack, is asked to stay a couple of months longer and coach out the season. Charlie and his mother both have mixed feelings—Charlie’s abusive father is in the area, working the sugar cane fields. On the plus side, Cotton Mack, a second cousin to Prester, becomes Charlie’s good friend.
When Cotton shows Charlie a swampy section of the cane field called “the muck,” a man with a helmet and sword walks toward them. They flee, but return trips lead to repeated encounters. The man, Lio, walks the swamp to prevent grave robberies by “Grens,” zombie-like creatures subservient to an entity called The Mother. The town of Tapir is under attack by the evil force that emanates from her, and The Mother grows stronger every day.
“Charlie shivered. He wanted to laugh and pretend like none of this could be real. Dead men? Life from the muck? But he had smelled that awful taint, and the sick memory of it was even in his bones.”
But this remarkable tale isn’t just an action-packed thriller probing the spooky stuff of nightmares. While Prester Mack coaches the high school team by day, the two boys find themselves fighting the evil powers in the “muck”—powers that feed hatreds and, in turn, gain strength from hatred. The story delves deeply into family interactions, community prejudices, and Charlie is faced with a moral choice that may cost him his life.
This book will appeal to readers 8 to 12 who like football, scary tales, and stories about complex family situations.
Add this book to your collection: The Boys of Blur, by N. D. Wilson
About the Author
N. D. WILSON lives in Idaho with his wife and their five young explorers. For more information, visit: http://www.ndwilson.com
The Boys of Blur, by N.D. Wilson, was reviewed by Elizabeth Varadan. Discover more books by N.D. Wilson by following along with our articles tagged with N.D. Wilson Books.