The Nighthouse Keeper by Lora Senf (review)

Reviewed by: The Nighthouse Keeper by Lora Senf April Spisak Senf, Lora The Nighthouse Keeper; illus. by Alfredo Cáceres. Atheneum, 2023 [320p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781665934633 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781665934596 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 6-8 It hasn't even been a month since Evie returned from saving her aunt in The Clackity (BCCB 6/22), but once again the twelve-year-old girl must be bolder and cleverer than she thinks possible, mustering up the courage to go through a portal door and back into a terrifying world of monsters and innocent spirits that need saving. This time it isn't her aunt who is missing but rather all the ghosts that peacefully coexist with the people of Blight Harbor; Evie is certain they wouldn't all go away without saying goodbye, so she knows something's not right with their vanishings. The villain behind their disappearance calls herself Portia, and although she used to be human, she has long since twisted into a monster who has let her quest for power consume her. Evie meets the spirit of Lark (an eleven-year-old who died a hundred years ago) and her loyal ghost spider, and they become allies against the formidable Portia and the dangers that naturally exist in this other realm. Senf offers just enough history and a thin trace of vulnerability for Portia that make her a slightly sympathetic villain, and this nuanced character development is a strength across both first two books of the trilogy. Readers will undoubtedly eagerly await the final volume, even if it will mean saying goodbye to a fascinating and memorable world, and a brilliant protagonist in the heroic Evie, who is so much more than she initially dreams she can be. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois