shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com July 18, 2017 • Page 9 The Bookworm ‘Carnivalesque’ Has Chills, Despite Clunky Middle Section “Carnivalesque” by Neil Jordan; © 2017, Bloomsbury. 282 pages ——— BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER Your hair looks fine. It should; you’ve checked it a dozen times since you got out of bed this morning. Your hair, your teeth, your skin, your eyes, you want to make sure you look your best so you peek in the mirror as often as possible. But in the new book “Carnivalesque” by Neil Jordan, what you see is not what you get. As an only child, Andy Rackard was a bit indulged. Maybe it had to do with the tension between his parents, maybe not, but it didn’t really matter. When Andy asked for something — say, a side-trip to the carnival while heading to the mall — the car turned toward his wishes. So, while his parents gaped at carnival sideshows and gasped at neon-lit rides, Andy slipped away to Burleigh’s Amazing Hall of Mirrors. And he didn’t come out. Instead, someone who looked like him did: a different Andy who left with the real Andy’s parents, while the real Andy was stuck inside the mirror. Stuck fast, until a girl who seemed to be his same age decided that his name was Dany, and pulled him out with hands that belied her age. She called herself Mona, and Find it here! she told Dany that he’d make a fine roustabout for the carnival. He was just as capable as the other rousties in their odd-fitting dungarees, and so she decided to keep him. She had wanted a child for way too long. Eileen Rackard cried a lot those days. Jim, her husband, was obsessed with marmalade; true, it was his job, but it wasn’t his life. She felt so useless, and it didn’t help that Andy seemed distant, as if he didn’t remember how things once were. She chalked it up to adolescence, and hoped things might return to normal — until a local girl accused Andy of assault, flying ants began to plague the townspeople, and something emerged from the moss near the water … Beginning with such promise, “Carnivalesque” is a nearly-instant blood-chiller. When young Andy is sucked into the mirror and replaced, it’s as if a childhood horror has come to life and everything comfortable is snatched away. Homesickness, even to a small degree, may also appear in a sentimental reader, but don’t lose focus: observations are made in those pages, and they’ll become important. It’s a good beginning. Sadly, you’ll then need to muddle a while, since this book begins to crack under its own story-weight, somewhere shortly before the middle, there are go-nowhere plot-lines and empty back-story that seem awfully extraneous, as though author Neil Jordan sprinkled pepper into his tale for flavor, but it ruins the recipe. It’s told in a dreamy, otherworldly way, which can be that part’s only saving grace. Fear not, though. Despite a clunky middle, the ending of this book is just as creepy as the beginning, and readers ages 15-to-adult will love every chill. If you like that kind of novel and if you can get that far, “Carnivalesque” could be a book you can see yourself reading. Auctions, Entertainment, Baby Goods, Furniture, Toys, Antiques, Electronics, Cars, Homes For Sale/Rent and MORE!!! New At The Library Here’s what’s new at the Yankton Community Library this week: Adult Books • Bound Together by Christine Feehan; Fiction • The Child by Fiona Barton; Fiction • The Duchess by Danielle Steel; Fiction • The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry; Fiction • Everybody’s Son by Thrity Umrigar; Fiction • The Force by Don Winslow; Fiction • The Frozen Hours by Jeff Shaara; Fiction • Full Wolf Moon by Lincoln Child; Fiction • Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister; Fiction • Joshua’s Mission by Vannetta Chapman; Fiction • Kiss Carlo by Adriana Trigiani; Fiction • Last Breath by Robert Bryndza; Fiction • The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband by Julia Quinn; Fiction • Matchup by Lee Child (editor); Fiction • Remington 1894 by William W. Johnstone; Fiction • Salty Kisses by Robin Jones Gunn; Fiction • Serenity Harbor by RaeAnne Thayne; Fiction • Seven Stones To Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon; Fiction • Star Wars: Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig; Fiction • Take Out by Margaret Maron; Fiction • Things To Do When You’re Goth in the Country & Other Stories by Chavisa Woods; Fiction • The Ultimatum by Karen Robards; Fiction • Undaunted by Diana Palmer; Fiction • Unsub by Meg Gardiner; Fiction • Use of Force by Brad Thor; Fiction • American Eclipse by David Baron; Nonfiction • Captain Fantastic: Elton John’s Stellar Trip Through the ‘70s by Tom Doyle; Nonfiction • H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil by Adam Selzer; Nonfiction • The Loverly Wedding Planner by Kellee Khalil; Nonfiction • Salt Fat Acid Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat; Nonfiction • So Much Things to Say: the Oral History of Bob Marley by Roger Steffens; Nonfiction • Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich; Nonfiction Adult DVDs • Bones (Season 12) • Call the Midwife (Season 6) • Power Rangers • Touching Home Young Adult Books • The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah; Fiction • Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson; Fiction Junior Books • The Best Mistake Mystery by Sylvia McNicoll; Fiction • The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner; Fiction • Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce; Fiction • Origami Birds and Butterflies by Lisa Miles; Nonfiction • Safari Origami by Joe Fullman; Nonfiction • Where in the World: World-Famous Landmarks by Laaren Brown; Nonfiction Easy Books • Bunny Bear by Andrea J. Loney; Fiction • The Good For Nothing Button by Charise Mericle Harper; Fiction • Shell, Beak, Tusk: Shared Traits and the Wonders of Adaptation by Bridget Heos; Nonfiction • She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton; Nonfiction MV Shopper Our Best... At Our Best Price M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y ——— Did you know that you can reserve an item from home? Staff will then notify you as soon as the item is available! Cabinetry For Every Room In Your Home Or Office Limited time only - 50% off wood species upgrades! * *This special good through August 28, 2017 123 E. Main St., Pierce • 2100 Riverside Blvd., Norfolk • 1-855-329-4932 www.carhartkitchenandbath.com