It was silent out on the plain, except for the scratch of the shovel against the sides of the hole. Some time ago, Edsel had heard the distant wail of the train as it headed back, reversing along that pencil-straight track from Widen. The train he and Jacq had planned to be on. The train they’d meant to catch. The train that would have taken them back to Verdada, back to the stagnant place of weary, hungry children held captive by the crazy Ben. but, though no fault of their own, they’d missed that train and now it had gone, leaving them alone out her to dig a hole in the dry earth under the wide, silent sky. Digging for what seemed like hours.
Edsel and his friend Jacq are digging a hold for no reason that they can fathom. Except that a machine they’re calling Andy somehow indicated it was a good idea. Then they’re in a train tunnel deciding which way to go, what to do. They think they’re being led somewhere, but they have no idea why, or what for. And when they get there, things become even more confusing. Trains seem to play a part in their journey, but what part? There are dreams and not-dreams and it’s becoming difficult to tell the difference. Edsel needs to learn more if he is going to be able to rescue the children in Verdada from the despotic Ben. But it’s going to be a wild ride.
Edsel is back in a third adventure, to wrap up this extra-dimensional series. Reality and fantasy combine to bring a time-and-place-shifting adventure. Edsel learns to trust his own judgement, and to understand just what’s important to him. ‘Ghostly Shadows’ reads like the mirror room at a fun fair, where the world stretches and shrinks, distorting all around you. There are themes of friendship, trust, power and betrayal. A wild ride through more worlds than can be imagined. Recommended for upper primary readers.
Edsel Grizzler: Ghostly Shadows, James Roy
UQP 2011
ISBN: 9780702238819
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
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