Carousel is a sad, impoverished little town. Having just moved there, 12-year-old Gran (short for Granite) meets an acerbic girl, Catalina, who speaks to him only once. But that's enough for him to become obsessed with her. Following her one day, he discovers a warren of tunnels under the town, where Catalina's job is to prop up the surface buildings with poles and other weight-bearing objects. A "lifter," she reluctantly allows Gran to help her with the work, but they soon find themselves in terrible danger from an evil force called the Hollows, which is creating huge sinkholes everywhere in town. Will the kids be able to foil the force before the entire town is destroyed? After a somewhat slow start, Eggers' story moves along briskly, thanks to mounting suspense and bite-size chapters. Gran and Catalina are engaging characters, though one wonders how two kids could manage to execute the Herculean tasks they do. The premise is original, though, and always intriguing. Some reservations aside, the book is sure to attract a sizable audience of Eggers fans.

Twelve-year-old Granite Flowerpetal finds an unusual way to raise the spirits of his family members and bring happiness and prosperity to his new hometown.Gran, as he calls himself, isn't looking forward to the move to Carousel. But he, his sister, Maisie, and their mother and father head there in hopes of steady work. Sadly, that's not the case, and Eggers' text obliquely reveals that the stress of financial instability creates an ongoing domestic conflict. Gran, meanwhile, attempts to find his place in a new school. He fixates on classmate Catalina Catalan, despite her less-than-friendly actions, and discovers that she's involved in a quirky effort to protect the town from a malevolent force known as the Hollows. Characterization is slight. Maisie has a propensity for vomiting, Gran's mother uses a wheelchair, and both Catalina and Gran are small for their ages. One character appears to be Latinx; all others read as white. Limited action and ponderous pronouncements further weaken the story's appeal. Efforts at offbeat humor, such as the secondary character who blames all of the town's problems on moose attacks, serve only to emphasize the overall bleakness of tone. While the author's belief in the importance of helping others and finding meaningful outlets for creativity are laudable, the dull and joyless vehicle he's created to convey them likely won't convince many readers. (Fiction. 10-12)

After his father is offered a new job, 12-year-old Granite Flowerpetal and his family move into the house built by Granite-s great-great-grandfather in the -hilly hamlet- of Carousel. Since its famous carousel factory shut down, the town has seen better days. Neighbors squabble over local ordinances and there-s a general malaise in the air. Still, Granite looks forward to a fresh start at a new school, where he plans to try out his new nickname, Gran--easily understood, easily spelled.- His outspoken classmate, Catalina Catalan, however, questions his choice of moniker: -Don-t you realize Gran sounds like you-re a grandmother?- Content with just being noticed, Gran considers Catalina a potential friend, and when he sees her open a doorway in a hillside, he joins her in a secret, underground mission. In his latest offering for young readers, Eggers (Her Right Foot) successfully blends the real and the fantastic in unexpected ways as Gran and Catalina face a mysterious, hurricane-like force that thrives from their fellow townspeople-s sadness and fear. Black-and-white drawings by Renier (Spiral-Bound) lend a retro storybook feel to this cozy contemporary novel about lifting spirits and rebuilding community through teamwork and imagination. Ages 8-12. Author-s agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency. Illustrator-s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Apr.)

Gr 3-6 The Flowerpetal family moves to a town called Carousel on the promise of work and a lower cost of living. However, the town that formerly housed the Catalan Carousel Company doesn't look prosperous with a collapsed carousel in front of its city hall. The protagonist of the story is Gran, short for Granite, and his family includes his father, a mechanic; his mother, a wheelchair user who used to work on displays of animals at museums; and little sister Maisie. Gran takes after his mother by sculpting animals out of clay, much to the delight of Maisie. But now with no money for clay, Gran feels sad and lacking in purpose. He finds solace in eating his lunch in a storage room at school with a man called the Duke, who used to carve carousel animals. Gran follows the only classmate who speaks to him, Catalina Catalan, and sees her disappear into a hillside. When sinkholes start appearing throughout the town, Gran and Catalina go on a mission to save the town from the Hollows, a mysterious wind that is creating tunnels underground and unearthing pieces of Carousel's past. Gran eventually realizes that sadness is not experienced in isolation and that one small act of happiness can help spread support throughout an entire community. This atmospheric story's detailed plot moves quickly, and all of the characters experience growth. The story has some troubling moments: Gran steals his mother's wheelchair, and even though he returns it, he doesn't seem to understand the potential ramifications of his actions. VERDICT A whimsical, fantastical story with elements of realism; a general purchase for large and mid-sized collections. Liz Anderson, DC Public Library