The Creepening of Dogwood House, Eden Royce
The Creepening of Dogwood House, Eden Royce
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
Club: $11.99

The Creepening of Dogwood House

Author: Eden Royce

Narrator: Miles Harvey

Unabridged: 5 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/30/2024


Synopsis

The Walter Award Honor–winning author of Root Magic returns with a terrifying story in the Southern Gothic tradition, inspired by the hoodoo practice of hair burning.At night, Roddie still dreams of sitting at his mother’s feet while she braids his Afro down. But that’s a memory from before. Before his mom died in a tragic accident. Before he was taken in by an aunt he barely knows. Before his aunt brought him to Dogwood House, the creepiest place Roddie has ever seen. It was his family’s home for over a hundred years. Now the house—abandoned and rotting, draped in Spanish moss that reminds him too much of hair—is his home too.Aunt Angie has returned to South Carolina to take care of Roddie and reconnect with their family’s hoodoo roots. Roddie, however, can’t help but feel lost. His mom had never told him anything about hoodoo, Dogwood House, or their family. And as they set about fixing the house up, Roddie discovers that there is even more his mother never said. Like why she left home when she was seventeen, never to return. Or why she insisted Aunt Angie always wear her hair in locs. Or what she knew of the strange secrets hidden deep within Dogwood House—secrets that have awoken again, and are reaching out to Roddie…

About Eden Royce

Eden Royce is a writer from Charleston, SC, now living in the garden of England. Her debut novel, Root Magic, was a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, an ALA Notable Children's Book, a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award winner, and a Nebula Award Finalist for outstanding children’s literature. She is also a Shirley Jackson Award finalist for her short fiction for adults. You can find her online at edenroyce.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Diana on October 19, 2024

I enjoyed this slow burn southern gothic geared toward middle grade readers. It embraces themes of loss, grief, and family traditions, all within a creepy ancestral home called Dogwood House. There were scary moments, but at an appropriate level for tweens.......more

Goodreads review by Bookishrealm on October 14, 2024

3.5 Stars......more

Goodreads review by Kiki on August 06, 2024

In Eden Royce’s third middle-grade novel we see the return of some of her favourite themes within the walls of a haunted house novel. Those themes are: death, loss and associated traumas; ancestors and how to maintain ties with them even through death; how to sustain cultural, familial, and individu......more

Goodreads review by Ms. Woc Reader on August 06, 2024

When Roddie's mother dies in an accident his life is uprooted and he has to move in with his estranged aunt and her new husband to Dogwood House, a home that was in his family for generations. As his aunt and her husband fix it up Roddie notices strange things happening. Once his mom starts talking......more

Goodreads review by Therearenobadbooks on July 07, 2024

Very cool. This is my favorite book from the author. It is such a well-balanced story of parent loss, courage, and suspense horror. "Gotta keep pushing through the dark, baby. Keep going no matter what." These are the last words his mom tells him before the accident. Then Roddie moves into his mom's......more