Driven by a desire to ensure that her beloved late grandmother, Babi, is truly at peace, 6th grader Helena Novak has been leaving gifts at Babi’s grave in the hopes of luring her spirit back to the world of the living. While investigating the sudden disappearance of these gifts, Helena and best friend Ben discover a passage which plunges them into an eerie and extensive underworld full of creepy forests and shady characters. Helena and Ben’s presence in the underworld is perilous (getting lost is not an option!) and even with their new found guide, Grumbones, they are ill at ease, but determined to find Babi. 

Bennett creates a palpable, powerful, and fantastical sense of place in this story; the underworld is truly an enticingly and fascinatingly weird and wonderful realm. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as Helena and Ben journey through the underworld and will be mesmerized by the equally mysterious and suspicious Grumbones. And while the chilling and eerie aspects of the underworld will initially hook middle school readers, Helena’s love and care for Babi and her steadfast friendship with Ben, will resonate with readers long after the last page. A perfect paranormal fantasy with plenty of intrigue and heartfelt feeling.