My son finished this book first, of all of us, and RAVED about it! He said it was "a really good action story" not bogged down with a lot of "romance or feelings." That's really high praise from him.
Jane Doe cares for her invalid, comatose father in the basement of the Hollow family house, but they're not Hollows. Not by a long shot.
Fourteen years before, The Manor, a sort of ever-changing labyrinth hell-hole below ground, spit her and her father out on the portal steps. Since then, the town's suffered from more and more earthquakes, which they blame on her.
She sneaks out of the basement with 8-year-old next-door-neighbor Violet, who likes to light things on fire, and the town librarian, Winifred, turns them over to the town bullies and all heck breaks loose. The portal opens, and Jane and her Dad are sucked in.
The Manor is a seriously weird place, however, filled with horrific creatures like Leatherheads that eat people and Specters, that suck their emotions and minds. While it tries to kill Jane, it also puts her path on a collision course with the town traitor, Hickory, who appears to save her and agrees to take her to the man who's been remaking the Manor into a war juggernaut, Roth.
I won't spoil the big reveal, or how it ends, but know Jane comes into her full powers and learns the truth of her origin at the end.
It's a fun summer read.
