The Gardens of Dorr

A girl wearing silver shoes arrives at the gates of Dorr on a secret search for a mystical garden that she’s been told no longer exists. When she provides no name, the gates’ guard dubs her Melissa and warns that if she continues into Dorr, her life force will be sucked out of her, as has happened to everything else in the city. Refusing to be dissuaded, Melissa ventures onward, and learns that a curse placed upon the metropolis by nefarious magical forces has been sporadically changing citizens into statues. Alternating chapters follow Melissa as she explores Dorr, and Jarrick, a minstrel who travels in Melissa’s wake. Their unfolding tale reveals truths around Melissa’s long travails to break a witch’s curse, as well as what happened to the city. Outdated language regarding an antagonist’s kyphosis and repeated unwanted advances upon Melissa—who must often repay favors with kisses—dampen the appeal of this classic work by the late Biegel (The King of the Copper Mountains). An intricate nonsequential timeline told via lyrical prose nevertheless contribute to an eerie and propulsive tone, while bold and rustic-feeling illustrations by Rubin add texture. Characters cue as white. Ages 7–10. (Apr.)