You Are Now Old Enough to Hear This

Twelve-year-old Roman Barnes always ducks out of the room when Grandpa Henry starts telling Roman’s older brother and cousins about the infamous Toe Beast, a story about how Roman’s grandfather lost his pinkie toe and the events that occurred thereafter. Though the rest of the children love Grandpa’s tales, squeamish Roman—who often feels like an outsider in his own family—finds the stories, and Grandpa, frightening. When Grandpa Henry unexpectedly dies, Roman is tasked with packing up the late elder’s belongings. In the attic, Roman finds a jar of murky green liquid—supposedly where the fabled toe was once kept—and a notebook containing a bizarre yet alluring story about a young girl and a pack of dogs. That’s nothing compared to what he finds locked up in Grandpa Henry’s shed, though. Roman’s curiosity about his family and his place within it propels him on an unsettlingly strange and seemingly disjointed journey that Starmer (Night Swimming) cleverly conjures into a cohesive, genuinely touching narrative. Moody gray Steven Kellogg–esque illustrations by Zollars (Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built for Pennies) amplify the unrepentant weirdness of the setting. The Barnes family is depicted as white. Ages 10–up. Author’s agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. Illustrator’s agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Mar.)