The Mulberry Tree

May 15, 2020
Villagers believe the huge tree dominating the back garden steals young girls, but Immy, 10, convinces her parents to rent Lavender Cottage anyway. Immy's family left Australia so her mother, a heart surgeon, could take a job in England. Immy knows clinical depression has left her general-practitioner father unable to work, but she finds it hard to be understanding when he loudly disparages village beliefs to local kids (including Caitlyn, whose parents own the cottage) and she's hit with the angry backlash. Jean, an elderly neighbor, is concerned to learn Immy will soon turn 11; she too fears the tree was responsible for two girls' disappearances--one was her best friend--on the eves of their 11th birthdays. While sensing the tree's malevolence, Immy's increasingly fascinated by it and the eerie rhymes she can't get out of her head. At school she's an outsider; at home, she's increasingly impatient with her dad, whose depression continues. When his gardening efforts accidentally injure a mama hedgehog, Jean saves it and helps guide Immy to its hoglets. Although caring for the healing family brings Immy and her dad closer, the tree's sullen anger only worsens, conveyed with delicate, measured effectiveness as Immy's birthday approaches. These rounded, engaging characters (they default to white), compassionately drawn, lend depth to the spookily enjoyable plot. Crafted from shivery supernatural elements, this fable celebrates the power of empathy and forgiveness. (Fantasy. 8-11)

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June 1, 2020
Lavender Cottage seems like the perfect place for 10-year-old Immy and her parents to rebuild their lives after moving to England from Australia, where a tragic incident with a patient overwhelmed her physician father with guilt. But their fresh start is complicated by the huge, ancient mulberry tree in the back garden. Local legend blames it for the disappearance of two village girls on the eves of their 11th birthdays, and Immy’s new classmates become angry when her depressed father scoffs at these superstitions. Haunted by a nursery rhyme only she can hear, Immy feels strangely drawn to the tree, but as her own 11th birthday draws near, she begins to sense sadness and rage emanating from it and vows to understand its history—
and that of the missing girls—even as she confronts her own anger at her father. Though recapitulations of its main themes, particularly the power of forgiveness, can feel repetitive, Rushby’s eerie tale should suit younger middle grade horror fans; the plot moves quickly, and the lightly creepy atmosphere remains spooky without becoming threatening. Ages 9–12.

June 26, 2020

Gr 3-6-When Immy's family relocates to a small English village, they think they've found the perfect place for a fresh start. The only problem is the mulberry tree in their new yard: Ancient and decrepit, the villagers believe the tree caused the disappearance of two girls years previously, each on the eve of her 11th birthday. With Immy's birthday fast approaching, the village can't believe her family is moving in, but Immy is determined to understand what really happened-and maybe even heal the past. While the plot has elements of a spooky story, what Rushby has created is more realistic fiction than fantasy, focused on understanding and empathy. Plotlines about Immy's father and the other villagers strengthen the main story line, and will be relatable to any child who has grown up around mental illness. Immy is brave and compassionate, but flawed as any 10-year-old would be, especially when struggling to accept her father's depression while adjusting to life in a new place. VERDICT This title will feel right at home on library shelves, providing an immersive, well-paced page-turner with the comforting feel of a classic English tale.-Kristin Brynsvold, Tuckahoe Elem. Sch., Arlington, VA

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