The Remarkable Journey of Charlie Price

January 18, 2016
Maschari makes her debut with a well-conceived but uneven fantasy, in which 12-year-old Charlie and his younger sister, Imogen, explore a magical, dangerous parallel universe after the death of their mother. Mature, responsible, and a lover of the reliability of math, Charlie thinks in terms of puzzles and problems, and strives to care for his sister, including poignantly and comically failing to recreate their mother's spaghetti sauce. The siblings' grief seems momentarily lessened when Imogen shows Charlie a door under her bed that leads to a facsimile of their home, where their mother eagerly recreates cherished moments from their time together. However, these memories disappear after each visit, and the seductive appeal of this other world becomes increasingly sinister as the children begin to lose interest in the real world. Charlie and Imogen's emotional turmoil is at times heavy-handed, particularly in Charlie's grief group sessions, and the fantasy realm somewhat sketchily conveyed. Still, Maschari delivers a tense allegory about finding the balance between remembering and moving on. Ages 8â12. Agent: Victoria Marini, Gelfman Schneider.

November 15, 2015
A fantasy exploration of grief so overwhelming that it threatens to engulf its sufferer. After their mother's death, sadness threatens to swallow up Charlie Price's little sister, Imogen, and make her vanish the way his best friend, Frank Shin, did a few months earlier. Can mathlete Charlie's logical thinking help save them both? Bereft and angry, Imogen opens a way to an alternate world where their mother is alive and ready to share their favorite memories. The catch is that Not-Mom feeds on these memories, taking them permanently. When the grieving person has no more memories to share, he or she becomes stuck in the alternate world--like Frank, who lost his grandmother. Luckily, Charlie pairs up with Elliott, a friend from the school grief group whose twin brother died a year earlier, to intervene. The two, along with a helpful dog, not only rescue Imogen and Frank, they vanquish the Echoes, the predatory reflections of the deceased. This ultimately hopeful story is narrated in the third person but in Charlie's 12-year-old, often naive (and ungrammatical) voice; it's an oddly distancing effect, as if he, too, has lost his personhood. The tale is also full of sensible suggestions, mostly from the school counselor. These might be helpful for readers facing their own losses, but the fantasy world isn't sturdy enough to support the adventure for most readers. The therapeutic message overwhelms this well-meant debut. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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Starred review from January 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-Charlie Price loves math. It's something he can count on, especially when he desperately needs to be able to count on something. Charlie's mother died, and his best friend disappeared the same year. Just as he's starting to put his life back together, the impossible happens. His sister Imogen finds a mysterious door under her bed and discovers a parallel world where their mother is alive. Initially Charlie is as elated as his sister about the opportunity to reconnect with his mother, but his logical mind quickly deduces that something is amiss in the parallel world. Each experience that he and Imogen have with their mother erases their memories of doing the same thing with her when she was alive. Realizing that the parallel mother is only a creature imitating her and feeding on memories, Charlie solicits the help of a friend to rescue Imogen before all of her memories are stolen. This book straddles multiple genres; the world that Charlie and his grieving family inhabit is heartbreakingly realistic, full of pain and anger as the family tries to reconstruct their lives. The parallel world is reminiscent of the "other" world in Neil Gaiman's Coraline, initially enticing and refreshingly absent of real-world problems but ultimately dangerous. Because Charlie can move between the two worlds, readers spend equal time in them, and it broadens the appeal of the book. Maschari's writing, particularly in the realistic sections, will make readers pause. Beautifully crafted sentences read almost as if they were poetry. Maschari also excels at character development; Charlie's anger, pain, and love make him an entirely believable character, and the evolution of the "mother" in the parallel world is frightening. Tough issues are tackled, and sensitive readers may want to read and process the book with a grown-up. Happily, adults will enjoy the story as much as middle graders. VERDICT Fans of both fantasy and realistic fiction will appreciate this painful but ultimately triumphant, multilayered novel.-Juliet Morefield, Multnomah County Library, OR

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 Since the death of his mother, Charlie Price has been trying to keep his family together. But with his dad checked out and his little sister, Imogen, in need of so many things he can't seem to give her, the task feels impossible. So when Charlie discovers a world where their mom is alive and ready to make her famous spaghetti and tell them stories, he is overjoyed. But soon it becomes clear there really is no good way to go back to the past. Maschari's debut novel is a beautifully written meditation on grief that is easily digestible for a younger audience, and she never talks down to them. The eeriness of the other world she describes is reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's Coraline (2002). Maschari has created a cast of compelling characters, with only the father falling a little flat. This is a powerful story about the pull of the past and the even more powerful promise of the future.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)