Marsh, Katherine. The Night Tourist. Hyperion Books, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-1423106890
Plot Summary:
Jack Perdu is a bookworm an classics scholar in high school. He never makes many friends and is somewhat outcast and distraught after losing his mother as a child. A near death experience has left Jack with the ability to see and interact with ghosts. Jack’s father, a professor at Yale, has sent him to New York to visit a specialist when he suspects something is wrong. The specialist says he finds nothing wrong and Jack. While waiting for his train at Grand Central Station, Jack meets Euri. Euri is a teenage girl who shows him around the lesser known parts of the station and Jack eventually ends up in the land of the dead finding out that Euri is a ghost.
Jack decides to use this as an opportunity to find his mother. He and Euri have a number of adventures and she acts as his guide to the underworld, which is loosely based on the ancient Greek model of the underworld. There are a number of famous characters who make appearances and help him along as he is hunted by the authorities of the underworld for not following the rules that the living are not allowed there. Jack and Euri find that it is possible for the dead to escape back to the land of the living and that it seems possible that Jack’s father had brought his mother out of the underworld where she lived for a time before returning.
The story ends with Jacks mother being able to move on to the Elysian Fields after meeting with Jack and telling jack how to get he and Euri out. The two try to make an escape to the land of the living.
Critical Evaluation:
This book was an easy read suitable for the 15+ age group, perhaps even those readers a bit younger. The book is generally a paranormal adventure but the writer touches on some deeper themes. One of these themes is obviously the theme of death and separation. Another theme is that of friendship. The use of classical Greek mythology really makes the story interesting, especially as it is applied to New York. The writer alternates from dealing with death in a lighthearted manner to a fairly traditionally grim view of it, but the book is predominately fun. This is a great work for those who may be interested in the paranormal genre but might be turned off by some of the more serious and grim titles that seem to be popular at present.
Reader’s Annotation:
After an accident Jack has the ability to interact with the dead. On a trip to New York, Jack meets Euri, a ghost about his own age, who takes him to the underworld. Jack attempts to find his mother in New York’s land of the dead and tries to find the clues to allow Euri to once more reach the land of the living.
Information about the author:
Katherine Marsh was born in 1974 and grew up in a suburb of New York City. She was educated at Yale and became a high school teacher. She became a journalist working for Good Housekeeping and Rolling Stone. She moved to Washington D.C. and became an editor of the magazine The New Republic and The Washington City Paper.
Marsh is now a full time writer of juvenile fiction. She has written two books which have been published and is working on two more. She lives in the Washington D.C. area with her husband, son, and 2 cats.
Genre:
Paranormal
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
Booktalking Ideas:
1. Talk about how Jack’s knowledge of Latin and Greek mythology helps him in his adventure.
2. Focus on why Euri seems to be ashamed of the manner in which she met her death.
3. Discuss the famous characters that make an appearance (i.e. Mayor LaGuardia, Allen Ginsberg, Dylan Thomas) in the story.
Reading Level/Interest Age:
14-15
Challenge Issues:
None
Challenge Defense Ideas:
1. Read the book.
2. Be Familiar with the policy of the ALA and your institution.
3. Make a note of the contents of the work and how they fall in with the collection development policy of your institution and the standpoint of the ALA.
4. Gain an awareness of the awards, reviews, and criticisms of the work, as well as other works by the same writer.
5. Know the process for materials challenges at your library.
Why did you include this book? :
I would appeal to those readers around the age of 15 and is in the paranormal category.
Author's Website:
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