Glasses that let Olive climb into paintings at the old house? Her logical mathematician parents would never believe it was possible, nor that she found people alive in the paintings! Moving out of blah apartments into the mysterious house was just convenient for her parents, but 11-year old Olive was charmed to have rooms to explore and trinkets to admire. The paintings on the walls were so mysterious, like she could almost see things moving in them…
When she wore the old-fashioned glasses she found, Olive could see the paintings changing. In fact, if she got right up to the surface, she could go right into the scene! A warning to never lose the glasses or to stay too long in a painting comes from a talking orange cat, who advises her that danger is waiting for her if she gets too close to the truth about the house and its previous occupants.
Then there’s the talking black cat who guards a trapdoor in the cold, creepy basement, the young lady who invites Olive into her portrait for tea, and the little boy running through the dark forest painting, running away from something horrible, something that no one dares call by name…
As Mr. and Mrs. Dunwoody prepare their college lectures and read complicated books in the study, Olive tries to save the lost boy and find more clues in the paintings that are held so tightly to the walls that they cannot be moved.
Can she keep them all safe from the dark evil that is ready to escape from every painting? Why are these people trapped in the paintings, trapped Elsewhere? Are the talking cats giving her good advice or leading her on a one-way trip to Elsewhere?
First in the Books of Elsewhere series, Olive’s exploration of the old McMartin mansion is a shiver-worthy read! Keep your flashlight handy in case the lights go out… 256 pages
Recommended by: Katy Manck, Librarian-at-Large (retired academic/corporate/school librarian), Gilmer, Texas, USA
