New Swedish Books, spring 2017 1
51 Spring 2017 Janina Kastevik (b. 1979) The Chil
dren at the Black Creek Sanatorium Publisher Hippo marianne.lindfors@hippobokforlag.se www.hippobokforlag.se Rights Koja agency carin.bacho@kojaagency.com Selected Works Slottet av is, illustrated by Jonna Björnstjerna (Bonnier Carlsen 2013) Chapter book Noel och den magiska önskelistan (Hippo 2016) Chapter book The Children at the Black Creek Sanatorium When Janina Kastevik writes a middle-grade ghost- and horror story for the first time it becomes a multi-layered narrative. Beneath the cleverly constructed spookiness in The Children at the Black Creek Sanatorium lies a touching story about grief, family secrets and redemption. Saga is a sensitive twelve-yearold, who, as the story begins, is sitting on a train suffering from motion sickness. She’s on her way, reluctantly, to the backwater town of Black Creek where she is going to spend the summer with her eccentric grandfather, whom she barely knows. When she arrives grandpa doesn’t even seem to want her there. Saga is left to her own devices. She’s sad, frightened, angry and alone. And on top of it all she’s started having scary dreams at night, dreams that appear to want to tell her something. There’s something strange in Black Creek. And there’s certainly a story waiting to be told about that old sanatorium, abandoned and dilapidated in the woods, not far from grandpa’s house… Photo: Sussi Ardenfors