The Haunting

The Secret of Glendunny #1

by Kathryn Lasky

Deep in the wilds of Scotland, land of ancient warrior kings and myths, there is a deep secret. The secret is a colony of beavers, a species that is craved for their fur pelts, but vilified for what humans consider to be the destruction of their land. No beaver has been spotted in Scotland or England for over five hundred years, until the young beaver, Dunwattle, is sighted!

Dunwattle's flight is driven by the presence of a ghostly figure, a figure of a mysterious young girl who is almost one thousand years old. And now Dunwattle is destined to be destroyed for revealing the hidden colony, but his best friend Locksley is determined to save him. Will their ancient beaver colony survive?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Animals, Adventure, Scotland, Childrens, Chapter Books

288 pages, Hardcover

Published March 15, 2022

About the author

Kathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.

Reviews

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is a middle school book set in a secret part of England called Glendunny, where beavers have been hiding out for at least half a century. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but they have built a successful community, hidden from the two-leggers. the one rule that all of them know and follow is that they must avoid being seen by the two-leggers. After an earthquake shakes up their community, strange things start to happen and then young Dunwattle sees something that makes him panic and swim far enough away that he IS seen by a two-legger. Overall, I enjoyed reading and listening to this recording. The recording I listened to was not a normal audiobook, but instead was a synthesized voice generated by NetGalley, but it was much better than the ones I've listened to before. The voice had a British accent and somehow it fit the story and made it better.

The story itself has some gruesome descriptions of a massacre that occurred 700+ years ago, so more sensitive readers might not be able to handle it. But I think that middle grade is an appropriate age level for this story. Although this is clearly fantasy and the main characters are the beavers, the swan Elsinore, and a few other animals, this story clearly incorporates the issue of racism, racial purity, and bullying, both by kids and adults. It also includes information about Beavers being hunted for their pelts and because humans think they destroy the land with their dams, but this story talks about the good that Beavers do and how they protect the water table and that without them, our Earth would truly be in trouble. There was a lot more to this story than met the eye.

I really liked Dunwattle and Lockley's friendship and how they eventually befriended Yrynn and Elsinore was also a very interesting character. It was also interesting finding out what exactly was happening with the community and the mixture of the supernatural with what was happening.

At around the second half, the story got better and better for me, but where it lost me was the end. Some of the ending I really liked, but I wasn't really clear about what happened to Elsinore, and I also wanted a little bit more about how the rest of the community reacted when they discovered what truly happened. It's like there were a couple of chapters of explanation missing. I believe the addition of a couple more chapters would have made this story much more satisfying and I would have bumped up my rating.

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Audio for the synthesized audio ARC of this!

I thought this was such a fun little story! The pacing seemed good and it was a little creepy and dark. I expect my 8 year old will love it, as she is a fan of creepy or cute (but especially of a mash up of the two). The ghosts were creepy but kind to our main characters, and there was a plot to kill off beaver royalty (including Dunwattle) - as mentioned in the synopsis he is spotted by two legs and destined to be banished/killed over this. I don’t want to say more and get into spoiler territory. I liked the various POVs, as well as the mix of human ideas and beaver lore.
For fans of Warriors, The Lion King, and other animal-protagonist stories with a side of danger, I think this will be perfect for the 8-12 range.

[[Name Redacted] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is...good. Not great. It feels too much like an environmentalist screed, and it's a bit over-stuffed with characters, a bit unfocused. It's mostly worldbuilding, because there doesn't seem to be much else to it -- other than the claim that the Stone of Destiny is a forgery and the real one is hidden in a drowned Scottish village...

I applaud Lasky for stepping outside her usual oeuvre, writing about animals in our world instead of her usual post-human natural settings. And the characters are engaging, especially the buffoonish mad beaver king. But I've seen her do better, and i wish she had here.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Secret of Glendunny: The Haunting is an anthropomorphic fantasy adventure by Kathryn Lasky written for middle grade readers. Released 15th March 2022 by Harper Collins, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is an engaging fast paced character driven fantasy where almost all the characters are animals. There are some human characters (they're mostly scientists looking for the elusive thought-to-be-extinct beavers in the British Isles), but they're sort of intentionally two dimensional and vaguely threatening. The story is told from alternating points of view of the different characters. The author is skilled enough that it's always clear who's speaking and I didn't find myself bogging down in the story or having to flip back and forth to clarify.

The story includes some surprising scenes of battles ancient and modern and descriptions of death (both animals and humans) and skullduggery which is almost Shakespearean in scope. There are also some ghosts who are more or less benevolent in context, but might well be scary for very young and/or sensitive readers.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 6 hours, 40 minutes and is capably narrated by James Fouhey. He has good range for the scope of the characters, adults and juveniles, animals and humans. I was a bit taken aback that he has an American accent (the story's set in England/Scotland) but after a few minutes I was immersed in the story and didn't notice. He does a very good job delineating the different characters and there are many. Sound & production quality were high throughout.

Four stars. I really loved the pervasive sense of magic and wonder throughout the story. The main characters are well rendered and appealing. This would be a good selection for public or school library acquisition, story time at the library, and home library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What worked:
Dunwattle is a young beaver kit, living in a peaceful pond called Glendunny when he sees the ghostly bones of a two-leg standing at the foot of his bed. The most important rule among the beavers is not to be seen by two-legs, and Dunwattle flees in fright and ends up getting photographed by a living one. This violation makes him a vysculf, and the punishment is exile or death. His thoughts are consumed by the possibilities, but he tries to continue living with the other beavers while keeping his secret. He starts to have feelings for a Canadian beaver and learns to stand up to injustice.
While not the spotlight of the story, the author masterfully weaves facts about beavers and other wildlife into the plot. The history of beavers in Scotland is shared as they were hunted to extinction, which explains why the vysculf is such a grave offense. The characters’ survival hinges on their abilities to remain undiscovered, while in the real-world Scotland efforts have been made to help beaver populations grow. Information about building and repairing dams, feeding, caring for the young, and communication can be found among the pages. Lynx used to thrive in Scotland, but it’s believed they became extinct there many centuries ago. However, the book still includes a lynx as an important character, and additional information about swans, otters, and other creatures can be learned as well. It’s surprising to discover beavers and swans have a close symbiotic relationship.
The issue of prejudice unexpectedly becomes part of the story, since one of the main characters named Yrynn is a beaver from Canada. She is unfairly singled out by adults and a teacher, and some classmates make mean comments about her background and abilities. The term Canuck is used as an insult, and the Scottish beavers think the Canucks are less able and less intelligent than themselves. Dunwattle and his best friend find Yrynn’s treatment appalling and Dunwattle finally has the courage to speak up. The Canadian beavers are invaluable to survival in the pond, and it’s time the others acknowledge it.
What didn’t work as well:
The ending felt anticlimactic and sudden, and it left me with several unanswered questions about the future. Obviously, I can’t share details, but two characters discuss letting events play out so the antagonist’s actions can bring about his own defeat. The plot ends shortly after that, but the cause of the antagonist’s downfall comes unexpectedly. Readers make their own personal connections to books, so perhaps my reaction will differ from others. I truly enjoyed the overall story.
The Final Verdict:
Differences and heritage should be respected. The plight of the young beavers and underlying mysteries create an eloquent adventure of tolerance and survival. The author uses vividly descriptive language to paint detailed images of the characters and setting. The overall story is compelling and entertaining, and I recommend you give it a shot.

[Ridge Wolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you’re writing a book with an obvious ecological message, don’t undermine that message by portraying native predators as monsters.

Kathryn Lasky wrote this book after researching beavers, surprised by how vitally important they are to the environment after previously seeing them as a destructive force. She wanted to incorporate real history and research into this story. As a reader with a strong interest in wildlife conservation, I applaud the portrayal of beavers as a crucial keystone species. Yet in the process this book blatantly demonizes another keystone species that has been historically persecuted and hunted to near extinction in many areas - the lynx.

While Lasky may have done her research on beavers, everything about the lynx is negative and totally inaccurate. The portrayal goes FAR beyond the “we are prey animals, so predators are scary” viewpoint one might expect a beaver to have. Other carnivore species are not spoken of in this way - in fact a ghost wolf appears later in a fairly positive role. Lynx are depicted as the most brutal, vicious creatures of all, hunting in large packs called “curses” and bewitching their prey in the light of their translucent green eyes. The narrative portrays them as sentient creatures with speech yet inherently stupid and savage, designed only to kill.

Most glaringly, the word “thugs” is frequently used in the book in reference to all lynx as a species. In a world of sentient animals, this is not a good look. Grinfyll, the one named lynx, is frequently mocked by other animals for not understanding names and long words well. Scenes from his POV state he wants to be respected by other animals while simultaneously portraying him as incapable of rising above the “thuggish”, unintelligent ways inherent to his kind. The text says that when Grinfyll remembers a name “it made him almost believe he could become more than a killer, if he truly had language.” This book depicts the lynx character, along with his entire species, as threatening and hyper-violent, mentally incapable of being anything else, and unworthy of basic respect. This is not only problematic in itself, but badly undermines the anti-discrimination messages the book is attempting to send (one plot point is that the Canadian beavers are discriminated against by other beavers) by portraying every single lynx in this manner.

The real Eurasian lynx is an elusive, mostly solitary animal and a vital keystone species - just like beavers and wolves. Similarly, lynx were intentionally eradicated from much of Europe, but conservation programs are helping them rebound. The Iberian Lynx is highly endangered. Some are considering reintroducing lynx in the UK to help restore balance to the ecosystem. Lynx and their bobcat relatives are highly intelligent - they have large brains with large cerebral hemispheres. They are very resourceful and adaptable to a variety of environments and prey. They help balance roe deer and rabbit populations in the wild, and prevent habitats from being overgrazed by keeping these animals from lingering in the same area. Lynx are not stupid, they do not hunt together in “curses”, they do not kill by “shredding” their prey to pieces, and they certainly do not bewitch animals with the reflective shine of their eyes.

Yes, this is a work of fiction, but animal stories, especially ones written for children, play a role in shaping how we perceive certain species, for good or ill. Look to the portrayal of the wolf in fairy tales as a classic example. In Lasky’s previous books, predators like owls, polar bears and wolves were depicted in a nuanced, positive light, with their own culture and the clear capacity to be either good or evil - so why must lynx be demonized as inherently vicious, stupid, unredeemable beasts?

[MrsK Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dunwattle is a bit skittish when it comes to the unknown. By far, he is a quick learner, and very inquisitive. His motives are for the good of his colony, and his actions are still in need of training. In his training, he is learning more and more about the "two-legs," and with the help of the little two-legs he will gain an understanding about relationships with those who are not like you. Yet, it is a banning offense to be seen by a two-leg! Will Dunwattle be banned?

Locksley is determined to look after Dunwattle. As friends, they have played, learned, and worked at the assigned dams together.

Elsinore is the reporting swan for Glendunny. Many come to her for guidance, weather reports, and strangers. It is her daily job to fly over Glendunny and oversee the activity below. When she sees Dunwattle hastily swimming where he should not be heading, she alarmed. What could Dunwattle be up to?

Yrynn is a Canuck, beavers from Canada. She is one of the best beaver "guides" of the logs down river. Once upon a time, before the beavers were made into hats, coats, and perfumes, her ancestors enjoyed "wild rivers and enormous forests."

Lorna and Fergus are little "two-legs," their bones have been brought to the surface of Dunwattle's home. Before the massacre in 1296, her family lived in the local village of Scotland.

Grinfyll is the leader of a vicious Lynx gang. He has learned that Dunwattle was seen by a two-legs. This could be a profitable bit of information.

With the weaving of a master storyteller, Glendunny becomes a wonderous wilderness adventure. Characters are expertly crafted, the settings are vividly described, and as Lasky does best... the quest is mingled with page-turning conflicts.
MrsK https://mrskbookstogo.blogspot.com/

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I applaud the idea that inspired the writing of this book. It's very interesting to have a story exploring the real life discovery of beavers surviving in a country where they were previously believed to be extinct. That idea makes for a wonderful children's book.

However, it feels like the author ran out of ideas with that, and so she threw in everything but the kitchen sink to make this a full length story. We have not only the world of the beavers and their animal society, but also ancient Scottish history of real life massacres, human ghost characters, modern humans and their world, and even random ghost wolves! I would have enjoyed the story much more without the human history angle, and just focusing on the world of the beavers and swans and how they help each other.

Often when I was reading, I had trouble picturing what is happening. The beaver kits befriend the human ghosts that appear in their bedrooms. Do you know how big a beaver is? How could a human be in their bedroom? I kept picturing just the ghostly feet of the human in the room, with the rest of the human poking out of the top of the dam.

The ending was very unsatisfying because it felt like all the antagonists were defeated by coincidence rather than anything the protagonists orchestrated or any agency of their own. It is mentioned that the kits drove all the predators crazy by breaking their hypnotic stare, causing them to all kill each other, but it doesn't feel like that was enough to warrant a satisfying defeat of the villains that had been built up through the whole story. It was the basic "rocks fall and all the bad guys die" sort of ending.

[Sarah Mismash · Rating 2 out of 5]

The middle of this was decent! However, the inciting event at the beginning really made no sense to me — if you saw a ghost, it makes sense to me that you would freak out and probably get far away from it. But how far would you mindlessly run before stopping to gather your wits?? The whole first chapter is the main character (a beaver) seeing a ghost, panicking, and then swimming as far away as he can — out of his house, past his neighbors and friends houses, past where his parents work, out of his pond, and up a river far enough that the water is clean with none of the plants he knows AND far enough that he runs into a human. Which scares him even more somehow, and he swims right back home. It just really seemed like a stretch to me that instead of running anywhere he knows that is close by and safe, he swims for HOURS up a river he is unfamiliar with until he runs into danger again.

Additionally, the ending confused me a bit and wrapped things up way too quickly.

[Vanessa Vallejos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book by Kathryn Lasky. I enjoyed how she mixed animals facts into the story to make the story more interesting while pushing the story forward. I liked that the story focused on beavers, a very hardworking and cute animal that does not get enough attention. I did not like that the story was so dark (murder, hunting, death talk). I know that this is real life but she really took me out of the story with so much of it.
I did listen to the audiobook and did not read the book. Maybe because of this I found myself lost and/or confused about who was "talking" in the story. I am not sure if this was because of the reader or just the audio version limitations. There are so many characters this also sometimes made it hard to follow along while listening to the story.
Overall a very interesting book for young readers but one I would recommend for those on the older side.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute, I love the animal fiction that been out recently. Not to mention I just discovered the Warriors series and I'm binge reading them all at 38yrs old 😅🤣 But yeah, it was a refreshing and fun look at the beaver's world and their POV on things, as well as a swan and a few other furry friends. The beaver that loved stories about royalty and how beavers once went extinct in England because of a famous king, was quite my favorite, if I do say so myself. Finding a kids meal crown from Burger King and wearing it on his head - ADORABLE 🥰. Even better, he's given a toilet plunger another animal found and assumes it's for using as a royal scepter - because he's King of his clan. Obviously. I just can't - that is just too too cute. You will enjoy reading this to your littles, I recommend it thoroughly.

[Shauna Morrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a voicegalley so I cannot rate the final audiobook narrator's abilities but I can say that the synthesized voice was entertaining to listen to and I hope the final product also uses a narrator with a UK accent (Scottish preferably). ;)

Although my daughter had almost every Kathryn Lasky book growing up this is the first book of Kathryn's that I have read. I love the idea that the animals can all talk to and understand each other. I also love that Kathryn doesn't hide the death of the animals from children, it helps kids when they see other people (real and fictional) dealing with the death of a loved one.

I am glad that this is going to be a duology, I am looking forward to reading the conclusion of this story.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book with Goodreads Giveaways, and I enjoyed it a lot! There are coming-of-age topics embedded in this tale such as perseverance, family, community, and trust. Also, there are ghosts, historical allusions, and duplicitous characters that remind readers that the world is filled with evil. Warning to parents: there is the historical event of mass-murdered women and children referenced in the story. But, the author does a fantastic job buffering that information by the characters’ desires to help the ghosts find peace instead of the characters being scared of the ghosts. I would whole-heartedly recommend this book. Thank you to the publishing company for this book.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok read for me, but ultimately probably one I’ll forget I’ve read in the future. (Sorry.)

A bit more romance-y than I expected but there’s also not a /lot/ of plot in this very short book to fill the pages. Much of it felt a bit repetitive. (As an adult reader I have found the Gahoole books more interesting.) However this is the first in a series so I’m sure it will have time to pick up.

Ymmv on this one. I’d probably wait until the next books are out before reading more though!

[Cris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to review the audiobook for this book. I really tried but I can’t. The names are so peculiar yet similar that it’s for me to keep them straight. I also was not expecting what happened to be in a children’s book. Personally, it was a bit dark for me. I wouldn’t recommend this for my family.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying look at the culture of a beaver pond in Scotland where beavers had not been sighted in years and years. A struggle over who will rule. Two-legged ghosts who need to be put to rest. A single swam who watches over the pond. Many reminders are given of the value of beaver ponds to help regulate the water table by creating wetlands.
Not excited enough to read more in the series.

[Erin *BookDragon_Library* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - 3.5

A few different themes I didn’t expect like the beaver school lodge scene (Ch 16) where the librarian says to an administrator who comes in and criticizes that there is too much free thinking for students.



Notes: audio has good accents, Scotland

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good, rich animal-beaver world building from Lasky and made me giggle alot more comical/coincidence nature because...Canucks is more associated with our hockey team here and the urban beavers here has certain laid back personality + been spotted in the downtown core.

[Jessica Partlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

There seemed to be a lot of plot holes in this book. And I don’t really like kids books with curse words in them. No need for “damn, damn, damn” in my opinion. Probably will not be getting the second in the series to read when it comes out…

[Wendell · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the book, the structure of the narrative was frustrating at time. The jumping between different characters perspectives mid paragraph made the flow quite stilted.

Imaginative and interesting look at beavers and their society, with likable characters.

[Tabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Placeholder review till I get to read it

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute MG book fantasy about beavers. On top of being entertaining this book was packed with information! 4 stars.

[Amber]

Just cannot finish this, though I've been trying for a week. I love the idea of this book as it's so very timely in light of beavers just being relatively recently seen in the UK.

[Hahho · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book about a beaver called Dunwattle, another one called Yrinn, and the last one called Locksley. A swan called Elsinore is also an important character.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy it as much as the Ga'hoole owls, but it was still worth a listen.

[Hannah O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternating point-of-view between various animal species as well as some humans drives the plot of this story at a fairly rapid pace. Despite the many POVs, I had no trouble following the narrators for each chapter. The choices of each character subsequently affect other characters until the convergence of all the characters and the culmination of all the events. There is more than one mystery to be solved, adding an element of suspense to the action of the story. Since the setting is mainly in the beaver’s environment, readers not only learn some interesting facts about beavers but also see a glimpse of their world.

[Christine Lamoreaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it and anyone who gives this book a negative review isn't a true Lasky fan. A marvelous first book to what I am hoping will be a lengthy series. I really love the complex characters, especially the swans!!! Oh my goodness, Elsinore is so cool. I am really looking forward to reading the second one. Highly recommend.

[Jame_EReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel happy reading this book because it was a fantastical story. I think this book is fascinating because the book keeps you searching for more answers. It is a page-turner and easy-read.

Thank you @Bookopolis and @harpercollins for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review