Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Protagonist archetypes
Themes
Synopsis
The Printz Award--winning classic gets a new look.The Watson family moves to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town, to care for Kit's recently widowed grandfather. When Kit meets John Askew, another boy whose family has both worked and died in the mines, Askew invites Kit to join him in playing a game called Death. As Kit's grandfather tells him stories of the mine's past and the history of the Watson family, Askew takes Kit into the mines, where the boys look to find the childhood ghosts of their long-gone ancestors. Written in haunting, lyrical prose, Kit's Wilderness examines the bonds of family from one generation to the next, and explores how meaning and beauty can be revealed from the depths of darkness.A Michael L. Printz Award WinnerAn ALA Notable Book A Publishers Weekly Best BookFrom the Paperback edition.
Is Kit's Wilderness appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 11 and up.
This haunting, literary middle grade novel deals with death, grief, and family history through the lens of a boy exploring his mining town's past. The tone is melancholy but ultimately meaningful, with supernatural elements that are more atmospheric than frightening.
What to know going in
This book has mild violence, no sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include child harm, death, death of a loved one, and grief.
Who'll love this
Readers who love mysterious, emotional stories about family history and ghosts will be drawn into Kit's journey through his town's dark mining past.