Basil & Dahlia
A Tragical Tale of Sinister Sweetness
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Two orphan siblings with truly terrible luck battle an evil celebrity chef in this “bitingly humorous and appealingly weird” (Publishers Weekly) illustrated middle grade romp in the vein of A Series of Unfortunate Events.
It’s hard to imagine things could get worse after one’s parents die in a greenhouse explosion. But that is precisely what happens to Basil and his younger sister, Dahlia. They escape from the social worker who wants to split them up to different foster homes by jumping off a moving train, only to find themselves wounded (Dahlia) and bedraggled (Basil) and without a soul to care for them. What’s more, they’re lost in the wilds of New York City.
Famished and alone, they wander into Cravings, the delectable bakery owned by Laurel Fox, disgraced celebrity chef with a soft spot for poor, hungry orphans. When she offers them luxurious accommodations and all the éclairs they can eat, Basil and Dahlia dare to hope their luck has changed at last. But the savvy reader will know it can’t be as simple as all that! Laurel Fox is out for redemption, and she’ll do anything to get the sinister secret ingredient she requires.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Intrepid siblings are forced to survive on their own in this winking, raucous adventure by McCullough (Code Red). When Dahlia and Basil Bloom's parents are killed in a bizarre botanical explosion, 11-year-old Dahlia is terrified of losing her only remaining family to an impersonal foster system, and impulsively flees her assigned social worker by jumping from a moving train with older brother Basil reluctantly in tow. Injured and lacking money, the duo wander through New York City seeking food and shelter. After some minor misadventures—which are conveyed nonlinearly by an arch narrator—the siblings encounter Laurel Fox, the wealthy head of a pastry empire with a cultlike following (and a history of workplace misconduct). When Fox takes the children in, Basil is ready to accept this kindness at face value, but Dahlia remains suspicious, taking it upon herself to snoop around her new home. Dahlia's instincts prove correct as Fox's nefarious and ghastly motives are revealed, miring the two children in a familiar if bitingly humorous and appealingly weird action-adventure narrative studded with surreal illustrations by Cluskey (The Sackville Street Caper). Principal characters cue as white. Ages 8–12.
