Jacob's Ladder

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY FEB 12, 2007

Keaney's (Hollow People; Balloon House) enigmatic mystery is simultaneously poignant and puzzling, echoing some of the themes of last season's Everlost by Neal Shusterman. Jacob wakes up facedown in a field, his memory wiped blank, save for his name. He is taken to the town of Locus, where children like him wear gray uniforms, eat gray flavorless food and spend their days picking up gray rocks in the fields. At night, they play the "memory game," sharing what little bits of their previous lives they can recall. Most of the kids are resigned to life in Locus; Jacob is determined to get out, though, as are his new friends Toby and Aysha. Through a series of dreams and a seance, they come to realize that they may be dead; stories circulate of a "Palace of Remembrance where the king and queen would give you back everything you'd lost." Their journey takes them through a surreal, misty purgatory, populated with spectral bands of tattooed nomads, ruthless dogs and an ominous hermit named Moloch. A palpable sense of melancholy pervades this mournful story; Keaney explores the nature of giving up hope, although ultimately the tale is optimistic. The climax elegantly answers all questions, making this ghost story more satisfying than most. Ages 10-14.