About This Book
Reach for this book when your child is navigating a major life transition, particularly one where they are quietly observing a parent struggle with mental health or burnout. While it presents as a chilling supernatural mystery, it serves as a profound metaphor for the 'heavy' atmosphere of a home in crisis. Ten-year-old Immy is a thoughtful protagonist who feels the weight of her father's depression and the pressure of a new town. The eerie legend of the mulberry tree, which supposedly steals girls on their eleventh birthdays, provides a safe, fantastical lens through which children can process very real anxieties about family stability and growing up. It is a sophisticated choice for middle-grade readers who enjoy a good scare but crave emotional substance. You might choose it to open a door for conversations about empathy, parental health, and the way legends can sometimes mask difficult truths.
