Tales from Cabin 23: Night of the Living Head by Hanna Alkaf
I was genuinely pulled in to this story within a story, 244 page middle grade scary read. I was not expecting Islamic representation from the Muslim Author, I’m not sure why, but I was happily surprised all the main characters are Muslim and unapologetic, praying, reciting ayats when the fear mounts, and seeing the world through their Malaysian and Islamic perspectives. It was really well done, engaging, spooky, and then it came to a screeching halt, like slam on the breaks, story is over now we are going to talk and explain and make it about family and forgiveness. I admittedly don’t read much “horror” if any, so perhaps the over explanation at the end is formulaic to put the target audience reader at ease, and prevent lingering nightmares. Even if that is the case however, the climax in the book came way too early making the explanation way too long. I would imagine most target readers don’t expect the same literary refinement in a scary book as they would in other genres, but the more “explaining” the book tried to do, the more holes were revealed. By the end, the book made no sense and I wished I would have stopped reading halfway through and had the unknown lingering vibes be the ultimate takeaway.
SYNOPSIS:
It starts at Camp Apple Hill Farm where Melur is for a two week summer camp, when she chooses “dare” and is forced into the woods alone to find the witch that tells stories in Cabin 23. When she finds herself at the cabin, the story she is told is about Alia, her missing sister who has returned, and a penanggalan that is terrorizing the town. Twelve year old Alia has moved from Kuala Lumpur to the city of her birth, she doesn’t have a lot of friends, and her missing sister has unexpectedly returned. Something is off with her sister, she smells weird, and is too perfect. Alia’s parents don’t seem to want to discuss it, and what is the whooshing sound that seems to follow Alia everywhere. When kids at school start whispering about seeing things and hearing things, Alia is worried that her sister and the sightings, might be related. Yep no further spoilers here, sorry.
WHY I LIKE IT:
I love that the characters are Muslim and it is just who they are, it isn’t othering or explanatory, it is just part of the characters, that comes out as they try to figure out what is going on. I really enjoyed the first half, I know that often in scary movies, at least the ones I can handle, the build up is usually fun, and the resolution a little bit of a let down, so I was anticipating that, but this book really seemed to fall apart as it tried to wrap up all the threads. It ultimately ended up being rather disappointing and I’m honestly kind of mad about it. Despite it all, I will still shelve it for middle graders to read. We need Islamic rep in all genres for all ages and this one I think is the first I have seen, and for that alone I do appreciate what it offers.
FLAGS:
It is “scary”, there is gore, abandonment, possession, creepiness, no one will accidently pick it up and be surprised. The cover has a head with its entrails hanging out and the title is “the living head.”
TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:
As stated above I would shelve the book, I think fans of creepy book will be delighted to see a Muslim protagonist, and the Malaysian rep is nice to see as well.
