The Other Side of Dark

The Other Side of Dark.

Smith, Sarah (Author)

Nov 2010. 320 p. Atheneum, hardcover, $16.99. (9781442402805).

Crazy Katie sees and draws ghosts of real people who were killed in horrid circumstances. Law Walker,
the son of a black Harvard professor and white landscape architect, dreams of becoming an architectural historian. His father believes in reparations; his mother, historical preservation. All the characters collide in the planned demolition of Pinebank, a historic house central to Frederick Law Olmstead’s Emerald Necklace park system in Boston. As Law begins to realize that Katie’s visions hold the key to saving Pinebank, he falls for her, despite her oddities. Well-known adult author Smith, who confesses to have loved ghost stories since childhood, has written an intricate YA debut that weaves complicated racial issues into a romantic, mysterious novel based on a controversial event in recent Boston history. Both adult and teenage characters are likable and authentically complex. Katie’s visions of slavery and Law’s father’s address to the Boston City Council make for challenging reading that will prompt readers to reconsider the burden of history we all carry, regardless of race or origin.

— Frances Bradburn, BOOKLIST, October 15, 2010