Scareground by Angela Kecojevic

Book Summary

Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town!

Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden?

Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parents’ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fair’s spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?

Deliciously creepy from the start, this book is full of mysteries. What is the significance of the horse-shaped mark on Nancy's wrist, why can she understand the sky, and why is everyone so unhappy about the fair that's arriving in town?

I always think rooftop worlds sound so wondrous and Nancy's life in the bakery by day and flitting about the houses by night does sound incredible. I loved the magical descriptions of colours and the illusions sounded fascinating, particularly Pepper's Ghost which I just had to look up and read more about.

Without giving away any spoilers I have to say I found it a bit hard to understand why Nancy would do some of the things she did. After vowing that no one would take her away from her parents, her actions seemed quite counter-intuitive. Then again maybe I shouldn't expect anyone to be logical in this situation!

Nancy and Arthur were really brave, confronting their fears of the fair and investigating, meeting lots of intriguing characters along the way. It was so sweet how they supported each other. The suspense kept me on edge the whole time and I was never sure if they would get away with it. There was a very mysterious ending, possibly paving the way to a second book??? 🤞

Author Bio

Angela Kecojevic is a senior librarian, author and creative writing tutor. She has written for the Oxford Reading Tree programme and the multi-award-winning adventure park Hobbledown where her characters can be seen walking around, something she still finds incredibly charming! She is a member of the Climate Writers Fiction League, a group of international authors who use climate issues in their work. Angela lives in the city of Oxford with her family.

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