Gr 3--7--August DuPont has a unique problem: his scent attracts butterflies. Because of this, his reclusive Aunt Hydrangea hasn't let him leave the house. Then his aunt's estranged family offer him his lifelong dream: to go to school and make friends. However, in order to do so, he must find the family's long-lost cadaverite. Meanwhile, he inadvertently reanimates Claudette who won't leave him alone. Could Claudette have been reanimated by the cadaverite? If so, where could it be? Can August find a way to get rid of his zombie problem? Todd Haberkorn's voices are engaging and entertaining, bringing to life each character with pizzazz and hilarity. The Roald Dahl-esque plot is humorous, well-developed, and draws readers into the story. VERDICT Delightfully fun for listeners who like dark comedy and zombie stories. Recommended for most library collections.--Jessica Moody, Olympus Junior High, Holladay, UT

Hot sauce, butterflies, and zombiesoh my!When you're a lonely little boy who would like nothing more than to make friends, it is decidedly unhelpful that you are white as a sheet and often confused with a ghost due to having lived your entire life inside a dilapidated manor, or that you have a strange condition that unfailingly attracts butterflies that hover about your head, or that eccentric Aunt Hydrangea, whom you live with, won't stop talking about your family's failed hot-sauce empire. But even with all these setbacks, August DuPont manages to capture the attention of another aunt he didn't know he had, who invites August to meet her and his two cousins. Aunt Orchid proposes that she and August can help each other: He can look in his house for a rare stone and family heirloom that Orchid wants for her jewel collection, and in exchange she can send him to school. But his hopes of normalcy are seemingly dashed when a long-dead relative inexplicably pops out of her grave and refuses to leave August's side. In his middle-grade authorial debut, Campbell has crafted an endearing protagonist and intriguing cast (even a sweet zombie) and set them adrift in a haze of family mystery with such elements as giant white alligators and undead magic shows for added flair. His frequent black-and-white pictures add humor and depict August's family (both living and dead) as white.A tantalizing start to a delightfully macabre new series. (Supernatural mystery. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Life for August DuPont, heir to a defunct hot-sauce empire, hasn't been what one would consider normal. For starters, he's never stepped outside of the decaying mansion where he lives with his high-strung, tiara-wearing Aunt Hydrangea, and the only kids his age he's ever seen have been on TV or delivering groceries to the mansion. It's a shock, then, when he receives an invitation from his hitherto unknown Aunt Orchid, asking him to tea. The visit is eye-opening in many ways. Apparently, a past relative had been a necromancer, and if August can find Orfeo DuPont's lost zombie stone, Aunt Orchid will enroll him in school with his cousins. Dreams of school, a friend gang, and most coveted of all someone with whom to exchange a high five flit before August's eyes, and he agrees. While passing a cemetery on his way home, August discovers he is being followed by young, newly undead Claudette DuPont, whom he just can't shake. Campbell's series-starter is an off-kilter delight featuring many of his own illustrations, which, though unseen, should be a fantastic addition, considering his artwork for Kate DiCamillo's Flora and Ulysses (2013). August's discoveries of family secrets unlock even greater mysteries, and readers who like macabre tales tempered with butterflies will eagerly follow Campbell's likable protagonist onward to his next adventure.--Julia Smith Copyright 2019 Booklist

Campbell (Flora & Ulysses) leaps assuredly into middle grade fiction in this, well, spirited series opener featuring a cast of enchantingly eccentric characters. August DuPont lives in the garret of his family's crumbling manse with his quirky Aunt Hydrangea, who, fearing for his safety, refuses to let the 11-year-old outdoors. August's only knowledge of peers derives from a TV show about a group of friends-a program that he views, via telescope, on a TV located on a ramshackle houseboat nearby. Lonely and longing to "join the world," August insists on accepting an invitation to visit Hydrangea's equally offbeat sister, Orchid, estranged since she married a descendant of the ruthless entrepreneur who drove the DuPonts' prosperous hot sauce company out of business. Venturing beyond the garden gate for the first time, August gets a whirlwind introduction to the real-and not so real-world when he meets an undead girl in a cemetery, who removes and offers him one of her eyeballs, then refuses to leave his side. With wry humor and inventive plotting, Campbell reveals August's tangled, magic-tinged ancestry while shaping a poignant portrait of a boy-and a zombie-in search of friendship. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.