The Resurrectionist: A Tale of Gothic Horror

Gr 8 Up–Seventeen-year-old Dilly Rothbart and her twin sister, Deirdre, are orphaned when their father dies in an accident. While sorting through her late father’s belongings, Dilly stumbles upon a hidden journal that contains not only his private notes but the key to resurrecting a dead soul. Dilly, already deeply involved in the corpse-stealing underworld of 19th-century medical schools, does not hesitate to use this ghastly information; succeeding at human resurrection would establish Dilly as the greatest scientist in history. And with ambition blurring morality at every turn, no one will be able to stop her. Despite an intriguing premise, this novel ultimately falls flat. The three main characters lack depth: Dilly is a clichéd Victorian woman who dreams only of medical college, while Deirdre is her just-as-clichéd, religious and family-focused opposite—that is, until her personality predictably shifts into the complete opposite. Only Ben, the third in the sisters’ would-be love triangle, evolves throughout the book, though he too is formulaic, in that his affability is clearly a facade. Readers must stick with the trio for more than half of the novel before reaching the synopsis. During this time, minor plot points become repetitive, while each major plot point is revealed ahead of time, leaving readers disconnected and indifferent. Small inconsistencies throughout, such as a character smoothing her skirt despite just having been described as wearing trousers, further remove readers from the narrative.