A dark tale where a young girl encounters a deadly situation. When Immy and her parents move to a new town right outside of London, they hope for a new start from a tragic past. However, what they get is a superstitious town, an angry Mulberry tree, and a potentially deadly outcome.  A fantastical story perfect for younger pre-teens looking for excitement and danger without the gore.

"Do naught wrong by the mulberry tree, or she’ll take your daughters … one, two, three.
In the dead of night, spirited away, never to see an eleventh birthday."

How can any potential reader not want to keep reading with an intro like that?

I know that it instantly piqued my interest, and at 304 pages, THE MULBERRY TREE is a substantial length which means that readers will be able to lose themselves in the story the same way I did. 

Imogen (Immy) and her parents have moved to England from Australia. They are moving in order to seek a fresh start after her father experienced a trauma. In fact, since that fateful day, her father's personality has completely changed and not in a good way. Immy doesn't understand what has happened to her father and finds it extremely frustrating to feel so powerless. She wants her Dad to go back to the way he was, but she is starting to believe that this is his new normal.

As with all children, Immy had no say in the plans to relocate, and she is  unhappy about leaving behind all her friends and everything else familiar. 

Immy's mother is a heart surgeon, her father was a Family Doctor, well, I guess he technically still is, but he isn't currently practicing. He is depressed and blames himself for the actions of one of his patients.

The family decides to rent a cottage style house known to locals as "Lavender Cottage." In the backyard of their new home is a huge mulberry tree. Little do they know this tree is at the center of a local superstition and the rhyme at the beginning of the book is about this same tree.

The locals all believe that the tree is evil, which is patently ridiculous ... Or is it?

THE MULBERRY TREE has everything a middle grade reader could possibly want. The characters are believable, and most readers will find parts of  themselves in Immy's personality. I can still vividly remember my father doing embarassing things when I was Immy's age, just like her father does to her. (As an adult, now I am the one embarassing my own kids.)

The story is fast paced and readers may just find themselves unable to put this book down. At night, I kept saying to myself that I would just read one more chapter before going to bed, but ended up staying awake until I finished the entire book.

So, since the plot is terrific, the story  engaging, the characters relatable and believable, and the writing is nothing less than fantastic, I have no choice but to rate this book as 5 OUT OF 5 STARS. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book.

Immy and her mother and father are moving from Australia to Cambridge, England, where the mother has a position in a hospital. The father is not working, having had a problem with a patient back home that has spiraled him into depression. After looking at several rental properties in a nearby village that don't suit, Immy spies a quaint cottage that is just what they are looking for. The realtor doesn't want to show the family the place, because on two occasions, girls on the eve of their 11th birthday have disappeared from the home, supposedly taken by the mulberry tree in the back yard, and Immy is a month away from turning 11. Still, Immy is drawn to the place, and the family rents it, deciding to take a trip to Paris for Immy's birthday in order to be away from the house. The family settles in to their new routine, although Immy struggles to get along with the other girls in her grade, including the daughter of the owners of the home, who are renting it out precisely because they ARE afraid of the tree. Immy befriends Jean, an older neighbor whose friend Elizabeth went missing on VE Day in 1945. The two care for a family of hedgehogs that were found in the yard, and Immy connects with a gardening group at school, including an American boy who doesn't care about the legend of the tree. As Immy's birthday approaches, her mother further angers the community by planning a birthday party in the garden, and Immy struggles to understand not only what the tree has to say to her, but also how her father is dealing with his depression. Will Immy be able to figure out what the tree wants in time to prevent her own disappearance?
Strengths: This had a bit of a Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden (1958) feel to it, and I personally am ALWAYS glad to read a book set in a small English Village. The tree is gently spooky, and I can see a bookish nine year old really enjoying this tale. There's a good balance between family and school drama, history, gardening, and hoglets that I would have adored in third grade. The ending is quite a twist-- a bit hard to believe, but a very interesting use of Immy's power.
Weaknesses: Including more about Jean and Elizabeth's life in 1945 instead of the subplot with the father's depression would have made this more interesting to me.
What I really think: I may pass on purchase. My students seem to prefer violently murderous ghosts, and this author's The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery, which I enjoyed, does not circulate well.