Odd & Tru

Odette and Trudchen – Od and Tru for short – are descendants of a German family who, we are told, were wonder-workers tasked with protecting their village from all manner of supernatural threats.  The girls grow up in an atmosphere of monster-repelling mirrors and charms, as well as untold family secrets that add to the sense of lurking menace.  The question becomes: will the sisters fully embrace their legacy as fighters of evil, or will they continue to live in the shadows even as adults?

 

Although there are dual narrators and the story moves back and forth in time, it is well grounded in the real world.  Indeed, this book is uncommonly aware of geography and whether we’re in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey or the mossy forests of Oregon, we get a fine sense of place.  Nor are the sisters ahistorical chop socky heroines.  They both must deal with problems that were not uncommon at the turn of the 20th century.  Tru, for example, is a polio survivor who uses a leg brace and cane.

 

Try this if you like historical fiction spiced with family drama and a generous portion of the supernatural.