Downside Up

by Richard Scrimger

Fred is a sixth-grader reeling from the loss of his beloved dog, Casey. Every day he walks home from school bouncing Casey's old worn-out tennis ball. One day, the ball falls down a sewer grate, and Fred can't bear to leave it down there. He pries open the grate and stumbles down. Through the sewer, Fred enters a parallel Casey is alive, his mom and sister are happier, and there's a version of Fred who's happier too. Spending time with Casey, Fred feels joy for the first time since his dog's death, but he slowly realizes that the loss of Casey is masking an even greater the death of Fred's father. Fred brings his sister, Izzy, to this upside-down world of lost things in the hope of finding their father and bringing him back. Can everything that is lost be found again?

Genres: Grief, Fantasy, Death, Middle Grade, Dogs, Canada, Magical Realism

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2016

About the author

I was born with very little hair and very little feet and hands. They all grew together and I still have them, together with all my organs except tonsils. I do not have four children -- they have me and we all know it. I write and teach and talk about writing and other things. Actually, I talk a lot. I’m right handed, my car has a dent in the passenger side door, and my blood type is A-. The motto of South Carolina is Dum spiro spero.— success comes by breathing. I like black licorice and rice pudding and ratatouille and coffee. Lots of coffee. My hair usually needs cutting. How much more do you need to know about anybody?

I have been writing since 1996. No, that's not true. I wrote for years before that, but no one cared. Since 1996 I've published fifteen books for adults and children. You can read more about them somewhere else on this site. A few of the books did very well. Some came close. A couple didn't do well at all. My most recent offering is Ink Me, a tragicomedy about a tattoo gone wrong, told in supercool phonetic speak by our learning-disabled hero. Zomboy – an undead story – is due out next year. (My editor and I are arguing about certain scenes right now.) And I am writing a semi-graphic novel about kids who fall into a comic book.
Do you want more details? Really? Okay, then.

In 1996 I published my first novel, Crosstown (Toronto: The Riverbank Press), which was short-listed for the City of Toronto Book Award.
Humorous short pieces about my life as an at-home dad with four small children used to appear regularly in the Globe & Mail and Chatelaine, and can still be found fairly regularly on the back page of Today's Parent. I reworked some of this material into a full-length chunk of not-quite-non-fiction, which was published by HarperCollins as Still Life With Children.

I started writing children's fiction in 1998. Two middle-school novels, The Nose From Jupiter and The Way To Schenectady did well enough to require sequels. There are four Norbert books so far, and two Peelers.

My work has received a lot of attention in Canada and The United States. The Nose From Jupiter is a Canadian bestseller. It won a Mr Christie Book Award, was on most of the top ten lists and has been translated into a Scottish dozen languages (that’s less than 12). Bun Bun’s Birthday, From Charlie’s Point of View, Mystical Rose, and Into the Ravine made a variety of short lists and books of the year – Quill and Quire, Canadian Library Association, Globe and Mail, Chicago Public Library, Time Out NY (kids), blah blah. Ink Me is part of the “7” series – linked novels featuring seven grandsons with quests from their common grandfather. Pretty cool, eh? As my most recent book, it is my current favorite. But watch out for Zomboy next year. It’s a killer!

Reviews

[Taylor Berman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and heartbreaking and had me in tears a few times. Also, there are dragons, so that's pretty awesome. I don't know what else to say other than you should definitely read this book.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to talk about death and dying in children's lit, here, but that would make you all roll your eyes and not bother with this cleaver, well written story of a boy, Freddie, dealing with loss. The book begins with his dog dying. Or rather, I should say, his dog is already dead when the story begins.

He has kept his ball. The ball he would chew on, and that is all he has to hang on to in his grief. And then he loses it down a storm grate.

And then, and then, he finds a world where his dog exists.

Well, what would you do, if you found a world, almost exactly like yours, with your dog alive? Well that is what Freddie does, he keeps going back.

I love Freddie's voice:

I was so amazed, I couldn't move or speak. Couldn't think. It was like meeting the what's-their-names in the Greek myths, the ones who turn you to stone. You know who I mean.

This is a cute, fast, well written read. Freddie is mourning, and needs help getting over it. But it is more than just the dog. There is something, which I figured out about half way through, but that didn't lessen this story of loss.

Recommend this to children to help deal with any sort of loss and the grief that follows.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost put the book down after a few chapters, thinking it would be another wild fantasy story, but then it took a turn and I started identifying with Fred.
I noticed that the father was missing, and surmised it was the basis of the mother's sadness, fatigue, and her need to work. I didn't dwell on it as so many families have an absent parent so it caught me off guard when his absence became the central point of the story in a very powerful way.
I thought the siblings were pretty typical - arguing about meaningless things, but pulling together for the important stuff. I also liked how everything Fred experienced connected to something from his past - both recent and from early childhood.
Tidbits of wisdom sprinkled naturally throughout, such as:
"Sharing a memory makes the feeling stronger."
"Why do people ask questions like that? What if this or that happens or this other thing doesn't happen? You can always think of ways to go wrong. If life was easy, everybody would be healthy, full and rich. And smiling more."
""There's lots we can't control," I said. "Bad things happen. Accidents, luck, whatever--these things are not our decision. But we can decide what we DO about the bad luck, about the accidents.""
I look forward to recommending this to my students.

[Jackelin Chavez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Downside Up
The book downside up by Richard Scrimger is a book about a boy named Fred reeling from the loss of his dog. Everyday he walks home from school bouncing Casey’s old worn out ball. One day he drops it down a sewer drain and can’t bear leaving it down there, so he pries open the grate and goes after it. He climbs down the sewer and grabs casey’s ball tight. When he climbs back up he is dizzy and has a sick feeling in his stomach. He gets out and everything is the same, same house, same sidewalk, same everything, only, casey is alive in that world. It’s a world where nothing gets lost and everyone is happier. Spending time with casey, he feels joy for the first time since the loss of his dog in his world. You could call this world the upside down world. Slowly, Fred realizes that casey has been masking an even greater loss; the loss of his father. Fred brings his sister to the upside down world hoping to find they’re father and bring him back. Can “everything” that is lost be found again. Read the book to find out. I would recommend this book to middle schoolers. It's an inspiring book to help realize to be grateful for what you have and cherish moments with the ones you love before they’re gone.

[Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Downside Up tells the story of a boy that has lost a lot, some more than he even realizes. This is a story of him coming to terms with everything that he has lost and learning how important it is to push past that and when it is also time to not let go.

We see two very different worlds, one much like our reality, and this upside down that he visits to meet his recently passed dog. We see him balancing his two lives, and how exhausting it can be on a child to cope with loss. He experiences a lot of feelings that he doesn't quite understand, anger, sadness that doesn't come out in the conventional usual of crying.

He realizes how it is like to go into a world where no one cares or worries as much as the real world, where when it's someone's time, they accept it. This sparks a hopelessness, and frustration that you would expect to see from anyone confronted with this world's version of death. Death in this world being represented by dragons, taking things, people, and so on as it is their time.

No one in the world fights this fate, they accept it foolheartedly.

Probably one of the most beautiful things regarding this book is the twist that comes later on, when he finds out that his sister is also missing someone. Someone that he originally thought was Casey, but in reality it was his father, that he had forgotten was even gone due to repression. Something that is very prevalent in children that experience heavily distressing things in their childhood, distressing things that can vary greatly in terms of severity as emotions are subjective and everyone responds to them differently.

You can especially see this between the siblings, Fred and Isabel, Fred repressed the feelings that he had about his father passing to the point where he couldn't remember anything about him until he was forced to look at "the shadow" that hid his father from his view.

Meanwhile his sister coped in her own way, she repressed it in a much different way. She grew frustrated and angry, she held on to what little she had left of her father's presence. Which in her case was the shoes that her father had bought for her. She refused to part with them, despite how destroyed the heels were, they were her way of connecting with the father that she had lost.

In this later stage of the book, you see the siblings break that wall of silence, both of them not wishing to speak of what they miss. They finally come to realize that they can talk to each other about what they miss, and cry together rather than separately and alone. This moment bringing them close to each other in the process. So that when they leave the upside down permanently, they take solace in each other's shared struggles rather than repressing it alone.

Another honorable mention from this book is the inclusion of a therapist in this story filled with grief, Fred's sister and mother along with him all attended therapy to cope with their grief, something that is often underestimated when it comes to books that delve deeply into grief. Yes, of course you can find a solace on your own, but that isn't achievable for everyone. Sometimes you need those guiding thoughts from educated therapists along with those personal journeys to find that part of you again.

I heavily suggest this rather short book to anyone who has lost anything, or anyone. Even more so to people who haven't, grief can seem undecipherable to those who have not experienced it. So if anyone is struggling and not making a lot of sense, step back, don't focus on the facts in that moment. Focus on how they are feeling, and be understanding, even if it doesn't make sense to you.

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Downside up is very good at developing a main character Fred feels like a fully realized person, everything he says and does feels perfectly in character and realistic. Unfortunately, everyone else is very underdeveloped and mostly a blank slate with not much personality so it makes Fred feel almost awkward and out of place. The plot is lumpy, and by lumpy, I mean that it has too much focus on unimportant parts of the story and too much crammed into certain spots. The story is about a boy named Fred who just recently lost his beloved dog Casey, one day he is walking home he discovers a mysterious storm drain that transports him to an upside-down world where his dog is still alive and there is another version of him. Soon Fred realizes that he had actually been grieving the death of his father the whole time, but his brain was repressing the traumatic memory. So, Fred goes back down the drain with his sister to find her dad but when they do find him, they are hunted by a dragon. They then escape and decide to never return. This book is very good at illustrating how complex emotion can be difficult for people to cope with, but it left me feeling a little unsatisfied since the story feel like it ends a little abruptly and without much reason, it seems like the author just didn’t want to keep writing but couldn’t come up with an ending. This book is intended for people who are in the same circumstances as Fred, so I think someone who has lost someone they loved dearly and is around the same age as Fred would enjoy this book the most. 3/5 stars

[Zan Porter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fred is a sixth-grader reeling from the loss of his beloved dog, Casey. Every day he walks home from school bouncing Casey's old worn-out tennis ball. One day, the ball falls down a sewer grate, and Fred can't bear to leave it down there. He pries open the grate and stumbles down. Through the sewer, Fred enters a parallel universe- Casey is alive, his mom and sister are happier, and there's a version of Fred who's happier too. Spending time with Casey, Fred feels joy for the first time since his dog's death, but he slowly realizes that the loss of Casey is masking an even greater loss- the death of Fred's father. Fred brings his sister, Izzy, to this upside-down world of lost things in the hope of finding their father and bringing him back. Can everything that is lost be found again?

[Raymond Nakamura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange, intriguing premise for exploring grief

[Carrie Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the setting (I remember that park). A touching and fun adventure that held my interest to the very end.

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was interesting and you never knew wheat was going to happen next.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a really good book I would recommend it for someone who likes sad but heartwarming books

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we first meet Toronto sixth-grader Fred, he seems to be having trouble getting over the sadness of losing his beloved dog Casey. But then a chance bounce of Casey's favorite tennis ball leads Fred down a storm sewer and into an upside-down, parallel world where Casey still lives - and there are other differences, big and small. For example, his other self - known as Freddie - seems happier and more talkative, as does the upside-down version of Fred's mother. Fred keeps going back to visit, to spend time with Casey, and to have fun with Freddie, but gradually he begins to feel something is not right - something inside himself.

In the pivotal scene of this book, a local author comes to Fred's school to give a talk about how to write stories. When he uses Fred's dog as an example of how to plan a sad story - like about a beloved dog being hit by a car - Fred gut-punches him and gets suspended from school. I'm not sure about the significance of the point the author-within-the-book was trying to make; there may be some irony involved, as in his claim that the story should begin while the dog is still alive (whereas Casey's death is already a fact in Fred's life when this book opens). But Fred definitely misses the point of why he punched the writer, as we learn later on.

This is a very unusual but effective story. On one layer, it is about one boy (and later, we learn, others) exploring a weird, slightly magical world that apparently exists to give grieving people one more chance to see the loved one they have lost. On another level, it plays as an allegory about the nature of grieving itself. It literally features a psychotherapist trying to help a kid face the problems that triggered his depression. But it also visits a place that poses a different way of looking at loss, one that eventually proves therapeutic for Fred and his sister Izzy, if not for some readers who share their journey.

The Downside Up world may not be the only approach, or even necessarily the best, to opening up a heart blocked by sorrow. But I can imagine some counselors sharing this book with their clients, perhaps with therapeutic results. Beside that intriguing thought, I noticed a beautiful and distinctive writing style, full of unique expressive touches and yet direct enough to connect with young readers. The book is cleverly structured to begin in the midst of things, relaying information to the reader just when it is needed, but with each surprise designed to remind you of a detail you may have missed earlier. The expected never happens. All the characters are believably imperfect, yet one's heart goes out to them. Overall, it is an emotionally gripping, sweetly hurting story that guides Fred to the turning point of his grieving process and leaves him there, right where he needs to be. The pacing, plotting, and diction are all good. But what it has above all is heart.

Canadian author Richard Scrimger has published several other novels for boys, including the "Nose" trilogy (starting with The Nose from Jupiter), its companion book The Boy from Earth, Of Mice and Nutcrackers, Me & Death, Zomboy and Lucky Jonah. Their subjects include body-swapping, accepting undead classmates, exploring the afterlife, surviving family dramas, and navigating strange urban landscapes. Their online description gives an impression of a solid body of work that specializes in using young readers' imaginations to fuel a journey through issues that will touch their heart and affect their character.

This book is scheduled for U.S. release Sept. 13, 2016. This review is based on a pre-publication proof on Kindle, made possible through Netgalley dot com.

[Kai Bergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story, interesting twist. A good meditation on death and loss, but in a way that's not too heavy. Good characters.

[Pammycats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Downside Up
By: Richard Scrimger

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Magical realism which is perfect for children trying to cope with loss of some sort.
:
The story is about a young boy (Fred) who discovers a alternate world where people are happier and where lost people/ animals/ things exist. At first, the world seems perfect. Fred finds his alternate (Freddy) who is just subtly different. Freddy is happy and talks a lot. The mom and sister (Izzy) in this world are also more relaxed and happy. The best part is that his dog is alive. At first, being in this world and playing with his dog makes him so happy. However, he starts to find himself feeling sad and angry again. Fred is dissatisfied with his life (in both worlds) and can't figure out why.

Now, some reviewers have insisted that they didn't see this next plot point arriving but Amazon includes this reveal in their book description so I was waiting for it to appear. Fred's dad died in an accident. All throughout the book, we see Fred mourning his dog. 2/3rds of the way through we find he has blocked out all memory of his dad including his sudden death. Eventually, with the help of his sister and an unusual babysitter, he finds their father in the upside down world and keeps him from dying in a fiery car crash. In the alternate world, people don't have remains, they are carried off by dragons to a volcano when it is "their time". I know, dragons are a reality shift from the rest of the book but this all makes sense at the end. Keep reading!

At the end of the book, Fred and Izzy realize they have saved their father because they remember him. As long as they hold onto his memory, their Dad will really be alive (and not taken away by a dragon). This is rather deep thinking for a child but, like books written by C.S. Lewis, it is presented in a simple form and uses magic and animals as a route to comprehension.

In the last section, brother and sister (who have been in conflict all throughout the book) reconnect in a really beautiful way. The last chapter shows them finally mourning and coming to grips with the loss of their Dad. Spectacularly sensitive and nuanced writing. I loved that part.

Conclusion:
I highly recommend this book for any child about 10 and up. I don't think younger kids would be able to comprehend the ending and there are some incredibly sad moments. Mourning the death of a loved one (or any loss) can be a long process and this book takes the reader on part of this journey with Fred and Izzy.

[Rachel Foley · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I don't know how you can hold both ideas at once - real and not real - but I did."

I got a copy of this book for early review. The description caught my eye and I was expecting something absolutely amazing. This book was not bad, but it wasn't my favorite.

Overall, I really loved the story. It was cute and creative and enjoyable. It was a fun, light, quick read. It also portrayed emotions really well.

"Have you ever been sad? So sad you didn't want to talk to anyone. Or eat? Or get out of bed? That's how sad I was."
"'It's as if a dead tree has fallen across the road,' he said. 'You've got to get around it before you can continue your journey.'"
"If you're scared or mad, you can pretend - sometimes. But if you're happy, everyone knows."

I really loved the concept of a parallel world in which the things that people miss most still exist. I thought that was brilliant and executed quite amazingly. And using an object that is connected to whatever is missing as the key to the other world is a very creative idea. However, it was the dragon thing that threw me off.

Up until the dragons showed up, I was completely wrapped up in the book. But "Dragon Mountain" really confused me and I just wasn't into it. Everything (except for the parallel universe, but that was mentioned in the synopsis and was written very well) was going on like the real world... and then there were dragons. The concept of having dragons come sweep you off your feet and drop you into the mouth of a volcano when "the time comes" is an interesting idea, but I really just didn't like it.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. There were many parts that made me laugh ("I got up on the right side of the world this morning."), and it was altogether enjoyable. This is definitely a good book to read if you are in a reading slump or just want a light, fast-paced book.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fred, a sixth grader, is despondent after losing his beloved dog, Casey. His mother is worried since he never smiles, is listless, and is only going through the most elemental functions of life. He sees Dr. Nussbaum and talks of Casey, but never mentions his father who died in a horrific highway accident.

Missing Casey, he never is without Casey's favorite toy, a fuzz-less tennis ball. One day, the unthinkable happens and while bouncing the ball, it falls into a sewer. He climbs down into the sewer to retrieve it and falls into a parallel universe where things are the same, but different. Here, Downside, he finds his parallel family...Freddie, sister Izzy, mom AND Casey. He begins to see joy again in life. He finds he is able to cross over between the two worlds with relative ease. But, things get complicated when the worlds collide and Izzy wants to find what she misses most...their dad.

Downside Up is ethereal and hazy in a 'is-it-really-happening?' way. Wanting something so badly, knowing it can never be, makes the heart wish harder. For Fred, though, his alternate world is cathartic and he finds a way to move past his grief. Downside Up is a tween novel rich with food-for-thought...a magical realism that takes us all way beyond our comfort zone to a place where wishes become reality and reality becomes easier to accept, and thus move on to living life.

Thank you to LibraryThing Early Reviewers, Tundra Books, and Richard Scrimger for this ARC.

[Kkharvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2 stars
Fred is in six grade and is still reeling from the loss of his dog Casey. One day, as he is walking home from school, and he loses his ball under a sewer grate. What he finds going after it is an alternate world, where his dog is very much alive.
One thing I loved about this book is the setting. It takes place in Toronto, and considering I’m familiar with the area myself, the street names, place descriptions really resonated with me. It was almost like following him on a path.
The mirrored version that Fred meets of himself, and the mirrored world was also quite well done. I’m sure everyone has wondered what it might be like to find an alternate world, with an alternate you. It becomes clear that the differences between the two boys have quite important implications on how our lives are lived once tragedy enters.
I’m always scared of reading books when there’s a loss of a dog involved, but that is my personal bias entering the picture. This book
The fantastical elements within the piece took a bit of an adjustment for me to get used to, but it added to the whimsical nature of Scrimger’s writing which I enjoy. I look forward to reading a lot more from him in the future.
Recommendations: All ages, it’s the kind of book that is quick to read, and that most of us can relate to in one way or another.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this book was set in Toronto but on the first page there's a mention of Sorauren Park and I was jazzed - I love reading books set in my city!

I really liked the way Scrimger tackled the grief of Fred and his family. We see them in the background mostly, because Fred's grief is really self-centered, but it's clear to the reader that there's more to the situation than we're getting. I often wanted Fred to stop staring at his shoes and look at his mom and sister, because there's definitely something else important there. Fred was a really relatable character for me, not necessarily because I've had the same experiences as him or even because our reactions are the same, but because his reactions seemed real.
The upside down world was a really great way to explore grief. I love the magic realism take on it, though the dragon part felt like it got away from Scrimger a bit. The point was a bit spelled out at the end and I felt that dragons were a bit much. Other than that, I liked this book a lot.

I also really love the cover - Matt Forsythe does beautiful work. I'll have to see what other books he's illustrated for!

[Heather Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Downside Up, Fred finds the things that he misses in his life. Fred has been down for a while, but in this other world that he has found, his dog is still alive, and everyone seems happier. His mom laughs, his sister Izzy is happy with her boyfriend Handsome Harry, and the other Freddie is confident with tons of friends. Simply visiting this other version starts making changes in Fred's life. Fred is happier after playing with his dog, he starts talking with more of his classmates, and he has a head start on the water cycle project since Freddie already did his report. But maybe something more is missing--Why is Fred's mom so stressed when Freddie's makes jokes? Why is Fred's sister so grumpy and mean while Freddie's is headed to the Homecoming dance?
This is a great book, especially for kids having trouble expressing their feelings and how they change.

[Monika · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a story about dealing with the loss of a loved one, Fred finds a mysterious portal that leads him to an upside down world where the people (and pets!) that have disappeared in his exist. I loved the way the story explored Fred's emotions and I think that it is an important one for children to read.

However, I found the dialogue incredibly drawn out and annoying. Could I imagine a talkative 11-year-old talking the way Freddie did? Yes. Are said 11-year-olds annoying irl? YES. Also, the concept about the dragons was an interesting one but it was fleshed out in an unrealistic way. Maybe it was supposed to recreate the nonsensical feeling of being in a dream but it just disrupted the narrative and made the book tedious to get through.

At the end of the day, I know that the story will appeal to children so it gets the job done but I don't think I'll be wanting to read it again.

[Colette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Downside Up references great literature by having Fred "go down the rabbit hole" through a sewage drain and ends up in an alternate world where he finds another version of his family much like Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Fred is grieving the death of his beloved dog Casey, and the act of visiting his alternate family where Casey is still alive allows him to find happiness again. Although in a surprise twist, other memories begin to resurface. The novel has Scrimger's signature uniqueness with the addition of dragons as a kind of stork for the dead which add whimsy and charm. Highly recommended for middle grade readers who are dealing with loss and grief.

[Barbra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just when Fred can't take the loss of his dog anymore, he stumbles upon an upside down world. It's parallel world with him and his family and his beloved dog. I love the conversational feel to the text, and the unique premise.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an alright story. While I see the value in writing a story about how a boy,deals with the death of his dog, I found I couldn't get really get into,the story. Granted it's written for tweens, it wasn't a story for me. It was fairly predictable.

3 stars because it was imaginative.

[Kim Piddington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot (parallel worlds) with a twist.

[Joshua Tree · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another potential-novel-study-for-my-grade-five-class, and it passed with flying colours. Might make for a better read-aloud though, since it's pretty dense in the sense that it covers a LOT of ground!

The characters are spot on, and I love the very subtle ways in which the Upside Down world is 'better' than the real world. Mom has less stress lines on her face. The house is cleaner. Fred (er, Freddie) is not hopelessly attracted to a shallow jerk of a girl. Tweens will just view these as a list nice things, while adult readers will see that they are all connected to the stable life that the Upside Down family lives, in contrast to the grief-stricken family in the real world.

I thought the magical realism element was executed very well. We grow accustomed to the bizarre situations at the same rate as the characters, and the actual mechanics of the parallel universe are addressed in a natural way (ie: realizing that the tennis ball is the key to crossing into the other world, or explaining how cell phones still work in the parallel world as long as the parallel phone is turned off).

Then there were the dragons. Boy, I was unsure of them at first. I was pretty unwilling to suspend disbelief, but the creepily passive way the characters reacted to them seemed to assure me that they would be addressed at some point. Which they were. In a short, extremely subtle way that changes the entire story, which I will be sure to highlight for my students: the universes are NOT parallel with some small tweaks and one absolutely gigantic unforgivable difference (ie: frickin' dragons!). Instead, the Upside Down world exists only in memory, and the dragons represent the one major difference between reality and memory: in memory, unlike reality, things can and do just passively disappear. Some cultures call this the 'second death' -- being forgotten -- and in this way the dragons make total sense. Part of me wishes that this had been discussed more, but maybe it's best to let readers figure it out for themselves.

Great book! Can't wait to read it with my students!