Brick Dust and Bones

by M.R. Fournet

Overview

A twelve-year-old monster hunter and his flesh-eating mermaid best friend must race against the clock to bring his dead mother back to life in Brick Dust and Bones, M.R. Fournet's thrilling middle grade debut.

Nothing’s more dangerous than a monster hunter with a mission.

Marius Grey hunts Monsters. He's not supposed to. He's only twelve and his job as a Cemetery Boy is to look after the ghosts in his family's graveyard. He should be tending these ghosts and–of course–going to school to learn how to live between worlds without getting into trouble.

But, Marius has an expensive goal. He wants to bring his mother back from the dead, and that takes a LOT of mystic coins, which means a LOT of Monster Hunting, and his mother’s window to return is closing.

If he wants her back, Marius is going to have to go after bigger and meaner monsters, decide if a certain flesh-eating mermaid is a friend or foe, and avoid meddling Demons and teachers along the way. Can Marius navigate New Orleans’s gritty monster bounty-hunting market, or will he have to say goodbye to his mother forever?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250876010
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	06/18/2024
Series:	Marius Grey , #1
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

M.R. Fournet's ties to New Orleans are part of her own origin story. As as kid, she would go fishing in South Louisiana and eat crawfish with her family in Houma. She has always been fascinated by the myths and legends of New Orleans. When not writing, she is a professional artist, belly dancer, and autism mom. She now lives in Texas with her husband, son, and ungrateful cat. Brick Dust and Bones is her middle grade debut.

Editorial Reviews

"The book offers nods to the rich history of storytelling devoted to ancestors, cemeteries, and the veil between the ordinary and the magical, and it provides readers with a determined protagonist, unlikely allies, and a satisfying conclusion that promises a sequel...bone-chilling and full of heart." — Kirkus Reviews

"Fournet deftly balances Marius and his demonic foes’ gruesome and exhilarating battles with meditative ruminations on grief, loss, and moving on." — Publishers Weekly

"Fournet has a knack for creating a spooky atmosphere that maximizes tension, and fans of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book who want some New Orleans flair might find something to like in Marius’ double-shifts from hell." — BCCB

From the Publisher

05/08/2023

In Fournet’s macabre debut, an orphan cemetery caretaker leading a double life as a monster hunter stalks paranormal beasts in the Louisiana bayous. White-presenting 12-year-old Marius Grey is responsible for maintaining Greystone Cemetery, which his family owns, and tending to its spectral inhabitants while attending a hybrid school for children with connections to the real world and the spirit realm. To earn enough Mystic coin to bring his mother—whose spirit accompanies him on his caretaker duties—back from the dead for good, he moonlights as a monster hunter, using an enchanted book to trap boogeymen, boo hags, and other mythological threats and trade them at the monster bounty-hunting market. But with the anniversary of his mother’s death approaching, and her spirit becoming increasingly difficult to manifest, time is quickly running out. As Marius’s desperation grows, he seeks out stronger creatures with larger bounties, setting his sights on the fearsome and deadly rougarou, a legendary swamp beast worth 20 boogeymen. Via Marius’s self-assured voice, Fournet deftly balances Marius and his demonic foes’ gruesome and exhilarating battles with meditative ruminations on grief, loss, and moving on. A hint of sweet romance and sensorial depictions of New Orleans landmarks and legends further elevate this lightly gory found-family thriller. Ages 9–12. Agent: Ben Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

2023-04-24
New Orleans may be called the Big Easy, but it certainly hasn’t been easy lately for Marius Grey.

One would imagine 12-year-old Marius’ life as a cemetery boy is quiet and solitary, but that’s dead wrong. Although he’s lived alone since his father’s disappearance and his mother’s untimely death, he’s far from lonely: There are the ghosts of those interred in Greystone Cemetery, where he is caretaker of the souls before they pass on to the next place and has the disembodied voice of his mother for company. He spends a lot of time at the hybrid school for “fringe kids” like him, frequenting local stores like the Habada-Chérie, which sells magical supplies. Armed with a magical book of monsters, his father’s enchanted coat, brick dust, salt, his mother’s raven skull necklace, and an effective spell, Marius catches monsters and exchanges them for Mystic currency, hoping to save enough to resurrect his mother. The only one who knows his desperate plan is his mermaid best friend, Rhiannon, whom he befriended instead of capturing. The book offers nods to the rich history of storytelling devoted to ancestors, cemeteries, and the veil between the ordinary and the magical, and it provides readers with a determined protagonist, unlikely allies, and a satisfying conclusion that promises a sequel. Marius has black hair, blue eyes, and a grayish complexion; many supporting characters are coded Black.

A strong mix of bone-chilling and full of heart. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews