title: Eerie Dearies: 26 Ways to Miss School
author: Rebecca Chaperon
description: KIRKUS: An alphabet of excuses, from A is for ASTRAL PROJECTION to Z is for ZOMBIE APOCALPYSE, channels the gothic spirit of Edward Gorey. The text follows the standard abecedary model, with a large single letter and a following line on each spreads verso. The excuses range from at least faintly credible (K is for KIDNAPPED; M is for MONONEUCLOSIS) to such less-floatable plaints as E is for ENNUI and G is for GREMLINS. Painted largely on the covers, jackets or endpapers of old books (with the titles often visible), 26 neurasthenic girls cast in gloomy lighting and clad in school-uniform blouses, skirts and high boots poutingly model or act out each alibi amid minimally detailed surroundings. The backgrounds can be the best parts of the illustrations. Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls is a nice complement to G; Out of the Night is positively brilliant for I is for INSOMNIA; A Perfect Spy makes mordant comment on O is for OBSERVATION, in which a drowning girl is espied through a pair of binoculars. Others are less successful: Why position an ex libris sticker over the conked-out girl in N is for NARCOLEPSY? Of doubtful utility as an idea book for young slackers but sure to draw a few chuckles from the teen leather-and-lip-ring setand grown-ups who often find themselves writing or receiving parental notes to the teacher. (Picture book. 12 & up)<br /><br />Publisher's Weekly- Starred Review Canadian artist Chaperon uses a standard "A is for" structure in her children's debut, but when that A stands for "astral projection," it's immediately apparent that this is a rare and special abecedary. It's impossible not to feel the presence of Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies in Chaperon's portraits of somber, willowy girls, tidily dressed in pleated skirts, Peter Pan collars, and ribbons. For G, a redheaded girl eating her breakfast cereal is beset by tiny gremlins that tug at her hair and arm. "Separation anxiety" keep a pair of girls from school-kneeling cheek to cheek, they appear to be conjoined twins. By themselves, the images can be foreboding, unsettling, or bleakly funny; what takes them to another plane entirely is that Chaperon paints them on the covers and interiors of weathered old books, creating delicious thematic connections. A pink book jacket screams Now We Are Enemies as a girl with a sword glares off-page for "R is for Revenge"; a "dumbstruck" student's empty speech bubble is set against a yellowed index page crammed with verbiage. Just creepy enough to make parents insist on driving their kids to school. All ages. (Feb.)
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  **Chapter One**
  
   ****
  
  I squinted in the morning sunlight. At this hour, I should have been in bed,
  but thanks to my uncle Don, I was traipsing across the NCSU campus instead. I
  strode up to Harrelson Hall, then climbed to the third floor to the class I
  was looking for. When I walked in, most of the students ignored me, either
  chatting with each other or rifling through their bags as they waited for
  class to start. The room had stadium-style seating, with the entrance down by
  the professor’s lectern. My lower vantage point gave me the same sweeping view
  of the students the professor would have. I scanned every face, seeking the
  one that matched the jpeg I’d been sent _. No, no, no… ah. There you are._
  
  __
  
  A pretty blonde stared back at me with barely concealed suspicion. I smiled in
  a friendly way and threaded up the aisle toward her. My smile didn’t soothe
  her; she flicked her gaze around the room as if debating whether to ma