In the grim town of Westborough, adventure is banned, books are burned, and children are meant to behave. But five misfit kidsâPetunia, Percival, Digby, Lucille, and Eustaceâstumble upon a mysterious book that opens a portal to another world: a wild, overgrown realm teetering on the brink of ruin.
Swept into the Other, the children must navigate cursed forests, whispering dungeons, and the living maze of the Castle in the Weeds. Armed with nothing but courage, sarcasm, and an ever-hungry stomach, they face weedmen, ancient magic, and their own growing fears.
But this world has a plan for themâand so does the dark warlock Malsham.
Can a group of sarcastic, slightly underprepared kids save two worlds from collapse? Or will they end up just another story swallowed by vines?
A fantasy adventure brimming with humor, heart, and unexpected heroismâThe Castle in the Weeds is a tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the stubborn hope that even a few misfits can make all the difference.
In the grim town of Westborough, adventure is banned, books are burned, and children are meant to behave. But five misfit kidsâPetunia, Percival, Digby, Lucille, and Eustaceâstumble upon a mysterious book that opens a portal to another world: a wild, overgrown realm teetering on the brink of ruin.
Swept into the Other, the children must navigate cursed forests, whispering dungeons, and the living maze of the Castle in the Weeds. Armed with nothing but courage, sarcasm, and an ever-hungry stomach, they face weedmen, ancient magic, and their own growing fears.
But this world has a plan for themâand so does the dark warlock Malsham.
Can a group of sarcastic, slightly underprepared kids save two worlds from collapse? Or will they end up just another story swallowed by vines?
A fantasy adventure brimming with humor, heart, and unexpected heroismâThe Castle in the Weeds is a tale of friendship, sacrifice, and the stubborn hope that even a few misfits can make all the difference.
The bell hadnât rung yet, so the five children loitered under the crooked statue of Baron Malsham outside the school gates, pretending not to dread what waited inside.
Petunia picked at the peeling paint on the bench and scowled.
âYesterdayâs adventure was way better than this. That troll fight was glorious. Lucille thanks for that healing potion! Eustace you didn't help at all!â â
âI did help. I tossed the firespell that gave Percival the chance to attack.â
âYeah we shouldnt play in Mrs Sangerâs corn field anymore.â âsaid Lucille
âThatâs what makes it fun, silly,â she snapped.
Percival, whoâd spent most of the evening trying to scrub yesterdayâs mud from his shoes, sighed. âWe werenât even gone for fifteen minutes. You nearly fell into a compost pit.â
âI was scouting,â she huffed.
Lucille quieted down â just stared at the big iron gates and clutched her lunch tin like it might bite her. Sheâd packed two sandwiches and one apology note to Ms.Bletchley just in case.
Digby arrived last, dragging a half-eaten biscuit in his pocket and licking something red off his fingers. âYou reckon lunchâll be better today?â
âNo,â said everyone.
Above them, Malshamâs stone face scowled like it had been personally insulted. The statueâs plaque read: âObedience is Order. Order is Compliance.â
âCreeps me out,â Petunia muttered. âI bet he watches us.â
âHe does,â said Eustace. âThere are spies everywhere. I heard it from Edmund.â
She rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. âMaybe You're a spy?, Eustace.â
âMaybe you're a spy?â he eyed her suspiciously
âNo, you're the spy!
âNo you are!â
Percival exclaimed softly,âAlright stop you two. No oneâs a spy.â
âAnyways as I was saying, What's worse is the fertilizer plant! Always billowing smoke!â
âAlright.. stop. Come on, letâs go to school,â said Percival sighing
âGlory to Baron Malsham..â they said with no enthusiasm.
The bell rang in a sharp, angry clang that echoed through the bland halls of Westborough Academy. It was time for political education class. All around the same young age; The friends sat in different wooden seats in Room 14. Petunia the red haired pirate lover, as the mean boys called her was chewing on her pencil and thinking about⌠swords. All types of swords. Long ones, dangerous ones, and everything in between.
There would be no adventure in this town, of course. Adventure books were about to be banned under Baron Malshamâs law #66. âAdventurous Thinking Promotes Unstable Minds,â the posters read, each bearing the waxy sneer of the Baron himself.
âTurn to page forty-seven in your Factory Work Reader,â croaked Miss Bletchley, a tower of a woman: broad-shouldered, prim and proper, and a lonely spinster. âToday we will read aloud the Oath to the Fertilizer Plant. We will sing a hymn about Baron Malsham, our great savior, who brought us the plant and provided us with jobs. So that we may rent his houses and shop at his grocery stores. Happy, compliant, and unadventurous! Hmph. Time for the pledge ! Stand up children.â clapped Ms Bletchley.
The children all put their left hand on their hearts.
I pledge allegiance to Baron Malsham.
Of westborough we are from.
For which it stands, one town under control. With liberty and justice for no one.
Everyday of their lives they were forced to pledge to a man theyâd never meet or would never know. Who was this person? And why did he want so much control?
They all sat down and fiddled with their belongings getting ready for class
Petunia sighed. The pages of the Political education book were yellow and crinkled from
too many forced readings. She pretended to flip through them, but beneath her desk, her
real treasure waited: a faded
adventure novel titled The Scarlet Dagger, stolen from the trash heap behind the old
library. These types of books were being banned and could get her in trouble. But she
was a pirate through and through,and pirates feared nothing.
Next to her, Percival Whitlock passed a note without looking. It read:
Digbyâs got detention again.
Caught drawing a sword in art class.
You look like a plum cake this morning.
Delicious.
Petunia Perrywell smiled, and quickly stashed it in ger frilly pirate shirt.
In the row ahead, Lucille Perrywell tried her best to sit still, her hands tucked beneath her thighs, her lip trembling with the effort of not fidgeting. Her blond hair was combed. Her little shoes were polished. Her satchel was lumpyâprobably smuggled muffins from the teacherâs lounge again. A loyal sister to Petunia, but never allowed to be free.
And in the corner by the cracked, sooty window, Eustace Bell sat in his brown bathrobe. Heâd never stopped wearing it after one particularly chilly spring day. He claimed it helped him âfocus his brain beams,â whatever that meant.
Outside, gray smog blurred the chimneys. The Baronâs fertilizer factory puffed endlessly, lining the skyline like acrid cotton. Across the field, the flagpole creaked under the weight of Westboroughâs tattered blue-and-brown standard. A giant billboard loomed:
Comply. Produce. Consume.
Several hours later they were in the cafeteria. Lunch in this school was the worst.
The students lined up for synthetic bread slices, boiled beige cubes stamped Nutritional Food Product, and some kind of jello slop. Digby grumbled as his tray jiggled.
âThis isnât lunch,â he whispered. âThis is dog food.â
âYouâll eat it,â muttered Miss Bletchley, who had a habit of appearing out of thin air. âAnd youâll be grateful the Baron keeps us strong enough to work long hours.â
At their usual bench behind the recycling bins, the gang sat in a loose huddle. Petunia peeled off her pirate jacket and leaned back, pretending she was lounging on the deck of a Spanish galleon she had plundered.
The day was sweltering hot as it was almost time for summer. Now in most worlds, summer is a fun and exciting time, full of laughter and adventures. Not in Westborough it isn't; summer is for working in the factory. The kids had just seven days left of school.
âGot yelled at again,â Digby muttered, stuffing food cubes into a handkerchief for later. âBletchley said drawing swords is âseditious imagery.â It was a butter knife!â
âWanna hear something mad?â Lucille said in a low voice. âMy mum says theyâre shutting down the sweets store next month. Says itâs too âunhealthy and happy.â But the Baronâs building another factory. Artificial butter, now.â
âTheyâre replacing food with fake food to save on... food?â said Percival.
âShh!â Eustace held up a hand. âMalshamâs patrolâs coming.â
Two boys in grey blazers walked byâbig, square-shouldered brutes. Baron Malshamâs âYouth Compliance Officers,â schoolyard spies really. The tall one was Tuck Jick, who once kicked a stray cat into a storm drain and bragged about it. His shadow, Alvin Plick, always laughed too hard at nothing.
âWotcha reading there, pirate girl?â Tuck loomed over Petunia.
She slowly closed the book. âNothing.â
âDidnât look like anythingâŚ.â He snatched it. âThe Scarlet Dagger. Sounds like contraband. That ainât approved Harmony Literature. Might give you thoughts about adventuring.â
Alvin bellowed.â No âventurinâ
âArr return it back to me,â Petunia said, voice like Blackbeard.
Tuck flipped through the pages. âOoh, lookâfighting. Danger. RoyaltyâŚâŚLOVE? A lady with a sword? Donât tell me you think girls can be heroes, love is a seditious feeling.â
âGive it back!
âAnd whatâre you gonna do, Pirate-Lover? Throw a bread cube at me?â
Digby stood too, arms crossed. Lucille looked like she might cry.
âIâll tell Miss Bletchley,â Petunia warned.
Tuck grinned. âGo ahead. Sheâs the one who gave me the book-burning list.â
That landed like a brick. Petunia stepped back.
At last, Tuck shoved the book at her. âHave your stupid dagger story. Wonât help you when the Baron bans stories in seven days.â
Just then, Percival approached with his tray.
âWhatâs going on here?â he said firmly. âTuck, youâd better leave my friends alone.â
âYeah! Leave my sister alone.â said Lucille from behind Percival
âWell, if it isnât Mr. Star hero himself,â said Tuck. âCome to save the damsel in distress? PSsh..Pathetic. Sounds like adventuring to me. What do you think, Alvin? Why donât you clobber him and see how brave an adventurer he is?â
âWeâll see who does the clobbering.â said Pecival. Alvin took a swing, but Percival dodgedâand the punch landed on Digbyâs stomach instead.
âOohâ thatâll hit ya like a stew pot.â said Digby
âThatâs enough, you two!â boomed a familiar voice.
Professor Potts had arrived. He was a rare ally in this schoolyard war. A sympathetic man; heâs a twice removed cousin of Baron Malsham. That might be why heâs not been thrown in jail for sedition. Heâs a little chubby, balding and has a big bushy mustache.
âBreak it up. Alvin, Tuck, donât you have somewhere else to be?â
Tuck sneered. âWeâll be seeing you. When youâre in irons for sedition. Heh. Come on, Alvin.â
As they left, Potts turned to the group. âAre you children all right? Those boys are worse than Constable Brackfink
Digby groaned. âIâm not fine. Just got punched in the tum tum.â
âI'm fine. those bullies don't scare me!â Lucille said defiantly
âDonât let those bullies get the better of you,â said Potts, rubbing his aching temple. âBlast it, itâs so hard to breathe in this town⌠Baron Malsham is aââ he stopped himself.
âBaron Malsham is a what Professor?â groaned Digby holding his tummy.
âForget I said that,â he said sheepishly, "Finish your lunch and weâll head back to class.â
The rest of lunch passed in a funk.
âDo you think theyâd really ban all adventure books?â Lucille asked. âEven the ones about medieval history?â
âThey already did,â said Digby. âIf it ainât got the Harmony Seal, itâs trash.â
Eustace was scribbling in his notebook. âGuys... the dreams are getting stronger. I think somethingâs trying to contact us.â
âLucille exclaimed then got quiet, Me too! I saw a sign post that said "Oatbarrow.â We were walking, all five of us. I saw an old man waving to us.â
âOh, here we go again,â Digby sighed.
âNo, Iâm serious,â Eustace insisted. âThereâs a place. It's green. I keep seeing itâcovered in vines and moss in a cemetery. And when I wake up, thereâs mud on my shoes.â
Percival nodded. âI thought I heard something yesterday. Like a clock ticking backwards. As if someone altered the world. Then I swear I saw a book open on its own.
They were silent for a moment.
Petunia answered, âI had a dream about a giant tree surrounded by weeds. â All of us were there too, I donât know what it means,â Petunia said. âBut I think weâre not crazy.â
âNo,â Eustace said, closing his notebook. âI think weâre chosen to save Westborough. We just need to find the way.â Behind the smog, the old clock tower struck thirteen.
The Castle In The Weeds by M.w Morganson is a somewhat typical but also somewhat odd tale of growing up. It follows a group of five friends in the small town of Westborough where everything is ruled by Baron Malsham and his fertilizer factory. A place where everything fun and adventurous is outlawed. Having received a magical book for guidance the group of friends must work to defeat Baron Malsham and his army of weeds to reclaim their town.
This book was definitely interesting in that I was not expecting for the enemy to have an army of weeds. That really caught my attention as it was rather new for me, I donât think I have ever seen that element before in literature. However, that seemed to be one of the only unique elements that were present as a lot of the rest seemed similar to things I have seen before. The characters have to go rescue their town from an evil ruler and they seem to be the only ones capable of doing so. They have to go on this long and drawn out journey with random and unexpected perils and many things they have to do along the way in order to win. Donât get me wrong, the story was good but the format of the plot line seemed familiar even if the specifics were new. The only thing I did not like about the story was how there seemed to be lack of continuity at times. Sometimes it seemed to imply a longer length of time had passed before then contradicting that same time frame. It frequently miscounted how many characters were in the group of friends as well. Neither of these were big issues but I did find it mildly confusing at times. Overall, a good book that gets three out of five stars from me.
I would consider this to be a young adult fantasy novel so if you happen to enjoy fantasy and fall in that age range than I suggest you consider trying this book out. However, I am not sure how well it would appeal to readers outside of that age range or for readers who donât enjoy fantasy. It is a good book and worth the read so I hope you consider it anyway.