Jack Perdue, fourteen, is accidently hit by a car as he was walking home from the college campus his father works for. After waking up in the hospital, Jack suddenly realizes that things are not as right with his head as the doctors had thought. He overhears a strange conversation about a ninth level under New York City and sees a man jump out his window several stories above ground. His father, wanting a second opinion, sends him to New York City to see a doctor/friend. After a strange encounter with the doctor, Jack meets a girl his age at Grand Central Station. She offers to take him on an “unofficial” tour of the train station and Jack soon finds himself on the ninth level below New York. The New York Underworld.
Ghostly Adventures
Now in New York’s Underworld, Jack realizes that his “tour guide”, Euri, is a ghost. Jack being very familiar with the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, realizes that he has the opportunity to search the Underworld for his mother and bring her back to the land of the living with him. When Jack explains to Euri about his mother’s death, eight years prior and his plans to save her, they both set out to find Jack’s mother among the dead. Jack learns that he only has three nights to stay in the Underworld before he becomes one of the dead himself, and to make matters worse, a three- headed guard dog, Cerberus of Greek mythology, which guards the gates of the Underworld, is hot on his trail.
Jack and Euri, realize that Jack is able to fly, go through walls, and slide through pipes as long as Euri is holding his hand and when they are not running away from Cerberus, they spend their time exploring New York City at night, attending plays, sledding, and visiting several haunts in search for Jack’s mother. During the search, Jack and Euri struggle to keep the fact that Jack is still alive, hidden from other ghosts they encounter. If Jack is caught by anyone, he would be killed and forced to stay in the Underworld forever. Does Jack ever find his mother? Will Jack be able to escape the Underworld before Cerberus finds him? Or will Jack be doomed to stay in the Underworld forever?
Katherine Marsh, author of The Night Tourist, delves into old Greek myths about Orpheus and Eurydice, two lovers who seek to overcome Hades and death, and brings it into this beautifully executed story of Jack and Euri. Greek mythology gets a fresh new look as it is translated into the modern world making it more appealing and relatable to younger readers. The sequel to this tale is The Twilight Prisoner.
The Night Tourist Review
The Night Tourist was my first read of Katherine Marsh. I was not familiar with her work and I was very impressed with this book. I thought it was very creative for Katherine to take Greek mythology and form it into a modern story that would be easy to relate to. The desire of Jack wanting to find his mother stirs this story on and makes for great adventures and close calls for him and Euri. Then the little hint of a romance in the story is also unexpected and you find you are rooting for them by the end. I loved how this was a very age appropriate story for young teens and it would be a great addition to any household library.
The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh, Copyright 2007 by Katherine Marsh, Hyperion Books for Children
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