Daniel Pinkwater writes loopy, goofy, and devilishly clever books. They’re marketed to the “Young Adult” market, but there’s plenty here to appeal to adult sensibilities. This sequel to The Neddiad is narrated by Yggdrasil Birnbaum (Iggy for short), a teenage girl who lives in a Hollywood hotel in the 1950s. Of course, the hotel is haunted. The subtitle of The Yggyssey is “How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the Ghosts, Found Out, and Went There” which pretty much gives the plot away. But there’s magic and witches and plenty of adventure. If you want a book with a “sense of wonder,” The Yggyssey has it in spades.
Haven’t read this one yet, but I enjoyed THE NEDDIAD a lot. This one was at one time on-line for free reading, but I don’t know if it’s still there.
I actually liked The Yggyssey better than The Neddiad.
It seems like some of the most innovative writing is in YAs.
I agree. Young Adult fiction is very innovative. Daniel Pinkwater’s work is a good example of what can be done within the genre constraints.