Button Hill

By Michael Bradford

Dekker isn’t happy that he and his little sister, Riley, are stuck in Button Hill with their weird old great-aunt Primrose.

When he discovers an old clock in the cellar, made entirely of bones and with a skull for a face, he doesn’t think much about it. But when Riley goes missing, a strange boy named Cobb appears in Button Hill. He tells Dekker that Button Hill sits on the border between Nightside and Dayside—and that Riley is in Nightside and may never return. In order to save her, Dekker must follow her into the darkness and sacrifice something he thought he couldn’t live without.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Apr 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781459807570

Michael Bradford

Michael Bradford was born in 1975 in St. Albert, Alberta. He has worked as a grass cutter, waiter, pizza-delivery boy, literacy teacher, elementary-school vice-principal and published poet. Button Hill is his first novel. He lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with his wife and two children.

Book preview

O R C A   B O O K   P U B L I S H E R S

Copyright © 2015 Michael Bradford

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Bradford, Michael, 1975–, author

Button Hill / Michael Bradford.

Issued also in print and electronic formats.

ISBN 978-1-4598-0755-6 (pbk.)—ISBN 978-1-4598-0756-3 (pdf)—

ISBN 978-1-4598-0757-0 (epub)

I. Title.

PS8603.R33B88 2015jC813'.6C2014-906663-5

C2014-906664-3

First published in the United States, 2015

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014952055

Summary: Dekker must rescue his younger sister when she goes missing in the mysterious Nightside world of Button Hill.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

Design by Chantal Gabriell

Cover art by Serena Malyon

Author photo by Jody Polowick

www.orcabook.com

18171615•4321

To my family and friends

Table of Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Acknowledgments

One

As soon as he saw the worn wooden door in the basement, Dekker smiled. He knew he had found something his little sister would hate.

The basement smelled of damp cement and rotting potatoes. Boxes were jammed everywhere. A heavy wooden desk stood in one corner, and an antique phone with two bells on top hung on the wall beside an ancient washing machine.

The house belonged to Dekker’s great-aunt Primrose, and so far the old lady was the worst part of staying on Button Hill. He still didn’t really understand why he and his sister, Riley, had to be there.

Dekker had been sent down to put away his mom’s empty suitcases in the basement, and that was when he’d noticed the rough-looking sliding door at the far end. Dekker unhooked the latch that locked it, and it squealed along its rail as he eased it open. Cold air breathed up from the other side. Stone steps led downward, as if there were a dungeon below the house. A hiding place—this could be fun, he thought.

Dekker knew he was alone, but still he scanned the basement to make sure no one was watching. He crept down the narrow steps.

At the bottom was a small, dirt-floored room. A single lightbulb hung from a rusty hook in the ceiling and cast a thin yellow light. Something tall and skinny draped in a white sheet stood in one corner. Dekker saw glass jars on the shelves that lined the walls, some cloudy with dark liquids, some full of seeds or powders. Set into the center of the floor was a circle of stacked-up stones, supporting a heavy-looking wooden hatch about three feet across. Two rusted bands of metal held the ash-colored planks together. He tried to pry the hatch loose, but it wouldn’t budge.

Dekker thought he heard the tall thing under the sheet make a noise. It was a quiet sound, like a click or a tap. Curious, he pulled back the dusty sheet. There stood a grandfather clock that reached nearly to the ceiling, now silent and still. Its ebony cabinet was shaped like a casket. A pair of large skeletal hands at the top supported a round, open clock face that revealed tiny cogs and wheels behind it. At the center of the clock face, instead of hands and numbers, was a black skull set into a serrated metal disk. Dekker peered through the open front and thought how much fun it would be to take the clock apart.

Young man, how long do you intend to stand there? The huge shape of his great-aunt filled the entrance to the cellar behind him. She stepped toward him, and her flinty eyes narrowed to slits as she inspected him.

Something he had heard his mom say a long time ago sparked in the back of Dekker’s brain. Is that the same clock from when Mom was a kid?

The old lady crossed her arms. I’m surprised your mother told you about it. But yes, it is a priceless family heirloom. It hasn’t run in decades. A child with manners would know not to touch such a thing without permission.

If it doesn’t work, why do you keep it?

The old lady drew a cloth from her apron and polished the skull in the center of the clock face. Some things still have value, even if they no longer fulfill their original function. Your function at this time is to unpack your belongings, as your mother and sister have already done. She flung the white sheet back over the clock, then went up the stairs without waiting for Dekker.

I was just checking things out, muttered Dekker. He crouched to examine the surface of the hatch in the floor and sucked in his breath as a jagged splinter of wood bit into the tip of his finger. Absently, he pressed the puncture and watched the blood drip onto the hatch. The parched gray boards swallowed it up.

When he got back upstairs, Dekker found his mother peeling potatoes at the kitchen sink.

What’s the deal with that secret room under the basement? he asked her.

Secret room? Oh, you mean the root cellar.

What’s that?

It’s where Aunt Prim keeps apples and vegetables and other things from the garden over the winter. Or she used to. There’s a chute somewhere near the side of the house. When my brother and I spent time here as kids, we’d drop the potatoes and carrots down. She’d have us bury them in a sandpit to keep them cool and dry. There were fresh vegetables all winter in a good year. Carrots got a bit soft by March though. We used to say eating them was like nibbling on Aunt Prim’s fingers.

That’s gross, Mom, seriously. What about that door in the cellar floor?

She shot him a stern look. That’s the old well. It ran dry years ago. Don’t even think about it.

Aunt Prim says I’m not supposed to touch the creepy clock that’s down there either. I’m not allowed to touch anything around here.

His mother frowned. I didn’t know she still had that old thing.

Dekker nodded. Why would Aunt Prim want a clock with a skull on it? Did she join a motorcycle gang?

His mom shrugged. It’s been in the family forever. And your aunt’s right, she said, turning toward Dekker and waving the potato peeler at him. I don’t want you playing with it either. That clock is down there for a reason. Just leave it alone.

Why? asked Dekker. Is it cursed or something?

His mother laughed. Don’t be silly. It doesn’t work anymore, and it gave my brother and me nightmares, so Aunt Prim put it out of sight.

She tossed a potato to him, and Dekker caught it. What’s this for?

It’s for supper. Aunt Prim is cooking a nice dinner for us. You can peel it.

Aww, do I have to? She doesn’t even want us here anyway.

Of course she does. Why would you say that?

He shrugged and looked away. No reason except her extreme grouchiness. Maybe it’s her superpower.

His mother looked at him with concern, her eyes tired. Well, it’ll get better, I hope. It’s just one potato—it’s not going to kill you.

He peeled it, then wiped his hands on his shirt as he left the kitchen and went up to his room. His sister flung open the bedroom door a second after he closed it and bounded into his room. I can’t believe we’re finally here! said Riley while she did a little dance at the foot of his bed. Did I scare you that time?

Dekker sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes. The door was closed for a reason. You’re supposed to knock before you come in.

But did I scare you?

Uh, no. This house is a hundred years old. I heard the floor creaking before you even came in.

Darn it. Riley looked up at her brother, her green eyes sparkling. I bet there’s a secret room somewhere or something!

Dekker flopped out on the bed and said, Yeah, but Aunt Prim wouldn’t let us go in it anyway. Plus, there’s no TV here, no Internet, and it smells weird. It sucks.

I think Auntie’s going to be fun!

Dekker cleared his throat and spoke in a gravelly voice. Aunt Primrose does not approve of games, does not approve of dirty children.

She didn’t say that, did she?

She’s super strict about manners and stuff. Keep your distance if you want to stay out of trouble.

"I bet out back there’re barns and tractors and, like, old stuff!"

"If you like old stuff so much, why don’t you go hang out with her then? You’ll see how cool Aunt Primrose is. Their dog, Ranger, padded into the bedroom and rolled over on his back between them. Your turn to scratch his belly, Dekker said. I’m busy."

That evening Aunt Primrose served a sticky scalloped-potato casserole. Dekker tried feeding a forkful to Ranger when no one was looking, but the dog only gave him an apologetic look before skulking away. Aunt Primrose droned on about all the people in the town who had died or moved away over the last twenty years.

When Aunt Primrose excused herself to prepare dessert, Dekker whispered to his mother, Mom, can I leave the table for a minute? I don’t feel so good.

You’re not fooling anyone, Dekker. Don’t make me come looking for you.

Don’t you trust me? He gave his mother his most innocent look and slithered away from the table. In the hall, the light from long, thin windows too high up to see through made strange shapes on the walls, and the worn wooden floors creaked with every step he took.

He passed a sewing room and a stuffy room Aunt Prim called a sitting room and soon found himself back at the basement stairs. Without thinking about it, he crept down to the dank cellar. He pulled back the sheet that covered the clock and peered into the open front. The clockwork seemed to be made of fine pieces of bone. Dekker moved in so close he was almost touching it with his nose. Those bones can’t be human—they’re too small.

He climbed up on a wooden crate to get a better look at the skull in the middle of the open clock face. The metal disk that encircled the black skull was sharp and bit into his finger when he ran it along the edge. The skull grinned back at him, its eye sockets dark and hollow. On impulse, Dekker put his fingers inside the sockets and twisted. The gears inside the clock shuddered, and the skull turned halfway around, its jaw clacking open and shut. It ticked three beats, four, and then the gears ground together as they came to a halt. The temperature in the cellar seemed to drop, and Dekker shivered. The skull leered at him, upside down now. All the hair on the back of Dekker’s neck stood up. He backed away and climbed quickly out of the basement.

As Dekker passed the back door on his way to the dining room, someone spoke. So you escaped from dinner. He jumped and felt his cheeks flush. A pale girl with coal-black hair stood just outside the screen door to the backyard. She was shorter than he was. In her small hands she held a pie. She studied him with ice-blue eyes. Whatever dinner was, it sure smells…special.

Are you looking for my aunt? asked Dekker. He opened the door in what he hoped was a totally casual way.

She shook her head. My dad sent me over with this for you. I hate command performances, so I hung out in the garden until I could deliver it without seeing Old Lady Prim.

I didn’t see the backyard yet. We had to unpack all afternoon.

The girl shrugged. Vegetables, yawn. Wicked flowers though. Some sheds. If you need to get away, there are lots of places to disappear.

How did you know I wanted to get away from my aunt?

She snorted. "Everyone in Button Hill tries to avoid her. So bossy. Dad made me come so he wouldn’t have to. Hates mixing business with pleasure. He owes me big time for this. Here. She passed him the pie, then tucked her long hair back behind her ears. I’m talking too much, aren’t I?"

It’s cool. I’m Dekker. So my aunt, like, works with your dad? I didn’t know she had a real job.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. Sort of. He works at the cemetery. She helps every time there’s a funeral. You’re the first new people to come here in ages. Most move out or, you know, move on. I’m Harper, by the way. Well…you should probably get back to dinner before she notices you’re gone.

He groaned. I hate this place already.

Harper leaned closer, and the smell of her hair reminded Dekker of apples. It’s pretty boring on the surface, but once you know your way around, you might find some things to keep you busy. She turned to go. Next time I see you, I’ll show you something fun. She pulled her dark hair into a ponytail as she moved into the backyard. Dekker watched her until she disappeared around the corner of the house.

Back in the dining room, Aunt Primrose stopped her conversation with Riley and gave Dekker a withering look. Dekker, I’m so glad you have decided to grace us with your presence once more, she said.

Umm, someone dropped off this pie, he said, putting it on the sideboard.

Oh, who was that? asked his mother.

I don’t know—some girl.

Oooh, a girl, said Riley.

Dekker ignored his sister and looked at Aunt Primrose. She said her dad knows you from the cemetery.

Aunt Primrose raised an eyebrow. I’m surprised Harper is running errands for her father. I didn’t think she could be bothered. She’s not the sort you should be associating with.

I wasn’t associating. I just answered the door.

I think it’s great you met someone from town, said his mother.

An insincere smile split Aunt Primrose’s face, revealing her crooked teeth. Timing is everything, as they say. And since you didn’t have time to help prepare dinner, you’re just in time to do the dishes.

But I did help. I delivered a pie and peeled a potato.

Riley burst out laughing.

Dekker glared and pointed at his sister. What about her?

She set the table, so you shall clean up.

But that’s a girl’s job, he said.

His mother gasped. Dekker! Don’t be ridiculous!

Aunt Primrose calmly returned Dekker’s stare until he looked away. In my house, children are expected to do as they are asked. And if chores of a more physical nature are what you require, I’m sure that can be arranged.

Riley made a face at him. Dekker glowered down at his plate but didn’t say anything. He would get Riley back later.

Dekker had been shocked when his mother told him they were moving out here for the summer. He dimly remembered visiting Aunt Primrose’s acreage on the edge of Button Hill several years back. Just before school

Reviews for Button Hill

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

APR 1 - I enjoyed this horror/fantasy for middle graders. An exciting tale that has a brother and sister involved in the Underworld and afterlife risking their very own life force and in one case beating heart. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the amount of horror in a book for this age group. It gets pretty scary (and a little gruesome) at times but always remains age appropriate. The characters are realistic and likeable with the brother and sister behaving like real siblings having an antagonizing relationship yet one based on love at the heart. The secondary characters are a motley crew and I especially enjoyed Aunt Primrose, the keeper of Dayside. The author's mythos of his imaginary world does have quite a few holes that keep it from holding together under scrutiny; I kept finding myself asking questions as to how this would apply to the supposed entire afterworld it occasionally refers to, but it is an intriguing story nevertheless. The ending is conclusive and yet it is has left an opening for a sequel. I found it a fast read that kept me turning the pages and would certainly recommend for those looking for something scary but appropriate for this age group. A fun read.

[disco_grinch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received a free "advanced reader" copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Please keep in mind that this is my opinion...yours may differ.Button Hill by Michael BradfordThe book is about a young boy named Dekker and his sister Riley who must spend some time with their aunt in Button Hill while their mother works and goes to school. The children are swept up into some secrets that both the aunt and mother know about but they have decided not to tell the children.Riley is kidnapped by a "boy" named Cobb and taken into Nightside...where the dead reside. The adventure follows the two children and some other characters as Dekker tries to retrieve his sister, his heart (literally) and get back to Dayside before they both become permanent residents of Nightside. The story touches on loyalty to family and sacrifice for those you love.The story was well thought out and had many "neat" ideas rolled into it. However,I just never felt wow'ed by it. I liked it and it was a quick and fun read...but I would not buy a part 2 or read it again. I just felt like something was missing. The story (in my opinion) is more suited for children a bit older as it touches on death and some things that might scare the younger ones.I want to give it 2.75 stars but maybe that is being too picky. 3 stars.

[68papyrus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an advance readers copy of Button Hill through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. Dekker and Riley are less than thrilled at the prospect of spending the summer with their strict Great Aunt Primrose while their mom, a single parent, works and attends college classes. Dekker, who lacks discipline stumbles across a mysterious clock in the basement and is warned by his aunt not to touch it, of course he does, which begins a struggle between good and evil as the thin veil between Dayside and Nightside slides open. The initial pace of the book was rather slow and I thought I would struggle to finish this book but about a third of the way in it started to become interesting. Button Hill is a largely atmospheric book with great world building and wonderfully macabre descriptions but short on character development. That being said I think the middle grade target audience will love the descriptive language the uncomplicated plot and the gory details. I liked all those things as well but wanted characters that were more fully fleshed out. Overall this was a good read and I liked it enough that I would check out other books from this author.

[clear_tranquil · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A charming book about a boy's journey to save his sister and himself. Quirky characters and astounding situations makes this a fast enjoyable read. I did find the pace to be a bit rushed at times;but I believe this quick pace will be perfect for younger readers and will utterly captivate them. Humorous and dark in equal measure, Button Hill is a solid adventure!

[neftzger · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

There's a lot to like about this book: mysterious places, sinister characters, desire for life, and an unusual explanation about the link between the living and the dead. We journey with a brother and sister to the world of the dead and learn the rules for crossing from one side to the other. The rules and how the places are linked are fleshed out well (pun intended). However, the book did start out a little slow for me (keep reading - it's worth it), and the narration lacked flow in places. These issues aside, the book is creative and full of fast-moving adventure sequences. Children who enjoy dark stories will love it.Note: I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[katylit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Addams Family meets What Dreams May Come meets The Nightmare Before Christmas; I found reading Button Hill evoked many similarities between these three fantasies. Dekker and his young sister have to live with their odd great-aunt Primrose in her old, rural farmhouse, as their mother has to stay in the city to attend school and work. Aunt Primrose is pretty reluctant to have them stay and the kids aren't too thrilled with the arrangement either. Dekker discovers an old root cellar with a deep well and a strange clock that he can't resist examining. Even though he is warned to stay away from it by his aunt, Dekker, being the curious, mischievous boy he is, returns to the root cellar and the clock and the well. And yup, you guessed it, trouble ensues. What follows is an adventure that kept me curious right up to the end. This is a very imaginative YA story about the worlds of the Dayside (the living) and the Nightside (the dead) and how the two are not meant to mix. There are lessons learned, friends made, dangers and fears faced and puzzles decoded. There are a few loose ends that aren't tied up as neatly as one would hope, but despite those minor set-backs I enjoyed Button Hill very much.

[leahdawn_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

After being forced to temporarily relocate to Button Hill, young Dekker accidentally activates the gateway between the worlds of the living and the dead, and is forced to contend with a variety of undead villains in order to save both himself and his sister from an unpleasant fate.I very much wanted to like this book. The premise seemed very interesting and the cover art for the book is absolutely fantastic. However, inconsistencies in writing style and the level of description in this story make for a jarring reading experience. The book feels very much like it is written in two parts. In the first half, Dekker quests to rescue his sister Riley from Cobb, a sort of doppelganger who aims to take Dekker's heart and replace him. There is a distinctive break in the action of the story after Dekker and Riley's initial escape back to Dayside, but then Dekker is called on to save Riley a second time after she ventures back into the realm of the undead. This feels somewhat repetitive. The governess of Underside is introduced as a new villian. Characters are introduced (such as the blood knights) who are only minimally relevant to the story. Twenty pages from the end of the book, the story seemed finally to be reaching a climax, and I wondered how on earth all the action was going to be resolved in such a short amount of time. It is not resolved well. Cobb reappears briefly (was wondering where he had gone) only to disappear. Aunt Primrose, presumably an important character in the first half of the book plays exactly no role in the second half of the story. The whole story comes to a rather sudden, jolting end with a great number of unresolved issues remaining.Overall, the pacing of the story could be very difficult for the 10-ish year old target audience. There are long stretches where not very much happens, followed by spurts of frenetic action. Motivations for many characters (such as Harper) are only minimally explained or are confusing, and most of the characters remain very flat and uninteresting throughout the story. However, the most jarring aspect of this story comes in the level of description. People and places are frequently under-described, making them difficult to picture. Yet injuries endured by Dekker are described in vivid detail, some of which made me feel a bit queasy. This inconsistency in description is highly noticeable. While it has an interesting premise, Button Hill suffers from too many characters and not enough description of them, as well as a plot which lurches along awkwardly and a dissatisfying ending.

[ad_astra_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I had been looking forward to reading Button Hill and was so excited when I won an ARC. The premise sounded promising: Dekker and his sister are spending the summer with their rather unpleasant aunt. When Dekker stumbles upon a grandfather clock in the basement with a skull face, he sets in motion a series of events that lands him in a different world of Nightside.The book actually garnered 3.5 stars from me. I thought that the storyline was original and there were a lot of fun elements: skeletons, zombies, Blood Knights, talking dogs, green tomatoes. I absolutely loved Dekker's little sister, Riley. She was sweet and endearing and such a fun little girl. The story kept me engaged and I finished it quickly.However, a few things didn't work for me: While I loved Riley, the rest of the characters felt pretty flat. Aunt Primrose was just unpleasant, even after Dekker learns the secret she's been hiding. I don't mind unpleasant characters but they usually have some little quirks or something that make them interesting at least. Hazel didn't have much of a personality and even though she "redeemed" herself at the end, she just felt shallow. Dekker was hard for me to like and root for. He wasn't very nice to anyone at the beginning, and though he changes throughout the story, I just didn't connect with him. The lack of a bond between reader and characters made the story fall short for me. Riley really was the only saving grace. The story also felt disjointed. We find things out at odd times and in unbelievable ways. If Aunt Primrose knew bad things would happen if Dekker messed with the clock, why wouldn't she have done something more drastic, like padlocking the room it was in? And, I feel like the kids really don't solve any problems themselves. They are usually given information or solutions by other characters in random ways. From the way Button Hill ends, it seems like this is the beginning of a series. I hope that the characters get fleshed out more in the second book (Dekker needs this in more ways than one! - you probably won't get this until you finish the book :) ).

[skstiles612 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dekker and his little sister Riley have temporarily moved to Button Hill while their mom is taking college classes at night. They assume they are going to be bored out of their minds living with their Aunt Primrose. She is old, smelly and weird. But, things take a drastic turn when Dekker finds an old clock made out of bones, with a skull for a face in his aunt’s basement. His first mistake was moving the skull face. His aunt has told him not to touch it. When he locks his sister in the basement while playing a game, thing go from bad to worse. When she doesn’t respond to him he goes into the basement and finds the old well is now open and his sister is gone. He goes down the well only to find his sister, his neighbor Harper who he kind of likes, and someone who wants to replace him in his world named Cobb. Dekker and Riley have traveled from Dayside to Nightside. Dayside is where the living are, and nightside is where the dead are. Harper has lived in both places. In Nightside, making a bargain can have severe consequences as Dekker and his sister both find out. Will they be able to escape Nightside? Will their Aunt Primrose be able to help? This was a wonderful book. It was fun to read and creepy at the same time. This is a story of friendship, family, love and sacrifice. It is the type of book I know my students will love.I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.