Two novice Philadelphia witches discover both that magic is harder to control than it seems and that they’re not as inseparable as they supposed, in this lighthearted family story with a twist, from the author of Dive (1999). Outwardly identical, inwardly “as different as the sun and moon, peaches and peanut butter, or long division and poetry,” Claire and Luna Bundkin “love-love-love” many of the same things, but “hate-hate-hate” the news that their father has proposed to brassy Houston fashion designer Fluffy Demarkle. As the two search for appropriate spanners to throw into the works, subplots bubble up: the twins come up for their first Witch Tests (dubbed “GST’s”); a bobbled love spell gets a bully off older brother Justin’s back in hilariously effective fashion; and for the first time in their school careers, Claire and Luna are placed into separate classes—a separation that turns out to be considerably less traumatic than expected. With deceptive offhandedness, Griffin speeds the tale along to the climactic wedding, which the repentant twins manage to rescue from the results of their own spell-casting in the nick of time, earning in the process their witch’s stars and a pair of kitten familiars to boot. Preteen readers will “love-love-love” watching these seemingly ordinary 11-year-olds in action. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0739-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
A satisfying, winning read.
Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class.
Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick’s chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccer—and, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: “it’s like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life.” The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander’s highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book’s explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable.
A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-57098-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child...
A San Diego preteen learns that she’s an elf, with a place in magic school if she moves to the elves’ hidden realm.
Having felt like an outsider since a knock on the head at age 5 left her able to read minds, Sophie is thrilled when hunky teen stranger Fitz convinces her that she’s not human at all and transports her to the land of Lumenaria, where the ageless elves live. Taken in by a loving couple who run a sanctuary for extinct and mythical animals, Sophie quickly gathers friends and rivals at Foxfire, a distinctly Hogwarts-style school. She also uncovers both clues to her mysterious origins and hints that a rash of strangely hard-to-quench wildfires back on Earth are signs of some dark scheme at work. Though Messenger introduces several characters with inner conflicts and ambiguous agendas, Sophie herself is more simply drawn as a smart, radiant newcomer who unwillingly becomes the center of attention while developing what turn out to be uncommonly powerful magical abilities—reminiscent of the younger Harry Potter, though lacking that streak of mischievousness that rescues Harry from seeming a little too perfect. The author puts her through a kidnapping and several close brushes with death before leaving her poised, amid hints of a higher destiny and still-anonymous enemies, for sequels.
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child who, while overly fond of screaming, rises to every challenge. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4593-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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