THE HOLLOW KINGDOM

Dunkle pens an inconsistent fantasy. Orphaned Kate and Emily have come to live in the family home, Hallow Hill. Kate thinks she’s being watched, and she’s right: the king of the goblins—grotesque, but strangely appealing—wants to carry her away to be his wife. Wickedly taunting, King Marak never quite prevails over the resourceful Kate, until Emily disappears and Kate bargains away her freedom in return for Emily’s safety. Alas, it was not the honorable and smitten Marak who was the kidnapper, but the girls’ wicked guardian. Nonetheless, Kate and Marak are married in a bizarre ceremony. Emily’s gleeful at living underground among goblins, but Kate misses the stars. When a wicked sorcerer steals the spirits of Marak and his subjects, it is up to the unwilling bride to save them all. Frequently magical, with compelling plot twists, but weakened by awkward timing and uneven structure. (Fiction. 11-15)