THE PALACE OF DREAMS

Rosie and her friends face the final witch in this trilogy closer.

After The Sea of Always (2022), the heroes have defeated the witches but must flee the final and greatest foe, the Nothing King, and his black hole. New ally Wanda’s able to teleport (most of) the group to distant planet Glimmer 5’s Hotel at the Edge of the Galaxy, in search of help from an inventor who marries magic with science for his fantastical creations. Unfortunately, he’s already vanished, leaving behind a cryptic note. While the more technologically inclined (sisters Aria and Clara) work on getting the inventions up and running for the group to get back to Earth to face their nemesis, Rosie struggles with how different her twin brother is from her expectations, tries to solve clues in the inventor’s cryptic note, and copes with her growing feelings for ghost Ebb. A further interpersonal element is added with the revelation that the Nothing King could only have escaped his imprisonment if a human aided a witch, meaning there must be a traitor. Despite the characters’ constantly encountering setbacks, the plot moves quickly. Thematically, the action elements of the plot counter destruction and nothingness with creativity and imagination, while emotionally, growing up and facing different kinds of goodbyes are explored, resulting in a thoroughly satisfying conclusion. Rosie, her family, and Ebb read White; Aria and Clara have brown skin; Wanda’s Argentine; and names cue background ethnic diversity.

An out-of-this-world finale.