A stellar entry that thrillingly expands this entertaining series’ otherworldly universe.
A pair of tweens’ fairy-themed website goes viral, stirring up evil supernatural beings in this installment of Bastian’s middle-grade fantasy series.
Fay Thompson and Iris Mendez are 12-year-old treasure hunters who habitually haunt Iris’ grandmother’s attic. When they unearth an old article about a fairy hoax in West Yorkshire, they opt to create a hoax of their own right there in Oakville, Michigan. Their website proclaiming the existence of fairies (complete with photos) unexpectedly catches fire; people crowd Gran’s home demanding to see the fairies and disregarding the girls’ insistence that they faked all of it. Enter series regulars Aaron, Jake, and Wendy (travelers from the Oakville of another dimension) via a handy interdimensional portal. They use a late loved one’s tip to track down the “girls with the fairies” and discover the frenzy at Gran’s. There are all sorts of disagreeable types on the scene, from a tactless TV producer to a government agent convinced the fairies are actually enemy spy tech. But hiding among them are diabolical series nemeses the Shadow People, and maybe even some real-life fairies who’d like to keep their world secret from humans. This series entry is practically a spinoff; the recurring teens have only minor parts, and Aaron and Wendy rarely use their “Folkteller” abilities. Fay and Iris, however, are superb protagonists who understandably get caught up in their site’s virality and grow frustrated when people ignore their pleas. There are welcome touches of fantasy, including a bit of fairy magic and the ominous, ever-creepy Shadow People, who take on various forms. The cast also includes more relatable humans, many of whom aptly satirize (by dint of their mere presence) the propensity of the government and media to trample on others’ privacy. This culminates in an exceptional wrap-up for the cast that hints at a possible direction for another sequel to take. McEvoy’s consistently sublime artwork fills pages beautifully, including images of Gran’s cluttered attic and plotting characters in a football huddle.
A stellar entry that thrillingly expands this entertaining series’ otherworldly universe.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9781940368092
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Scribe Publishing Company
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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