This intricate and compelling fantasy will pull readers in.
The magpie is always there, mysterious and manipulating—and perhaps manipulated.
It is at Grandpa’s house and also at the hospital where he doesn’t recognize Silva. It is at the library where Silva goes to find solace. There, the magpie’s magic door leads her to an inner library holding amazing books. The first book is Margaret’s tale. The words move off the page and physically pull Silva into the book, where she becomes Margaret, hearing her thoughts. Thus begins layer upon layer of magic and secrets involving books in which the characters all have their own magic doors. Silva feels comfort and a sense of removal from the tensions and sadness in her modern England. But ultimately she is aware that it is a trap. Silva must fight for her soul and the health and safety of those she loves, for they too are in thrall to the magic. The action is fast paced and constant, but readers are always privy to Silva’s feelings. She narrates her part of the story, but the magpie—or is it Maghew?—narrates his backstory, shown in different typeface, always controlled by the Whisper, the evil force behind it all. Blair releases information about the characters and clues almost grudgingly, deftly hinting at possible patterns and interrelations, while completely surprising readers with the final denouement. The cast is default white.
This intricate and compelling fantasy will pull readers in. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77086-554-9
Page Count: 184
Publisher: DCB
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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