Debut missteps shouldn’t bother young readers though, and the frequent flashes of charm and originality scattered throughout...
Jemma’s always been out of step with her family. She dreads Mord-days, when the Agromonds make Offerings to demonic entities, and she resents the sentient Mist that keeps the sun from Anglavia. On the eve of her 13th birthday, she learns those feelings are well-founded.
With her two mind-reading rats and a mysterious book from her old nurse, Jemma flees Agromond Castle—hotly pursued—into the Mist-shrouded forest. There she encounters the usual assortment of helpers and hinderers, including her friend Digby. While her book provides clues to her past and future, her adventures teach her courage and fortitude. Sturdy, down-to-earth Jemma’s an endearing heroine, but the evildoers (here Grindstaff’s in good literary company) are more vivid and individuated than the good folk, who share a bland, interchangeable identity. Pacing is slow—getting Jemma out of the castle takes 90 pages, and she retraces her steps so often her hero’s journey feels more like a commute. The tone ranges from whimsical humor (Jemma misses the castle fare: stale bread and sour milk; comfort food is what you’re used to) to solemn high fantasy, but when the evil expands to widespread infanticide, the lighter tone jars.
Debut missteps shouldn’t bother young readers though, and the frequent flashes of charm and originality scattered throughout bode well for future ventures. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: April 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-385-74290-0
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
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
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
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