Born on a Friday at the stroke of midnight, Davey Williams is a “chime child” whose strange powers and extraordinary perceptions allow him to see ghosts and other supernatural beings. When Davey, his sister and their twin cousins take a “ghost tour” in the historic ruins that underlie their English hometown, they literally stumble into an alternate world peopled by ghosts—some good, some evil—and members of the Unseelie Court, a band of capricious, often malicious fairies. For the next year, from Midsummer to Midsummer, Davey and his family and friends wage a struggle against evil, pitting themselves against ill-intentioned ghosts and the Lady, daughter of the Unseelie leader. Although the world Rees creates is convincing, folkloric elements serve primarily to drive the plot and lack consistency with traditional lore. Rees, author of the convincing Witch Child (2001) and its sequel, Sorceress (not reviewed) skillfully sustains an atmosphere of menace, provides a varied cast of villains and creates brave, likable child heroes. Plotting for the trilogy’s six episodes follows a formula, and the three books are best read in turn since each sequel builds on the action of the previous title. The resolution of the series is pat, but ultimately satisfying. This will gratify young devotees of dark fantasy with its deliciously scary and compelling stories. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-340-81800-X
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2003
If it were a Golden Age comic, this tale of ridiculous science, space dogs and humanoid aliens with flashlights in their hands might not be bad. Alas... Number Four is a fugitive from the planet Lorien, which is sloppily described as both "hundreds of lightyears away" and "billions of miles away." Along with eight other children and their caretakers, Number Four escaped from the Mogadorian invasion of Lorien ten years ago. Now the nine children are scattered on Earth, hiding. Luckily and fairly nonsensically, the planet's Elders cast a charm on them so they could only be killed in numerical order, but children one through three are dead, and Number Four is next. Too bad he's finally gained a friend and a girlfriend and doesn't want to run. At least his newly developing alien powers means there will be screen-ready combat and explosions. Perhaps most idiotic, "author" Pittacus Lore is a character in this fiction—but the first-person narrator is someone else entirely. Maybe this is a natural extension of lightly hidden actual author James Frey's drive to fictionalize his life, but literature it ain't. (Science fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-196955-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
A bit of envelope-pushing freshens up the formula.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, a Disney Halloween horror/comedy film gets a sequel to go with its original novelization.
Three Salem witches hanged in 1693 for stealing a child’s life force are revived in 1993 when 16-year-old new kid Max completes a spell by lighting a magical candle (which has to be kindled by a virgin to work). Max and dazzling, popular classmate Allison have to keep said witches at bay until dawn to save all of the local children from a similar fate. Fast-forward to 2018: Poppy, daughter of Max and Allison, inadvertently works a spell that sends her parents and an aunt to hell in exchange for the gleeful witches. With help from her best friend, Travis, and classmate Isabella, on whom she has a major crush, Poppy has only hours to keep the weird sisters from working more evil. The witches, each daffier than the last, supply most of the comedy as well as plenty of menace but end up back in the infernal regions. There’s also a talking cat, a talking dog, a gaggle of costumed heroines, and an oblique reference to a certain beloved Halloween movie. Traditional Disney wholesomeness is spiced, not soured, by occasional innuendo and a big twist in the sequel. Poppy and her family are white, while Travis and Isabella are both African-American.
A bit of envelope-pushing freshens up the formula. (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-368-02003-9
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Freeform/Disney
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
