Tedious and derivative.
A 12-year-old white girl discovers she is a witch and sets off to fight forces of evil with her magical animal companion.
When she was 3, Quicksilver’s parents abandoned her at a convent. There, she is made fun of for her squashed nose and gray hair, and she retaliates by stealing and disobeying. She befriends a bedraggled dog, names him Fox, and tells him of her plans to become the best thief in the Star Lands. In one of her early burgling efforts, she meets Sly Boots, a white boy whose parents are ill and who offers Quicksilver a home in exchange for help. Then she meets Anastazia, an ancient witch who turns out to be the older version of Quicksilver herself. They all travel back in time to try to neutralize the First Ones, who are terrorizing witches using the human agency of the Wolf King. Plot inconsistencies aside, it’s a storyline that’s as stale as rolls from Pompeii. Quicksilver is a dim, unappealing protagonist whose emotional range mostly runs the gamut from A (anger) to B (brash). Fox, Quicksilver’s “monster”—a cross between a familiar and a daemon from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy—is an indefatigable vulpine deus ex machina, as all plot obstructions are resolved by his changing into whatever shape is necessary to accomplish the task. Right on schedule, characters turn traitor, die, or sacrifice themselves for the good of all.
Tedious and derivative. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-242773-1
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
An enticing taste of a rich historical world.
A servant boy attempts to win his freedom by repeatedly saving his master as they travel the Silk Road.
At roughly age 12, Omar has led a hard life, having lost both his parents and the woman who cared for him after their deaths and now being chased away by the monks who once housed him for asking too many questions. For the price of six bolts of silk, they hand him off to Samir, a fellow Sogdian who calls himself the Seller of Dreams. Renamed Monkey, he is tasked with assisting Samir in trading. As the two head west with a large caravan across the Taklamakan Desert toward present-day Tajikistan, Monkey learns Samir’s business tricks, though he often disapproves. He also meets blacksmith’s assistant Mara, the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. Soon, though, it becomes clear that Samir faces more problems than just making the next deal: He has wronged more than one person along the road, and assassins are after him. What follows is Monkey’s account of Samir’s brushes with death—and how Monkey himself may have contributed to Samir’s eventual demise. Filled with the multicultural hustle and bustle of the Silk Road, enlivened by the unpredictable nature of unreliable storytellers, and adorned with whimsical, colorful illustrations, this is a strange, wondrous, and creative tale. Can family be found along the Silk Road, or will everyone ultimately betray you?
An enticing taste of a rich historical world. (author’s note, bibliography) (Adventure. 9-12)Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-64614-303-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Levine Querido
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
A briskly paced, amusing fantasy adventure with light characterization.
“Life don’t bring you strawberries.”
Nine is an orphaned thiefling who roams the streets looking for easy marks to help her earn her keep with the Fagin-like gang-master, Pockets. One day, she manages to steal an ornament that is, in fact, the bewitched home of the pretentious High Wizard, Flabberghast, who’s been trapped inside and drained of his power following a spat with a witch. This confinement, along with sundry other magical inconveniences, makes life vexing for the house’s other occupants, including gentle troll housekeeper Eric and the alchemist spoon who’s aptly named Dr. Spoon. Nine agrees to help them escape in exchange for a jewel that would change her fortunes. The unlikely quartet must break the curse before the clock strikes 15—or the house will shrink until everyone within ceases to exist. Readers seeking a plot-driven story that moves at a steady clip will enjoy this work: The anthropomorphic house has an entertaining, fun-house feeling with surprises behind every door—and even magicked into doorknobs. The charming chapter-header spot-art illustrations tease events in the adventurous plot. This series opener, which works as a stand-alone, emphasizes magical elements to a point that leaves little room for the characters’ emotional arcs, rendering the team dynamic between Nine and the house’s residents feeling shaky; a supporting character’s subplot is also underdeveloped. Human characters read white.
A briskly paced, amusing fantasy adventure with light characterization. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: March 18, 2025
ISBN: 9781665971874
Page Count: 240
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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