In this fairy tale for middle-grade readers, a misfit dream maker goes on a quest for riches and finds himself on a completely different path toward self-worth.
Wingless half fairy Tom Thorneval has fallen in love with a fairy named Mary, and dreams of a future in which the two of them could start a new tribe of fairies, away from those who might judge Tom for being half shape-changer. To create a new future, he decides to sell his dreams at the Grand Goblin Fair and bring home gold and jewels. But the fair is difficult to find, and Tom meets no end of difficulties along the way. First, imps destroy most of the dreams he made to sell; then, he encounters a troll, a riddling dwarf, a male half witch/half fairy named Bill, and a number of other crazy forest dwellers. At one point, readers have the option to choose Tom’s path: left or right. (As in the Choose Your Own Adventure books, readers then skip ahead to the appropriate page as prompted, but the reader soon ends up in exactly the same spot either way, so it feels like a misplaced feature.) Tom has a strange interaction with either a satyr or a crafty frog and his minions, depending on the path. He then decides that in order to make money, he must change his recipes and start making nightmares. When the local fairy glen decides that this is unbecoming behavior for a dream maker, they force him to stop and set him on a path farther away from the fair but toward becoming a better person (and a Dreammaster). Tom is a down-to-earth narrator, and his dream making is as clever as Roald Dahl’s in The BFG (1982). His adventures are also reminiscent of traveling through Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland, and the driving later subplot of the book, in which a rival dream maker tries to eliminate his competition by stealing from Tom and setting him in harm’s way, ends well. Although the book is the first in a planned series, the story feels complete and self-contained. It also includes QR codes to play the music included in the book, which is a nice touch for readers with the proper technology.
A charming introduction to a world of fairy creatures, featuring a good-hearted narrator who grows into a better person.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-910032-13-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Wivern Digital Limited
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
Did you like this book?
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Did you like this book?
BOOK REVIEW
Though the lessons weigh more heavily than in The One and Only Ivan, a potential disappointment to its fans, the story is...
GET IT
Applegate tackles homelessness in her first novel since 2013 Newbery winner The One and Only Ivan.
Hunger is a constant for soon-to-be fifth-grader Jackson and his family, and the accompanying dizziness may be why his imaginary friend is back. A giant cat named Crenshaw first appeared after Jackson finished first grade, when his parents moved the family into their minivan for several months. Now they’re facing eviction again, and Jackson’s afraid that he won’t be going to school next year with his friend Marisol. When Crenshaw shows up on a surfboard, Jackson, an aspiring scientist who likes facts, wonders whether Crenshaw is real or a figment of his imagination. Jackson’s first-person narrative moves from the present day, when he wishes that his parents understood that he’s old enough to hear the truth about the family’s finances, to the first time they were homeless and back to the present. The structure allows readers access to the slow buildup of Jackson’s panic and his need for a friend and stability in his life. Crenshaw tells Jackson that “Imaginary friends don’t come of their own volition. We are invited. We stay as long as we’re needed.” The cat’s voice, with its adult tone, is the conduit for the novel’s lessons: “You need to tell the truth, my friend….To the person who matters most of all.”
Though the lessons weigh more heavily than in The One and Only Ivan, a potential disappointment to its fans, the story is nevertheless a somberly affecting one . (Fiction. 7-11)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-04323-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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.
