Readers will also delight in Charlie’s transformation from hotheaded victim to shrewd leader—and friend.
British author Renner kicks off a new series with smart writing that combines mystery, historical fantasy and a touch of steampunk.
Her mother disappeared five years ago, and her loony father consumes his days with building playing-card towers. As a consequence, 11-year-old Princess Charlotte Augusta Joanna Hortense—aka Charlie—of Quale, an imaginary country in a Victorian-like time, has not been treated as royalty. She has endured near starvation and strict discipline at the hands of the castle caretaker. When she overhears whispers of revolution and finds a lost letter written by her mother, plucky Charlie begins to question her surroundings and dares to hope for her mother’s return. This well-crafted tale focuses on storytelling over a formulaic plot as Charlie wonders whom to trust with her mother’s letter: Mr. Moleglass, the basement-dwelling butler; Alistair Windlass, the young, charismatic prime minister; Tobias, the 12-year-old gardener’s boy with a skill for picking locks; or the revolutionaries she’s joined forces with. Possible double agents and nonstop twists and turns keep readers guessing as Charlie seems to raise more questions than answers concerning her mother’s disappearance and also her likely ties to a secret weapon against a warring, neighboring nation. Atmospheric trains, pneumatic tubes and other burgeoning technology of the time add a fantastical element to the old-fashioned setting.
Readers will also delight in Charlie’s transformation from hotheaded victim to shrewd leader—and friend. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: March 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-74446-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative,...
Can this really be the first time readers meet the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County? Cousins and veteran sleuths Otto and Sheed Alston show us that we are the ones who are late to their greatness.
These two black boys are coming to terms with the end of their brave, heroic summer at Grandma’s, with a return to school just right around the corner. They’ve already got two keys to the city, but the rival Epic Ellisons—twin sisters Wiki and Leen—are steadily gaining celebrity across Logan County, Virginia, and have in hand their third key to the city. No way summer can end like this! These young people are powerful, courageous, experienced adventurers molded through their heroic commitment to discipline and deduction. They’ve got their shared, lifesaving maneuvers committed to memory (printed in a helpful appendix) and ready to save any day. Save the day they must, as a mysterious, bendy gentleman and an oversized, clingy platypus have been unleashed on the city of Fry, and all the residents and their belongings seem to be frozen in time and place. Will they be able to solve this one? With total mastery, Giles creates in Logan County an exuberant vortex of weirdness, where the commonplace sits cheek by jowl with the utterly fantastic, and populates it with memorable characters who more than live up to their setting.
This can’t be the last we ever hear of the Legendary Alston Boys of the purely surreal Logan County—imaginative, thrill-seeking readers, this is a series to look out for. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-46083-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Versify/HMH
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
PERSPECTIVES
Fun middle school antics with a dollop of light magic and considerations of loyalty.
Heidi Heckelbeck is a witch and first-year student at Broomfield Academy, a boarding school that educates magical and nonmagical kids alike.
Heidi’s an ordinary tween, concerned with clothes, friendships, crushes (currently on Nick Lee, who’s not in the School of Magic), and her tenuous relationship with Melanie, her often-mean “broommate” and acquaintance from home. She’s also excited about learning witchcraft and is pleased to receive private magic lessons from Mrs. Kettledrum. Her teacher instructs her in calming meditation techniques as a prelude to mind-reading and emergency spells. Sometimes Heidi writes spells enthusiastically but incorrectly, however, with unintended consequences. She also faces a difficult decision about revealing a big secret about new friend Isabelle. Heidi pushes the boundaries of appropriate behavior (both in the real world and the magical one) and must think hard about self-discipline. Breezy and fun, this volume will satisfy devotees who have enjoyed following this engaging character since she was in elementary school, with each entry slowly but surely moving up in complexity as Heidi grows and becomes a little more serious. Her latest adventures are delivered with the usual humorous grayscale illustrations and fonts that vary in size and style, moving the story along quickly. The volume will entice new fans, welcome reluctant readers, and please those who have been awaiting Heidi’s latest exploits. Isabelle reads Black; other central characters are cued white.
Fun middle school antics with a dollop of light magic and considerations of loyalty. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781665948340
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon Spotlight
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
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