Lowly herdboy Rowan (Rowan and the Travelers, 2001, etc.) saves his people yet again in this suspenseful, clever third outing. For centuries, the web-fingered Maris Folk and their mysterious, magical Crystal have protected the coast beyond the Valley of Rin from the barbarian Zebak. When Rowan’s mother, given the task of choosing a successor to the dying Keeper of the Crystal, is poisoned, Rowan suddenly finds himself in a race against time to winkle the antidote out of an oblique old rhyme. With the reluctant aid of the three candidates for Keeper, Rowan gathers the needed ingredients, though it means plunging into one peril after another—to learn, upon succeeding, that it had all been a deliberate test of him and his helpers. Having survived both attacks by wild beasts and deadly political intrigues, Rowan has one more test in store, for at the last possible instant, he realizes that the newly chosen Keeper has been bespelled by the Zebak. Rodda gives her young hero generous helpings of wit and courage, then takes him to the brink of catastrophe; in the end, he makes a correct but scary choice that leads to the destruction of an approaching Zebak fleet. Rowan’s inner (if not outer) stature grows in each stand-alone episode of this well-founded series. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029776-X
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
Low in physical violence, while being rich in moral and ethical issues, as well as in appealingly complex characters and...
Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-316-05777-0
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Megan Tingley/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Four fifth-graders are recruited by a scheming magician in this hefty bonbon from the author of the Fablehaven tales. At first, Nate, Summer, Trevor and Pigeon think they have it good. Having asked them to help her recover a hidden treasure that (she says) belongs to her, Belinda White, friendly proprietor of a sweets shop that has just opened in their small town, provides some uncommon candies—like Moon Rocks, that give them the ability to jump like grasshoppers, and literally electrifying Shock Bits. When she begins asking them to commit certain burglaries, though, their exhilaration turns to unease, and rightly so; Mrs. White is actually after a draft from the Fountain of Youth that will make her the world’s most powerful magician. And, as it turns out, she isn’t the only magician who’s come to town—not even the only one whose magic is tied to sweets. Filling out the supporting cast with the requisite trio of bullies, plus magical minions of various (and sometimes gross) abilities, Mull trots his twist-laden plot forward to a well set-up climax. Leaving the door open an inch for sequels, he dishes up a crowd-pleaser as delicious—if not so weird—as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . (Fantasy. 10-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-59038-783-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
© Copyright 2024 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.
bookshelf
