Thankfully, these young witches will return.
Can five young witches trained only in the theory of their craft fend off the magical attacks of the Mirrorman?
After besting a demon in their previous adventure (The Demon Notebook, 2014), Grace and her Irish schoolgirl friends trained all summer with the local cat lady, Mrs. Quinlan, and their French teacher, Ms. Lemon, but the classes were just boring memorization; there was no spellcasting. Then, on a trip to Mr. Pamuk’s magic shop, Grace glimpses a terrifying specter in a mirror. As the new school year begins, a new teacher, Ms. Gold, turns out to be the long-estranged third member of Mrs. Quinlan and Ms. Lemon’s girlhood coven from the 1970s—and Ms. Gold has far different ideas of what the young witches need to know. Grace and her friends are curious about what broke up the friendship and the coven of their teachers, so a little time spell might offer answers…but it only makes matters and Grace’s nightmares of the Mirrorman worse. Is he real? And can the girls’ friendship survive rivalries, possible demon invasions and boy trouble? McGann’s sophomore spell-filled saga suffers from too much exposition and an excess chapter or two. It is redeemed, however, by a whizz-bang finish and the same sympathetic, realistic characters readers got to know in the first.
Thankfully, these young witches will return. (Urban fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4926-0296-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live.
In a similarly hefty companion to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (2014), the most voluble of Poseidon’s many sons dishes on a dozen more ancient relatives and fellow demigods.
Riordan averts his young yarn spinner’s eyes from the sex but not the stupidity, violence, malice, or bad choices that drive so many of the old tales. He leavens full, refreshingly tart accounts of the ups and downs of such higher-profile heroes as Theseus, Orpheus, Hercules, and Jason with the lesser-known but often equally awesome exploits of such butt-kicking ladies as Atalanta, Otrera (the first Amazon), and lion-wrestling Cyrene. In thought-provoking contrast, Psyche comes off as no less heroic, even though her story is less about general slaughter than the tough “Iron Housewives quests” Aphrodite forces her to undertake to rescue her beloved Eros. Furthermore, along with snarky chapter heads (“Phaethon Fails Driver’s Ed”), the contemporary labor includes references to Jay-Z, Apple Maps, god-to-god texting, and the like—not to mention the way the narrator makes fun of hard-to-pronounce names and points up such character flaws as ADHD (Theseus) and anger management issues (Hercules). The breezy treatment effectively blows off at least some of the dust obscuring the timeless themes in each hero’s career. In Rocco’s melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters.
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live. (maps, index) (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8365-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Salva Dut is 11 years old when war raging in the Sudan separates him from his family. To avoid the conflict, he walks for years with other refugees, seeking sanctuary and scarce food and water. Park simply yet convincingly depicts the chaos of war and an unforgiving landscape as they expose Salva to cruelties both natural and man-made. The lessons Salva remembers from his family keep him from despair during harsh times in refugee camps and enable him, as a young man, to begin a new life in America. As Salva’s story unfolds, readers also learn about another Sudanese youth, Nya, and how these two stories connect contributes to the satisfying conclusion. This story is told as fiction, but it is based on real-life experiences of one of the “Lost Boys” of the Sudan. Salva and Nya’s compelling voices lift their narrative out of the “issue” of the Sudanese War, and only occasionally does the explanation of necessary context intrude in the storytelling. Salva’s heroism and the truth that water is a source of both conflict and reconciliation receive equal, crystal-clear emphasis in this heartfelt account. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-25127-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2010
SEEN & HEARD
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