A quirky and compact fantasy saga that will lure new fans to the genre.
Evil forces close in on a young hero in this fourth installment of a middle-grade fantasy series.
After several adventures using magical Doors, 11-year-old Hunter Wilson needs advice. He explains his far-fetched life outside of school to his classmates Gertrude Clemmons and David Kim. But Hunter presents the scenarios as a story that he’s working on, featuring a hero named Chase. He primarily wants to know if he can trust his companion Murphy, who is a giant growff (dog), in his struggle against the Dark Child. When his friends fail to ease his mind, Hunter contemplates opening another Door. He creates spells to use with the wand that can be summoned from his bag, but his limited magical skills can’t reopen the first Door in the hollow tree near the school. Then, on Thanksgiving at his grandparents’ country home, the opportunity to search for more Doors presents itself. But in another realm, the Puzzle Piece Man watches. He’s been guiding Hunter and manipulating events to suit his own design. Meanwhile, the Dark Child sends Esthuan Thievesbane and her werewolf army to intercept Hunter. Will the hero, whom the Puzzle Piece Man calls “dangerous and unpredictable,” reach the enigmatic Collector for the next magical item? Genzano’s Stranger World novels deliver an appropriate length and content for middle-grade readers new to fantasies, and the latest is no exception. Fans learn the fate of Murphy and meet the enjoyably odd Aloysius Stentorious Greel, or the Collector, in his mansion. Clever notions abound, including furniture with “drawers that sang” and some “that held different items depending on when or how you opened them.” Once more, the stakes rise incrementally as Hunter learns that the Elder Folk are waging a war over him (“They’ll sit still for millennia, then tumble down all at once like an avalanche!”). Despite the saga’s engaging plot—and the fact that Hunter has saved Esthuan’s life—there’s great emotional potential in matching up characters more creatively, such as Gertrude and David meeting Murphy. Nevertheless, the series continues to flower as a narrative payoff remains on the horizon.
A quirky and compact fantasy saga that will lure new fans to the genre.Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 9798827037095
Page Count: 131
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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