Though definitely not a standalone, this decisive closer to a wonderfully droll and scary series takes young May Bird, now 13, back to the Ever After for a climactic confrontation with the nearly all-powerful Evil Bo Cleevil. Unfortunately, that climax—though entirely satisfying and worthy of the two preceding episodes—follows some two dozen water-treading chapters largely filled out by her wandering through old haunts and reconnecting with previously met characters. Dismayed to discover that Cleevil’s strip malls have taken over the Ever After and that he is poised, with his malign (if easily distractible) goblins and other Dark Spirits, to conquer Earth, May Bird gathers up her old allies for a seemingly hopeless assault on his massive fortress. Sending her newly adolescent protagonist up against an overwhelmingly powerful opponent that is revealed to be the embodiment of the elemental but infantile need to own or control everything, Anderson brings the root conflict’s metaphorical level to the surface without a trace of preachiness. She also offers several artful twists at the end that help, at least, to compensate for the fact that her story line needed some padding to fill up three volumes. It’s still mostly masterful. (Fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-689-86925-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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