An imaginative, if not particularly original, YA adventure.
The fast-paced first installment of a magical YA fantasy series.
Eleven-year-old Wizdom isn’t like the other kids in his grade. Sure, he likes hanging out with his best friend, Chris, dissecting frogs in biology class and solving riddles. But Wizdom’s unusual name is just the tip of oddness: His ethereal-looking adoptive mother is evasive about his birth parents, his equally beautiful and ethereal-looking aunt seems to be able to appear and disappear at will, he can see auras, and two school bullies find themselves at the mercy of mysterious forces when they mess with Wizdom and Chris. Lately, Wizdom has also been having an especially vivid dream in which he finds himself in a dark, cavernous throne room ornamented with jewels, gold and sculptures of dragons. Hiding from the bullies one afternoon, Wizdom discovers a hidden passage—accessible only by solving a riddle—that leads to the throne room from his dream. This time, however, Lord Rilien of the Land of Maldor is there to greet him. Far from being a normal kid, Wizdom turns out to be Wizdom Winthrop III, the “third son of the third son” of Maldor, and he has a great, dangerous quest ahead of him. When he meets Pandora, Lord Rilien’s pretty and smart granddaughter, things get even more confusing and complicated for Wizdom, even without the addition of magic. In blending adventure with emotional growth, author Woodard captures the moment when the wonder of childhood meets the complexities of adulthood. The props here are nothing new—dragons, ancient symbols, magical jewels, goblins—but YA readers will delight in both the wit and gravity displayed by the two protagonists. Dialogue is a bit stilted, yet the packed plot, myriad characters and classic fantasy tropes will keep younger readers engaged and inspired.
An imaginative, if not particularly original, YA adventure.Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-1468538014
Page Count: 306
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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