Langrish blends medieval Catholicism and old folk beliefs seamlessly with the supernatural. In late-12th-century England, on the Welsh border, young Wolf flees from a monastery, desperate for a life safer and wider than a browbeaten monkhood. On the desolate landscape, a hunt erupts—Lord Hugo, dogs, wolves, horses and an eerie, naked elf, who vanishes into a hill. Seeing a position as squire as his escape route, Wolf squeezes underground and drags out the pale, ferocious elf-child to impress Hugo. Hugo believes elves hold his dead wife captive and charges Wolf with teaching terrified Elfgift to speak so she can guide Hugo to reclaim his beloved. Wolf befriends Hugo’s daughter, Nest; they work together to gentle Elfgift, but Brother Thomas, Wolf’s brutal former master, and Halewyn, a dangerously charismatic jongleur who never takes off his donkey-eared hood, stir up violent chaos. Wolf and Nest’s religious faith never wavers as they puzzle out what’s supernatural, what’s dangerous and what’s simply emotional yearning in a narrative that masterfully allows every possibility to exist. Never telling and always showing, this spooky yet utterly grounded story features pitch-perfect prose, suspense and redemption. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-111676-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2010
An inventive, memorable must-read.
An unlikely hero embarks on a quest to find her missing sisters.
In Tagalong’s world, youngers under 15 are not allowed Outside their homes to avoid being swept away by snow squalls. The Powers-That-Be preserve the status quo while outlawing books and fairy tales as dangerous. Seven years ago, Tag’s three sisters—Lily, Rose, and Iris—vanished in a squall. Tag, now 13, has never been Outside until the day she receives an invitation to a meeting. Discovering a book of fairy tales hidden in an attic wardrobe, Tag takes it with her as she escapes Outside to meet Finn, the boy who invited her, and three younger boys. They’re poised to journey into the Unknown to find their windswept siblings. Not sure she really belongs with them, Tag nevertheless joins along and, after Finn vanishes, distracts and inspires them with remarkable stories from her book. Aided by three spellcasting sisters, various magical objects, and some trickery, Tag emerges as a determined and creative hero as she confronts treacherous danger alone in a dramatic climax. Inspired primarily by the Norwegian fairy tale “The Three Princesses in the Mountain Blue,” this edgy, somewhat dystopian tale set in a world where race holds no significance masterfully blends European fairy-tale motifs with timely warnings about human greed, waste, and destructiveness while extoling the power of storytelling. Richly descriptive prose and delicate, atmospheric black-and-white illustrations enhance the fairy-tale flavor.
An inventive, memorable must-read. (map, author’s note, list of fairy tales, bibliography) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4197-5824-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
A fitting end to a brilliantly conceived and developed series.
In his eighth, greatest and (billed as) final exploit, Artemis Fowl finally puts paid to archnemesis Opal Koboi while also saving humanity from extinction, but at a steep price.
The malign pixie Koboi has escaped prison, sown widespread destruction on both the surface and in the high-tech underground fairy realm, and acquired massive magical mojo. Now she is set to unlock two nested spells on the Fowl estate. One binds the spirits of a band of ancient fairy warriors to her while allowing them to possess any living or once-living bodies available, and the other unleashes Armageddon on the entire human race. Enter Artemis, with his usual sidekicks and allies, from tough fairy cop Holly Short to dangerously flatulent dwarf Mulch Diggums. Punctuating his breakneck narrative with silly turns, sudden extreme violence and memorable turns of phrase—“…like the man with the exploding head, it was a one-time trick”—Colfer pits his resourceful crew against an army of killer bunnies and decomposed corpses (most of the estate’s other residents being off for Christmas). All this is on the way to a smashing set of climactic twists and turns, just deserts and life-changing sacrifices.
A fitting end to a brilliantly conceived and developed series. (Fantasy. 11-14)Pub Date: July 10, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6161-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 9, 2012
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