Lilybet Green gets something extraordinary for her 13th birthday: the chance to become a leprechaun keeper. All she has to do is pass three tests—of blood, cleverness and loyalty. But Lily does not want to be keeper of the leprechauns’ gold, at least until she learns that her beloved Grandmother, Gigi, who died last year, was the previous keeper and had intended for Lily to follow in her footsteps. If Lily fails the tests, not only will she not become keeper, the leprechauns will erase her memories of everything connected to them, including Gigi. So Lily decides to give it her all. During her tests, Lily learns that while many leprechauns cannot be trusted, she must trust herself and the clues that her grandmother has left behind for her. Lily is likable and well-drawn, but most of the other characters and the leprechaun world seem like quick sketches with most of the detail missing. Give this light fare to those graduating out of Magic Tree House and not yet ready for Percy Jackson or Molly Moon. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-385-73558-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Two novice Philadelphia witches discover both that magic is harder to control than it seems and that they’re not as inseparable as they supposed, in this lighthearted family story with a twist, from the author of Dive (1999). Outwardly identical, inwardly “as different as the sun and moon, peaches and peanut butter, or long division and poetry,” Claire and Luna Bundkin “love-love-love” many of the same things, but “hate-hate-hate” the news that their father has proposed to brassy Houston fashion designer Fluffy Demarkle. As the two search for appropriate spanners to throw into the works, subplots bubble up: the twins come up for their first Witch Tests (dubbed “GST’s”); a bobbled love spell gets a bully off older brother Justin’s back in hilariously effective fashion; and for the first time in their school careers, Claire and Luna are placed into separate classes—a separation that turns out to be considerably less traumatic than expected. With deceptive offhandedness, Griffin speeds the tale along to the climactic wedding, which the repentant twins manage to rescue from the results of their own spell-casting in the nick of time, earning in the process their witch’s stars and a pair of kitten familiars to boot. Preteen readers will “love-love-love” watching these seemingly ordinary 11-year-olds in action. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7868-0739-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
In a spirited book, Camp grabs the notion of a child’s endless inquisitiveness and takes it for a quick spin. Lily, a little charmer that Ross has drawn as an explosion of red hair, drives her father crazy with her question. Why does the breakfast egg need one more minute? Why must they not forget to pick up garbage bags at the store? Why are there rain clouds? One day, just as her father shows signs that his limit has been exceeded, a giant Thargon spaceship appears at the playground and threatens to annihilate Earth. Lily poses a “Why?” or two, and the Thargons return home for the answers, leaving Earth intact. Lily’s questioning saves the day, but it’s no joke; the urge to understand, for her and children like her, is a survival instinct. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-399-23396-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
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