The lovable characters, the mystery of the ghost, and the deep friendship between the two children will lead middle graders...
This middle-grade fantasy thriller stars two orphans, Marybeth and Lionel, and depicts their trouble with a powerful and determined ghost.
“Lionel was a wild boy. Sometimes he forgot he was a boy at all.” On the other hand, “Marybeth was a very normal girl, with dark hair that she wore braided into pigtails, and round spectacles with red metal rims.” Despite their differences, the two white 9-year-olds are firm friends. They escape from the six older, mean orphans in the little red house presided over by the stuffy Mrs. Mannerd by going into the woods nearby, where Lionel sees a blue something that he thinks is a fox. Later, Marybeth sees the mysterious blue light—and is possessed by it. Increasingly frightening events ensue, as they try to discover what the ghost (for that’s what it is) wants Marybeth to do. Precise details and humor at the outset will engage readers’ attention, while tension and suspense will keep those pages turning once they are hooked. The depictions of the children and their guardian as well as of the house and landscape bind the realistic elements of the story together while providing an anchor for the fantasy.
The lovable characters, the mystery of the ghost, and the deep friendship between the two children will lead middle graders back to the author’s A Curious Tale of the In-between (2015) and have them counting the days until her next book. (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61963-643-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
A charming, old-fashioned–feeling romp
A parentless, put-upon kitchen boy is accused of murdering a magical hotel guest.
Seth Seppi cooks brilliantly, but he’ll never be a chef. Instead he’s the overworked help at the Last Chance Hotel, abused by his “nasty bosses.” Sometimes he sadly recalls the hotel’s popularity in the dimly remembered days before his father’s mysterious disappearance. Mostly, however, he washes dishes, even on nights like this, when some very special guests are due at the hotel. Tiffany, the daughter of Seth’s employers (and Seth’s chief tormenter) blackmails Seth into making a splendid dessert for the guest of honor, Dr. Thallomius, for which she’ll claim credit. When Dr. Thallomius drops dead from poison, Tiffany promptly snitches: Seth made the dessert, so he must be the murderer! Seth’s quest to clear his name is complicated by his realization that Dr. Thallomius and all the other guests at this bizarre party hail from a magical world. One of these odd people—Professor Papperspook in her multicolored, tentlike dress; tiny, scarred, dark-skinned Master Darinder Dunster-Dunstable; glamorous Angelique Squerr with her magical cane; or one of the others—murdered the kindly doctor and pinned the blame on Seth. Thornton’s prose can get clunky and characterization resorts to types, but the plot itself is a nifty, magical spin on the classic locked-room mystery. The book subscribes to the white default for characters not otherwise described.
A charming, old-fashioned–feeling romp . (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-32362-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
An engaging kickoff well-stocked with vivid characters, yummy chocolates, and tantalizing hints of magic.
The daughter of an apothecary with a sideline in iffy potions tries to use both science and sleuthing to keep her father out of trouble.
Sure (fairly sure) that the luck potion her father sells to recently arrived chocolatier Letty Kozlow is bogus, young Sasha sets out to help it along—using her detective skills to determine which of three potential beaus would make the best match for the kindly but secretive shop owner. Along the way she picks up an odd, grubby, cherubic sidekick she dubs Puck and runs into several village residents ranging from mean rich girl Sisal to aptly named Granny Yenta and her (supposedly) magic rooster. This series opener being a setup episode, Nayeri makes Sasha’s snooping and clue gathering a vehicle for introducing an ensemble with some characters, notably Puck and probably Ms. Kozlow, likely more than they seem. The world beyond the otherwise unnamed Village and a larger storyline (Sasha’s mom is currently away battling the evil Order of Disorder) are merely sketched out now but are sure to come into play later on. For now, though, the focus is localized to, considering the names, clothes, and a reference to rusalkas, a vaguely Slavic setting. In keeping with the cast’s array of types, the wide-eyed, olive-skinned figures in Mak’s frequent illustrations have a Disney-esque look.
An engaging kickoff well-stocked with vivid characters, yummy chocolates, and tantalizing hints of magic. (map) (Fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8075-7242-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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