Engagingly told and beautifully illustrated; sure to appeal to fans of tabletop role-playing games.
In this series opener, an adventuring family goes on a perilous journey that leads to multiple revelations.
In the town of Smudge, the Lionharts run a for-hire family questing business. Mom’s parents, sword-wielding Grammy and wizard Baba, are retired, so Mom and Dad do the heavy lifting. Determined, sensitive Alder desperately wants to join them, but Mom insists he work the counter, do paperwork, and keep an eye on his sneaky little brother, Flynt. An odd, fancily dressed woman hires the Lionharts to retrieve her treasure, but when Mom and Dad don’t return after a few days, Alder and Flynt set off to find them. Grammy and Baba thankfully follow soon after, as the boys underestimated the potential dangers. The quartet journeys on, encountering a kind troll, mushroom-shaped bogmen, dueling ogres, Baba’s elf ex-girlfriend, and a fearsome, trouble-making dragon from Grammy’s past. In this story, family comes first and readers witness healthy relationships and many encouraging moments of good (grand)parenting. The art is formatted in traditional comic panels that change dynamically to fit the story beats and temporal shifts. The vibrant color palette enhances the line art, which has a fantastic sense of movement. The family is multiracial: Grammy has brown skin and Afro-textured hair, and Baba and Dad present white. Readers will finish the book excited for more action that only stops for sweet moments of family bonding.
Engagingly told and beautifully illustrated; sure to appeal to fans of tabletop role-playing games. (map) (Graphic fantasy. 8-13)Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781419759963
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Abrams Fanfare
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
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A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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