Youthful adventures and magical touches make for an entertaining tale.
In this middle-grade supernatural sequel, two students of magic experience a summer vacation brimming with mystery and villainy.
Taking a known criminal down has turned Wil Wychwood and Sophie Isidor into heroes. The 10-year-old cousins, having nearly finished their first year at a magic academy, are ready for the summer off. But it’s not long before they’re staving off boredom, even eyeing a beekeeper’s Help Wanted sign—“Besides, what else have we got to do?” Sophie asks. As it turns out, honeybees in the kids’ magical city, MiddleGate, have been getting sick. This seemingly falls in line with Sophie’s catching part of two women’s cryptic conversation in a washroom, something about “magical bees” and a supposedly defunct secret society, the Serpent’s Chain. But there’s a chance the Serpent’s Chain, with ties to the baddie the cousins thwarted, has a revival in the works. Wil and Sophie vow to help the bees; while this may put them in danger in MiddleGate, it also gives them a close-up of the insects’ tiny, fascinating world. This series installment fills the pages with mysteries. Along with the magical bees, Wil’s beloved snake, Esme, disappears, and it looks as if someone is moving into the long-vacant home in the kids’ neighborhood. Bridgman wisely sets this concisely written novel outside of the academy, where much of the preceding book unfolded. It’s fun to watch the likable, sadly friendless cousins bond and later hit it off with a couple of their peers. The memorable supporting cast features the cousins’ endearing, caregiving aunts, including Violet, who’s looking to buy a brand new (or maybe used) crystal ball from a flashy salesman. Although the story centers more on characters than magical feats, the final act takes a spell-induced turn as Wil and Sophie investigate the sickly buzzing insects.
Youthful adventures and magical touches make for an entertaining tale.Pub Date: April 14, 2021
ISBN: 9781525585784
Page Count: 180
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair.
Fifth graders get into a hairy situation.
After an unnamed narrator’s full-page warning, readers dive right into a Wolver Hollow classroom. Mr. Noffler recounts the town legend about how, every Oct. 19, residents don fake mustaches and lock their doors. As the story goes, the late Bockius Beauregard was vaporized in an “unfortunate black powder incident,” but, somehow, his “magnificent mustache” survived to haunt the town. Once a year, the spectral ’stache searches for an exposed upper lip to rest upon. Is it real or superstition? Students Parker and Lucas—sole members of the Midnight Owl Detective Agency—decide to take the case and solve the mustache mystery. When they find that the book of legends they need for their research has been checked out from the library, they recruit the borrower: goth classmate Samantha von Oppelstein. Will the three of them be enough to take on the mustache and resolve its ghostly, unfinished business? Whether through ridiculous plot points or over-the-top descriptions, the comedy keeps coming in this first title in McGee’s new Night Frights series. A generous font and spacing make this quick-paced, 13-chapter story appealing to newly confident readers. Skaffa’s grayscale cartoon spot (and occasional full-page) illustrations help set the tone and accentuate the action. Though neither race or skin color is described in the text, images show Lucas and Samantha as light-skinned and Parker as dark-skinned.
Lighthearted spook with a heaping side of silliness—and hair. (maps) (Fiction. 7-10)Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8089-6
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit.
Eleven-year-old Maria Russo helps her charlatan mother hoodwink customers, but Maria has a spirited secret.
Maria’s mother, the psychic Madame Destine, cons widows out of their valuables with the assistance of their apartment building’s super, Mr. Fox. Madame Destine home-schools Maria, and because Destine is afraid of unwanted attention, she forbids Maria from talking to others. Maria is allowed to go to the library, where new librarian Ms. Madigan takes an interest in Maria that may cause her trouble. Meanwhile, Sebastian, Maria’s new upstairs neighbor, would like to be friends. All this interaction makes it hard for Maria to keep her secret: that she is visited by Edward, a spirit who tells her the actual secrets of Madame Destine’s clients via spirit writing. When Edward urges Maria to help Mrs. Fisher, Madame Destine’s most recent mark, Maria must overcome her shyness and her fear of her mother—helping Mrs. Fisher may be the key to the mysterious past Maria uncovers and a brighter future. Alas, picture-book–creator Ford’s middle-grade debut is a muddled, melodramatic mystery with something of an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feel: In addition to the premise, there’s a tragically dead father, a mysterious family tree, and the Beat poets. Sluggish pacing; stilted, unrealistic dialogue; cartoonishly stock characters; and unattractive, flat illustrations make this one to miss. Maria and Sebastian are both depicted with brown skin, hers lighter than his; the other principals appear to be white.
An effort as insubstantial as any spirit. (author’s note) (Paranormal mystery. 7-10)Pub Date: July 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20567-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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