Provided the delightful Irish flavor isn’t sucked dry, readers will be hunting for the sequel in short order.
Does Finn have what it takes to be a Legend Hunter? Everyone better hope he does!
For centuries Blighted Villages across the globe were scenes of incursions by monsters from the Infested Side. Beings like Minotaurs and Manticores and worse broke through the barrier between worlds, and only the Legend Hunters, a hereditary line of human fighters in each village, stood between reality and certain destruction. Legend appearances have tapered off and subsided everywhere except Darkmouth, Ireland. Finn and his father are the last two active Legend Hunters…but Finn’s training is not going so well (as the destruction around town suggests). Across the divide between worlds, a very evil monster is hatching an understandably evil plot to take over the Promised World (aka here). And there just may be a prophecy that indicates that Finn is Earth’s only hope of stopping an apocalyptic invasion of monsters. Yep, Earth’s likely doomed. Hegarty’s debut and the first of a projected series is Ghostbusters meets Percy Jackson as written by Terry Pratchett. Finn, who wants to be a veterinarian not a Legend Hunter, is a put-upon Everykid and reluctant hero who’ll appeal to most readers. The world Hegarty imagines for him is at once frightening and funny. (Final art and Americanized text not seen.)
Provided the delightful Irish flavor isn’t sucked dry, readers will be hunting for the sequel in short order. (Fantasy. 9-14)Pub Date: April 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-231125-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick.
An elderly witch, a magical girl, a brave carpenter, a wise monster, a tiny dragon, paper birds, and a madwoman converge to thwart a magician who feeds on sorrow.
Every year Elders of the Protectorate leave a baby in the forest, warning everyone an evil Witch demands this sacrifice. In reality, every year, a kind witch named Xan rescues the babies and find families for them. One year Xan saves a baby girl with a crescent birthmark who accidentally feeds on moonlight and becomes “enmagicked.” Magic babies can be tricky, so Xan adopts little Luna herself and lovingly raises her, with help from an ancient swamp monster and a chatty, wee dragon. Luna’s magical powers emerge as her 13th birthday approaches. Meanwhile, Luna’s deranged real mother enters the forest to find her daughter. Simultaneously, a young carpenter from the Protectorate enters the forest to kill the Witch and end the sacrifices. Xan also enters the forest to rescue the next sacrificed child, and Luna, the monster, and the dragon enter the forest to protect Xan. In the dramatic denouement, a volcano erupts, the real villain attempts to destroy all, and love prevails. Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. Luna has black eyes, curly, black hair, and “amber” skin.
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61620-567-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
An original, clever, page-turning adventure.
During the Blitz, 12-year-old Londoner Kat, along with two younger siblings and an American boy, is sent to a distant relative’s Scottish castle, where they confront evils both old and contemporary.
Though Lady Eleanor claims to be starting an academy in her castle and has hired faculty to attend to the curriculum, it’s soon clear that none are what they claim to be. The old castle keep is burned out, and the newer part seems to have weird twists and turns, secret doors and strange goings-on, including several ghostly children. Clues multiply early on that Eleanor is the same woman for whom the creepy, unnamed village magister has replaced living parts one by one over decades, each given in payment for a charm for a child’s soul. Kat’s father—now away working for MI6—is a watchmaker, and Kat has his gift for numbers, gears, and puzzles. Witchy magic, Nazi menace, and clockwork all come into play, along with an Enigma machine and spies for both the Allies and the Nazis seeking occult sources of power or protection. After the breathtaking climax, various threads of the story are tied up in a drawing-room denouement in which the characters decide to dispose of toxic magical artifacts rather carelessly—though in a way that invites anticipation (and fortuitously leaves room for sequels).
An original, clever, page-turning adventure. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-451-47633-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
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