A pleasing sequel.
Readers return to the kingdom of Epoca, which Claire and her collaborator, Bryant, began with The Tree of Ecrof (2019).
Eleven-year-old Pretia, the irrepressible princess, accompanied by her now-best-friend, Rovi, reach the end of the ceremonial tour that anoints her as the Child of Hope, the royal offspring of the two dominant ethno-states, the Dreamers and the Realists. Pretia, who has finally divined her grana, or talent granted by the gods, will eventually rule the kingdom. Her particular gift is that she is able to split herself in two, with her shadow displaying impressive athletic prowess and allowing her to win competitions. However, Pretia’s parents, Queen Helena from the Realists and King Airos from the Dreamers, hear rumors that Rovi’s people, the street-urchin caste called the Star Stealers, have been rebelling and fear they will use the upcoming Junior Epic Games to mount a larger political protest. The royal couple forbids the princess from participating in the event in order to protect her and, ultimately, their rule. Rovi, whose own talent led to his recruitment to represent the king’s people at the games, vows to show that he deserves his spot on the team and to represent the Star Stealers' humanity. This sports-centered fantasy homage to ancient Greece entertainingly conveys an earthbound moral: Athletics can elevate individuals as they represent their cultures.
A pleasing sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-949520-18-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child...
A San Diego preteen learns that she’s an elf, with a place in magic school if she moves to the elves’ hidden realm.
Having felt like an outsider since a knock on the head at age 5 left her able to read minds, Sophie is thrilled when hunky teen stranger Fitz convinces her that she’s not human at all and transports her to the land of Lumenaria, where the ageless elves live. Taken in by a loving couple who run a sanctuary for extinct and mythical animals, Sophie quickly gathers friends and rivals at Foxfire, a distinctly Hogwarts-style school. She also uncovers both clues to her mysterious origins and hints that a rash of strangely hard-to-quench wildfires back on Earth are signs of some dark scheme at work. Though Messenger introduces several characters with inner conflicts and ambiguous agendas, Sophie herself is more simply drawn as a smart, radiant newcomer who unwillingly becomes the center of attention while developing what turn out to be uncommonly powerful magical abilities—reminiscent of the younger Harry Potter, though lacking that streak of mischievousness that rescues Harry from seeming a little too perfect. The author puts her through a kidnapping and several close brushes with death before leaving her poised, amid hints of a higher destiny and still-anonymous enemies, for sequels.
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child who, while overly fond of screaming, rises to every challenge. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4593-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center.
Armed only with her magical sewing needle, foundling mouse Delphine sets out to confront the cruel rat king in this duology closer.
As vicious rat armies pillage the mouse realms in search of her and her pointy, long-hidden treasure, Delphine finds herself waging an inner war that parallels the outer one. According to dusty documents and other reputable sources, the needle’s good powers can be perverted, but she sees no other way except killing to stop evil rat King Midnight. While struggling with a grim determination to go over to the dark side that sets her at odds with her own fundamentally loving nature, Delphine threads her way along with loyal allies past various scrapes—only to come, climactically, face to face with not only her nemesis, but her own past. Moon stitches in flashbacks to fill out the details of a tragic old love triangle that reaches its fruition here and sews her tale up with a return to Château Desjardins just in time for Cinderella’s wedding and a celebratory rodentine ball in the chandelier overhead, and she leaves a fringe of epilogue hinting at further installments to come.
Less charming than the opener but does feature a thimbleful of moral quandary at its center. (secret codes) (Animal fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-04833-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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