Following the events of The Peddler’s Road (2015), 12-year-old Max is desperate to return to the Summer Isle where her brother, Carter, is trapped with the children the Pied Piper led away from the town of Hamelin.
However, the only path between the lands is through a hidden and locked door. Thankfully, the white girl possesses a magical map. The key, however, proves more difficult to find. An evil magician claiming to have a Key of Everything is her only hope, but dealing with a man who employs a zombie as his butler and steals people’s souls seems like no hope at all. Max and Carter can count on the aid of trolls, goblins, and elves as well as the children of Hamelin. But the most surprising and dangerous friend is the Pied Piper himself. Chapters feature multiple story threads on both sides of the locked door. Characters are much more complex and interesting in this sequel than in the previous book, making this a definite upturn from the lackluster start to the trilogy. The intersection of magic and modernity provides an interesting forum for the discussion of racial profiling, disenfranchised individuals, and the effects of evil in the world. Able writing and storytelling weave these themes into a story that won’t disappoint.
Depth and complexity are added to great effect in this second installment. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Nov. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-385-75526-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Sammy is less than thrilled when his genius inventor mother creates a robot brother for him.
Sammy Hayes-Rodriguez's life has always been filled with robots. His mother has invented automatons that clean the floors, mow the lawn, give traffic reports and even plant fantastic gardens. Sammy's school has until now been a robot-free zone, but when Mom invents E (for Egghead, or maybe Einstein Jr.—his parents can’t decide) and insists Sammy take the new robot to school, things get out of hand. Chronicling the ups and downs of an entire school year with a robot brother, the authors put cute sci-fi twists on first-time crushes, school bullies and best-friend troubles. There's nothing here that breaks new ground or illuminates the psyche of young boys in any new or interesting ways, but there are plenty of amusing jokes. Young readers with an interest in science will certainly be engaged. A subplot featuring Sammy's younger sister, a brilliant girl who is homebound by severe combined immunodeficiency disorder, is as by-the-numbers as the rest of the book, but it doesn't tie in to the robot plot until the very end. It's hard to tell if this development is a clumsy climax or an awkward setup for a sequel. Either way, it doesn't work well with everything that came beforehand.
A perfectly acceptable and predictable trifle. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Nov. 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-316-40591-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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Young Seren Rhys stands on the cusp of a new life. Unfortunately for her, the train to her new life is late.
Following the death of her aunt, who saved her from her 12-year stay at the orphanage, she receives word that her godfather, Capt. Arthur Jones, will take her in. Seren spends her wait dreaming of the Jones family and their surely bustling, welcoming manor, Plas-y-Fran in Wales. An encounter with a mysterious man and his more mysterious wrapped parcel (containing the eponymous mechanical bird) leaves Seren reeling, and the mysteries multiply when she arrives at Plas-y-Fran. The place is shuttered and cold, nearly deserted but for a few fearful, oppressively unforthcoming servants. The captain and his wife are away; of their young son, Tomos, there is neither sign nor sound. With the Crow as her only, if reluctant, ally, Seren soon finds herself enmeshed in mayhem and magic that may prove lethal. In her characteristic style, Fisher crafts an elaborate fantasy from deceptively simple language. Seren is a sharp, saucy narrator whose constant puzzlement at others’ consternation over her impertinence provides running amusement. Supporting characters are fascinating if ambiguous players, not so much poorly drawn as poorly revealed, perhaps casualties of the quick pace. The deadened manor, however, provides the perfect backdrop for preternatural forces. Characters are presumed white.
A richly atmospheric page-turner—readers will eagerly anticipate the forthcoming sequel. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1491-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Walker US/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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