Where would juvenile fantasy be without stringed instruments? Not in Dalemark, where Clennen the singer travels with his family through a repressive South, flamboyantly performing with his ancient "cwidder" but covertly passing information to would-be freedom fighters allied with the North. Then Clennen is killed; Ms unperturbed wife goes straight to her still waiting, aristocratic former suitor (a Southerner); the children, discovering their father's other identity as a notorious spy, prefer the road; and Kialin, a young passenger their father had taken into their cart, turns out to be a Northern prince fleeing abductors. With older brother Dagner soon arrested, it's up to Moril, eleven, and his sister Brid, to sing and play their way North to Kialin's freedom and their own, and it's on that eventful trip that Moril discovers both the powers that rest in his father's cwidder and his own ability to summon them. After a bit of hasty soul searching, Moril is able to put a pursuing Southern army to sleep with his music, to rout another with the illusion of advancing Northern forces, and, for a climax, to make the very mountains move, filling a pass through the Mils with rocky debris that buries the Southern leaders for good. Don't look for import—Moril's introspection is of the most cursory sort, and the good Earl (Kialin's father) on whose largesse his Northern subjects prosper makes a fairy tale indeed of the political goings on. But for those who prefer their adventures in imaginary realms, Jones' distinct personalities, agile plotting, and unobtrusive telling will more than suffice.
Pub Date: March 9, 1977
ISBN: 0192752790
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1977
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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