This is set in the repressive South of Dalemark, scene of Jones' Cart and Cwiddr (1977), and though it features all new characters, it leaves no doubt that we'll be meeting this lot again. Central among them is young Mitt, who hates both the ruling Earl and the revolutionaries whom he believes to have informed on his father, now presumably dead. Mitt in fact has been brought up to avenge his father, planning to destroy both sides with one bomb on the day of a strange festival, whose significance everyone has forgotten, during which symbolic dummies inexplicably named Old Ammet and Libby Beer are to be dumped into the sea. But the plan backfires and Mitt flees, taking off to sea in gunpoint command of a pleasure boat owned and operated by the old Earl's independent-minded young grandchildren. The wary relationship that develops among the three young people is especially well done, and there is a pulse-racing storm at sea during which Ammet and Libby come subtly, impressively to the rescue. Then the trio saves a brutal, cynical thug from another, smaller boat. That he turns out to be the double-dealing assassin who had stolen Mitt's thunder at the festival seems reasonable, but the revelation later on that he is Mitt's missing father as well puts a strain on readers' willing credulity. And the effectiveness of Mitt's ultimate selection by gods (yes, gods) Ammet and Libby, and of the wondrous earth-raising feats those two at last perform on behalf of Mitt and the two threatened children, must depend on readers' receptivity to awe-invoking high fantasy. A well-wrought adventure, in any case.
Pub Date: March 10, 1978
ISBN: 0192752782
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1978
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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