A sequel marked by escalating stakes and terror.
The scarily unstable possessor of a stone that grants wishes threatens an entire realm in this second volume in the Song of the Eye Stone quartet from Finland, which is translated from Swedish.
In an entry whose events at times feel too convenient, flocks of suddenly savage birds menace former pearl fisher Miranda (who lost an arm to a shark) and her young charge, Syrsa, as well as the inhabitants of the northern coastal town they now call home. The normally timid dagpies turn out to be commanded by Iberis, a cruel foe who’s using the wish-granting eye stone that the girls have sought to direct both the birds and a cohort of brutal minions. Iberis’ forces are terrorizing the inhabitants of the Queendom; the only hope is that the Queen and her army in the capital will continue to hold strong and save the day. Miranda, who now works as a woodcutter, is tough-minded enough to only be delayed in pulling off a rescue after being paralyzed from the neck down in a bird attack. With aid from Syrsa (who also lost an arm to a shark when she was a toddler), Miranda recovers sufficiently to use Iberis’ own power-hungry behavior against her before setting off in pursuit of the eye stone once Iberis retreats. Get set for a race in volume three, The Scaler of the Peaks. The characters are pale-skinned.
A sequel marked by escalating stakes and terror. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: June 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781912868742
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Young Dedalus
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
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