Review of Newt’s Emerald, by Garth Nix

Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

newts_emerald_largeNewt’s Emerald

Magic, Maids, and Masquerades

by Garth Nix

Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins), 2015. 291 pages.
Starred Review

Garth Nix, author of Sabriel and other fantastic books, has written a Regency romance! With magic! (The romance is in a world with magic. I don’t think he actually wrote it with magic.)

Lady Truthful Newington is eighteen years old and soon to be launched into fashionable society in London. But on her birthday, her father gets out the famous Newington Emeralds, which she will inherit when she turns twenty-five, and a storm comes up and they are stolen.

Her father lapses into illness after the loss, blaming her cousins, the Newington-Lacys. Truthful knows they wouldn’t have done such a thing, but she can hardly investigate herself as a young female. However, when you have an aunt skilled with glamours, it’s possible to disguise yourself as a young male relative, who would of course be authorized to search for the emeralds.

Along the way in the search, she encounters a young man also on the trail of the thief. Of course there’s a problem that she’s not who she appears to be.

This book doesn’t have a complicated plot or romance. The magic is mostly light-hearted and about the appearances of things. But it’s definitely a fun story. If you like Regency romances (and who doesn’t enjoy one now and then?), the magic in this one adds some extra spice.

Here’s Truthful worrying about how she’ll do in London:

In London, Truthful felt sure she would be considered plain, particularly as her sorcerous talents did not include any particular skill with the glamours that would enhance her charms. Truthful had the small weather magic that ran in her family; she could raise a gentle breeze, or soothe a drizzle. In addition to this, horses and other animals liked her and would do her bidding. But she had none of the greater arts, and little formal training.

Truthful’s time in London ends up being much more interesting than merely balls, including peril on land and sea. But you can’t have a Regency Romance without balls, and this book is no exception.

garthnix.com
epicreads.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Tower of Thorns, by Juliet Marillier

Fantasy, Fiction Review, Historical, Starred Review 0

tower_of_thorns_largeTower of Thorns

by Juliet Marillier

A Roc Book, 2015. 415 pages.
Starred Review

This is the second book about Blackthorn & Grim, and yes, you should read the books in order.

In Tower of Thorns, like the first book, there’s a mysterious enchantment that Blackthorn and Grim need to break. Along the way, we find out more about both of their painful pasts.

This series is set in ancient Ireland. Monks are around, but also Wee Folk and others of the fey. Blackthorn is a wise woman. She wants nothing else than to bring vengeance and justice to the chieftain who had her husband and baby killed. But she is under conditions given by the fey who set her free from prison to not seek vengeance for seven years — and to help anyone who asks her.

In this volume, there’s a lady who lives near a tower that has cast a blight on all the land around it. But she’s not telling Blackthorn the full story.

And while Blackthorn is working on that curse, she sees an old friend, whom she’d thought was dead. He says that he will be able to bring the evil chieftain to justice if she goes with him. But there’s no way she’s going to take Grim into danger, so the only answer is to lie to him. Or so she decides.

In this installment, we get more insight into what happened in Grim’s past. We see, though Blackthorn doesn’t, how strong the bond has grown between them.

Juliet Marillier’s writing is magical. I read this on my flight across the country, and had to continue until I’d finished.

Blackthorn and Grim are described as people dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. They have their own curses of flashbacks and have trouble trusting anyone, and certainly don’t claim to faith in God. But the reader cannot help loving them as they struggle on and try to do good in the world, in spite of themselves. The description of their journey is pitch perfect and brings the reader along with them. I can’t wait for the next installment! This is a wonderful series, even if I wasn’t quite as enthralled as I was with the first volume. That was mainly because most of the people they were dealing with weren’t nearly as good-hearted as those in the first book. But Blackthorn and Grim themselves are people I can’t hear enough about.

julietmarillier.com
penguin.com

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Source: This review is based on my own copy, purchased (and preordered) via Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Girl Who Could Not Dream, by Sarah Beth Durst

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy 0

girl_who_could_not_dream_largeThe Girl Who Could Not Dream

by Sarah Beth Durst

Clarion Books, November 2015. 380 pages.

Have you ever wondered if dreamcatchers really work? And what would happen if they did?

In the world of this book, Sophie’s parents run a Dream Shop in the basement of their used book store. They collect dreams by giving dreamcatchers to people who dream, then distill those dreams into bottles with their skilled use of a dream distiller. They can see what is in the dreams by using their somnium. And then they sell the bottled dreams to special customers who know about the shop.

Sophie, however, is the girl from the title. In her twelve years of life, she’s never dreamed on her own. But there was one time she stole a dream and drank what was in a bottle – and the monster she met in the dream befriended her and came to life.

Sophie’s parents let her keep Monster, but they’ve warned her never to drink any more dreams, because there’s no telling what will come out. And if the Night Watchmen find out about her, they would kidnap her and put the shop out of business. People who make dream creatures come to life are dangerous!

But then a sinister customer who calls himself Mr. Nightmare comes to the shop and sees Monster. And the next day, she gets a note from him in her locker at school. But it’s when Sophie’s parents disappear – along with two kids from school who used dreamcatchers from the shop – that things really get sinister.

Sophie doesn’t dare call the police. The Night Watchmen can’t find out about the shop. Or about her. So it’s up to her and Monster – and a new boy from school she was going to help with nightmares – to find out if the disappearances have to do with Mr. Nightmare. Sophie may need to dream up some more help.

I confess, I tend to get hung up on the details of stories where dreams or books come to life, which definitely hurts my suspension of disbelief. I also had trouble with the bad guys’ motivation – why would they turn to crime? And is it really true that the same kids have nightmares over and over? That you could rely on certain kids to supply you with nightmares? I would have thought that some kids have bad dreams more often than others. But every night?

So readers who would be bothered by details like that might not be the best audience for the book. However, if you can accept the background of the book – it does contain imaginative details and creative problem-solving that are a whole lot of fun. The Dreamcatcher Bookshop is a cozy place, and it’s nice to read a book where the character has a loving, if a bit quirky, family.

And what if you could indeed bottle dreams? Would any of your own dreams be marketable? Which dreams would you want to catch and dispose of? And how would you fight nightmares come to life?

I love Sarah Beth Durst’s teen fiction, and this book for children has her trademark imagination along with likable characters you want to spend time with.

sarahbethdurst.com
hmco.com

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Source: This review is based on an advance reader copy sent to me by the publisher at the author’s request.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh

Fantasy, Romance, Teen Fiction Review 0

wrath_and_the_dawn_largeThe Wrath and the Dawn

by Renee Ahdieh

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2015. 404 pages.

The Wrath and the Dawn is a reimagining of the story of The Arabian Nights, and I’ll warn the reader right up front that it’s only the first volume of that story.

Shahrzad has volunteered to marry the caliph who keeps killing off his wives. She plans to avenge the death of her best friend, Shiva. She begins by telling him a story, a story that she will continue the next night. She is planning to find his weakness and kill him, but things don’t turn out as they expect. And the caliph is not the monster she had thought him. And her childhood sweetheart, planning to rescue her, as well as her father, accessing magic, all do not understand the changes that happen in her.

Let me say first that there are some holes in this story. Given the reason we find out for the caliph’s murders, I have a hard time believing that Shahrzad would really have lasted past even the first night. And then the way magic works is very vague and feelings-oriented (which I never particularly like in a fantasy book). On top of that, we’re told that Shazi is determined and does what she sets out to do – It seems to me she would have had a plan for killing the caliph and would have put it in place the first night, rather than hoping to arouse his curiosity.

But that said, this is an absorbing and fascinating love story. I’m not sure that I *quite* believe, once I think about it, that they would fall in love with each other. But while I was reading it, I didn’t think about it and was wrapped up in the story and longing for them to really see each other.

So, yes, there are some hanging plot threads. But the book is worth it and the story is lovely and I will definitely want to read the next installment. Perhaps not with the urgency that would keep my bride alive if I were an evil murdering caliph, but I’ll definitely be reading the next book soon after it’s published.

reneeahdieh.com
penguin.com/teen/

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Sleeper and the Spindle, by Neil Gaiman

Children's Fiction Review, Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

sleeper_and_the_spindle_largeThe Sleeper and the Spindle

by Neil Gaiman
illustrated by Chris Riddell

Harper, 2015. 69 pages.
Starred Review

This is an illustrated fairy tale. And how much do I love that an illustrated fairy tale has been published?

This story is beautiful and eerie at the same time. It feels familiar, but twists things in unexpected ways.

The reader thinks they’ve got a Sleeping Beauty story going, or perhaps Sleeping Beauty twisted with Snow White, but nothing turns out as the reader expects.

The book starts out with some dwarves going under some mountains to get finest silk for their queen, who is soon to be married. On the other side of the mountains, they find an enchanted sleep spreading. It is spreading out from a castle with a princess who was cursed, as in the traditional tale, and has been sleeping for years. But now it’s not only the servants in the castle who are sleeping as well. The sleep is spreading to all the surrounding villages.

The tale first starts going in unexpected directions when the queen decides to go break the spell.

“I am afraid,” said the queen, “that there will be no wedding tomorrow.”

She called for a map of the kingdom, identified the villages closest to the mountains, sent messengers to tell the inhabitants to evacuate to the coast or risk royal displeasure.

She called for her first minister and informed him that he would be responsible for the kingdom in her absence, and that he should do his best neither to lose it nor to break it.

She called for her fiancé and told him not to take on so, and that they would still be married, even if he was but a prince and she a queen, and she chucked him beneath his pretty chin and kissed him until he smiled.

She called for her mail shirt.

She called for her sword.

She called for her provisions, and for her horse, and then she rode out of the palace, toward the east.

Neil Gaiman knows the language of fairy tales. But he also knows how to surprise the reader.

The illustrations are also wonderful. Looking at them a second time, I’m finding new details everywhere. They are black and white with gold highlights, and extremely detailed.

There’s a place where hundreds of sleeping people, completely covered with cobwebs, start sleepwalking toward the queen. The illustrations here are incredibly sinister.

The story doesn’t take long to read, and every spread has illustrations, but this is not a picture book, nor is it written for preschoolers.

Here’s the scene where villagers tell the dwarves about the plague of sleep:

“. . . And brave men,” continued the pot-girl. “Aye, and brave women too, they say, have attempted to travel to the Forest of Acaire, to the castle at its heart, to wake the princess, and, in waking her, to wake all the sleepers, but each and every one of those heroes ended their lives lost in the forest, murdered by bandits, or impaled upon the thorns of the rosebushes that encircle the castle –“

“Wake her how?” asked the middle-sized dwarf, hand still clutching his rock, for he thought in essentials.

“The usual method,” said the pot-girl, and she blushed. “Or so the tales have it.”

“Right,” said the tallest dwarf. “So, bowl of cold water poured on the face and a cry of ‘Wakey! Wakey!’?”

“A kiss,” said the sot. “But nobody has ever got that close. They’ve been trying for sixty years or more. They say the witch –“

“Fairy,” said the fat man.

“Enchantress,” corrected the pot-girl.

“Whatever she is,” said the sot. “She’s still there. That’s what they say. If you get that close. If you make it through the roses, she’ll be waiting for you. She’s old as the hills, evil as a snake, all malevolence and magic and death.”

mousecircus.com
chrisriddell.co.uk

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Hollow Boy, by Jonathan Stroud

Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

hollow_boy_largeThe Hollow Boy

Lockwood & Co., Book Three

by Jonathan Stroud

Disney-Hyperion, Los Angeles, 2015. 385 pages.
Starred Review

It’s here! Book Three of the Lockwood & Co. series! I only had to wait a week after finishing listening to the audiobooks of the first two books. (You can be sure I preordered my own copy. These are so good to reread, I’m not settling for a library copy any more.)

The good news: This is not a trilogy! (I was hoping not.) The bad news: Like the other two, the book ends with a fairly major plot point that will make everything change – and we have to wait to find out how that plays out. Aaugh!

Jonathan Stroud doesn’t write the same book over and over again. We’ve still got Lucy, Lockwood, and George battling ghosts with iron chains, magnesium flares, salt bombs, and silver-tipped rapiers. But now their agency, having met with success, is more popular than ever before. They’re having to split up to take on all the cases.

So Lockwood and George hire an assistant while Lucy is on vacation. A young female assistant named Holly Munro who is annoyingly perfect. She whips the agency into shape and manages their caseload, but Lucy isn’t entirely happy with the changes she brings.

Meanwhile, Lucy’s ability to listen to ghosts is growing. What if she attempts to hear what they have to say rather than immediately trying to destroy them? But that can have some dangerous results.

Meanwhile, there’s a huge outbreak happening in London with all the big agencies on the case. In the last book, I was a little annoyed by the childish rivalry between Lockwood & Co. and a certain team from the Fittes agency. (Even though they actually are children. Schoolyard bullying didn’t seem appropriate.) But I liked very much that in this book, the two teams need to work together – and manage to do so. Interpersonal relationships got much more complex.

I shouldn’t say too much, because if you’ve read the first two books, you’ll be eager to read this one. And yes, yes, yes, it’s as good as the previous two. You will want to read this series in order. While I’m sure you could enjoy this book as a stand alone, it really is part of a continuing story. As a whole, it’s one of the best series for children out there. If you missed it before, you still have time to catch up before the next installment!

Here’s how the book begins:

I think it was only at the very end of the Lavender Lodge job, when we were fighting for our lives in that unholy guesthouse, that I glimpsed Lockwood & Co. working together perfectly for the first time. It was just the briefest flash, but every detail remains etched into my memory: those moments of sweet precision when we truly acted as a team.

Yes, every detail. Anthony Lockwood, coat aflame, arms flapping madly as he staggered backward toward the open window. George Cubbins, dangling from the ladder one-handed, like an oversized windblown pear. And me – Lucy Carlyle – bruised, bloody, and covered in cobwebs, sprinting, jumping, rolling desperately to avoid the ghostly coils . . .

Sure, I know none of that sounds so great. And to be fair, we could have done without George’s squeaking. But this was the thing about Lockwood & Co.: we made the most of unpromising situations and turned them to our advantage.

Want to know how? I’ll show you.

LockwoodandCo.com
DisneyBooks.com

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Source: This review is based on my own copy, purchased via Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Troll and the Oliver, by Adam Stower

Delightfully Silly, Fantasy, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

troll_and_the_oliver_largeTroll and the Oliver

by Adam Stower

Templar Books (Candlewick Press), 2015. 40 pages.
Starred Review

Here’s some high drama for the preschool set. We start out being introduced to Troll and “an Oliver.” Troll keeps trying to catch the Oliver, wanting to eat it for lunch. But the Oliver keeps getting away. We see many of these scenarios, as the Oliver dodges, hides, and sneaks away, cleverly eluding capture. As he escapes he sings little songs and always wears a happy smile. Despite the giant fuzzy blue troll, the reader isn’t really frightened for Oliver.

Then one day, the reader thinks Troll has given up. Oliver looks and looks for Troll and steps stealthily just in case.

And shall I give a spoiler? I don’t feel like I can explain how absolutely brilliant this book is without explaining what happens.

But perhaps I can get away with saying there’s a half-page turn in this book – which is the most dramatic page turn I have ever seen in a children’s book. Read well, I can easily imagine children jumping out of their skin.

When I say half-page: A double page spread has vertically half a page in the middle of it. Before you turn the half-page, you’ve got Oliver in the kitchen, just having realized the Troll has given up.

My name’s Oliver,
Look at me!
I’m as clever
As can be!
I’m the best
And I’m the winner.
I’ll never ever
Be that smelly
Troll’s dinner!

Turning the half-page “opens” the cabinet – to devastating effect.

Let’s just say that it’s a good thing it turns out Olivers taste awful. And the pictures of Troll tasting him all have Oliver’s legs hanging out of Troll’s mouth. So still not too frightening.

And then, in a brilliant stroke, Troll smells what the Oliver was baking in the kitchen. All along, something was wafting from the oven, but our attention wasn’t called to it. Turns out – Trolls love CAKE!

And the book finishes off with a happy scene of Oliver having a Cake Picnic with a whole big party of trolls. The back endpapers have a recipe for Troll Cupcakes.

I especially like the Author’s Note at the end:

I would strongly advise the reader to ALWAYS have some cake handy, just in case a troll should happen by. He might be hungry. . . .

One of the things I love about this book is that Oliver is consistently smiling. Despite the dramatic reversal in the middle, the reader is never too worried for Oliver, because he’s not worried. Yep, there’s a big fuzzy blue troll trying to eat a little kid, but it’s not really a frightening book. And you come away with the message: Always have some cake handy.

What could be better?

I’m going to try this book at Storytime. . . And see if I can make the kids jump.

candlewick.com

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Whispering Skull audiobook, by Jonathan Stroud

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

whispering_skull_audio_largeThe Whispering Skull

by Jonathan Stroud
read by Katie Lyons

Listening Library, 2014. 11 ½ hours on 9 compact discs.
Starred Review

I’m thoroughly enjoying rereading the Lockwood & Co. series by listening before the third book in the series comes out this month. I was disappointed that a different narrator was used for the second book, but she’s still got a British accent, and it’s still an enthralling and absorbing story that makes the commuting miles fly by.

In the second book, there’s more tension between the members of the agency Lockwood & Co. The skull in the title is our friend in the jar – and it starts talking to Lucy, but continues to say things that build mistrust and get the agency into trouble.

There’s more horror in this book – this time the ghost of a man eaten by rats, as well as people who die by looking into a cursed mirror. Lockwood & Co. are looking for this mirror, which was stolen from a coffin that was dug up in their presence and also contained the bones of a particularly threatening Visitor.

Again, this would make great family listening – but only if the kids are old enough for a very scary story. If they’ll be badly freaked out by the thought of rats eating a human body – this audiobook is not for them.

However, for older kids and adults, this is more brilliant excitement from Jonathan Stroud. We’ve got a mystery again – what happened to the mirror? But there’s also competition with another agency, secrets between Lucy and Lockwood and George, and more interesting tidbits about this world where dangerous Visitors walk among us, but only kids can see them.

I had so much fun reviewing this series in preparation for Book Three, I have a feeling it’s going to become a yearly tradition. (This is a case where I am definitely hoping we’re not talking about a trilogy.) I’m just not getting tired of these brilliant books.

jonathanstroud.com
lockwoodandco.com
listeninglibrary.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library audiobook from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of Wolfskin, by Juliet Marillier

Fantasy, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

wolfskin_largeWolfskin

by Juliet Marillier

Tor, New York, 2002. 493 pages.
Starred Review

I was in the mood to read an outstanding book and wanted something that would really absorb me, so I reflected that there are still some books by Juliet Marillier which I haven’t read. I chose Wolfskin because it was a first-in-a-series title that was on our shelves at my library branch.

At first, I admit, I was a little dismayed. There’s some foreshadowing that goes on which didn’t sound good. Our hero, Eyvind, a Viking, wants nothing more than to be a Wolfskin, a berserker soldier who hears Thor’s voice. When he is young, he hears a tale about two men with a blood oath of brotherhood. Later, because of that blood oath, one of the men ends up killing his beloved, who is in the family of the enemies of the blood brother. The story is held up as an example of wonderful loyalty. And soon after, Eyvind is asked to swear a blood oath to a nobleman’s brother who is staying with them, Somerled. The reader knows this can’t end well.

Well, it slowed me down. It turns out Somerled isn’t a tremendously likable character. And Eyvind is not as clever as Somerled, and gets taken advantage of.

But I knew I could expect deeper things from Juliet Marillier, and I was definitely not disappointed. Many years later, Eyvind travels across the sea to the Orkney Islands under the command of Somerled’s brother. Events that happen there require Eyvind to trust his own instincts and stand for the truth.

Here’s a section from the beginning of the book, where Eyvind’s older brother Eirik comes home for a visit.

Eirik was his hero. Eirik was a Wolfskin. That was the most glorious calling in the whole world, for surely nothing could surpass the moment when you heard Thor’s call to battle ringing in your ears, pulsing in your blood, filling every corner of your being with a red rage that shut out any thought of fear. To charge forward in pure courage, inspired by the god himself – that bold vision tugged at Eyvind’s thoughts by day and filled his dreams by night. What matter if a Wolfskin’s life were short? Such a warrior, once fallen, would be carried straight to Thor’s right hand. One day he himself would pass the test, and become one of that band to which Eirik and Hakon belonged, as had many of Eyvind’s kin in times past. The men of Hammarsby had a noble tradition in the Warfather’s service. So Eyvind practiced with the bow and with the axe. He ran and climbed, he skated and swam. He shoveled snow and hunted and grew strong, awaiting that day. Eirik’s tales kept his dreams alive. Later, perhaps his brother would tell of the autumn Viking, the riches plundered, the battles won.

Once they get to the Orkneys, the story of Nessa is told alongside Eyvind’s. Nessa is the king’s daughter, training to be the priestess of her people. But then Somerled’s brother dies, and Somerled insists that the folk of the Orkneys are responsible, and there is trouble between their peoples.

This book includes the detailed creation of a world as it may have been, with adventure and bravery, romance and passion, right and wrong, justice and treachery, loyalty and betrayal, and a touch of magic.

Juliet Marillier has done it again. (Or I should say, “did” it again. I just preordered her next book to be published in America!)

julietmarillier.com
tor.com

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Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.

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Review of The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, read by Miranda Raison

Audiobooks, Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

screaming_staircase_audio_largeLockwood & Co.

The Screaming Staircase

by Jonathan Stroud

read by Miranda Raison

Listening Library, 2013. 10 hours on 8 compact discs.
2013 Cybils Winner: Speculative Fiction, Elementary and Middle Grades
2013 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #1 Children’s Fiction
Starred Review

Normally, I won’t listen to a book I’ve already read. In the case of The Screaming Staircase, I’d already read it twice: Once when it came out, and once for the Cybils Award. (It won.) I also named it my favorite children’s book read in 2013. (I don’t allow rereads to count as Sonderbooks Stand-outs any more, so that way I won’t be tempted to give it to this book again in 2015.) So you won’t be surprised that I loved this audiobook (which our library finally purchased). Apparently, I don’t get tired of this story at all!

I’ll refer you to my original review, but point out a few things I noticed.

As a straight mystery (Who killed Annabelle Ward?), this book is wonderfully well-crafted. There are clues and red herrings as well as a life-endangering denouement accompanying some clever deductions from our heroes.

This book is scarier than I remembered it. The Red Room – with blood dripping down from the ceiling threatening to flood them (and they’ll die if it touches them) is incredibly sinister, not to mention the Screaming Staircase, where long-ago monks were led to their deaths and today you can hear their screams in your head. So that’s the only caveat when giving this book to children or suggesting it for family listening (It would be great!) – they have to be able to handle Scary.

As I suspected, though, the only thing better than reading this book is having it read to you with a British accent. The narrator is utterly wonderful! When I got to the part I used to read aloud at schools when booktalking last summer – I could recite the words along with the narrator, but they sounded so much better with a British accent! This narrator also captured the different voices with excellence.

As I mentioned in my first review, there’s so much going on with this book. We’ve got ghosts, swordplay, a deadline which must be met to keep their business, banter between colleagues, an interesting alternate world with great detail as to the different types of ghosts, kids in charge (because only they can see ghosts), and our heroes setting out to show the world that they are excellent at what they do – without the supervision of adults.

If your kids are old enough to handle Scary, this would make phenomenal family listening, because I guarantee the adults will be as mesmerized as the kids. I certainly was. And this was a book I successfully recommended to several adult coworkers. I am having fun listening to the audio version of the first two books in the series in preparation for Book Three coming out soon. I can hardly wait!

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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.

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