Dark Triumph

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Katy K.

Dark TriumphDark Triumph. His Fair Assassin Book 2. by Robin LaFevers.

In the first book of this series, we met Ismae, a novice at the convent of St. Mortain, the patron saint of death, whose nuns are naturally assassins. In that book, Ismae found love while thwarting (at least temporarily) devious plots against the ruling Duchess, Anne of Brittany. In this book, we learn the story of Ismae’s friend and fellow novice Sybella, who seemed slightly insane in the first book and who was sent out on a mission even before Ismae. Sybella may know she’s on a mission, but since the mission involves returning to her abusive legal father, the powerful d’Albert, her cover is good even if her actions are still closely watched. D’Albert has buried six wives and is now one of the many men betrothed to the Duchess and determined to follow through. Sybella witnesses the mighty Beast of Waroch being struck down as the Duchess’s forces attack d’Albert’s stronghold directly. Soon she discovers that he has survived and is being held prisoner. Her struggle to rescue him and take him back to the Duchess turns out to be redemptive for both of them.

The first book in this series had a lot more politics; Sybella and the Beast are much less involved with the whole web and more focused on one mission at a time. There is more of a look at the various roles society puts people into, as a significant amount of time is spent with the pair recruiting the assistance of the despised charcoal-burners or charbonnerie for the Duchess. But while Ismae had a hard enough backstory, Sybella’s is downright nightmarish. Not only did she watch her father kill multiple wives, but she has abusive older brothers, and beloved younger sisters who can be used as hostages. The Beast seems to have survived a life not much better with somewhat less mental scarring, but he is dedicated to St. Camulos, as are all children born of battle-fueled rape. Their journey to overcome their pasts to find a place of trust is just beautiful. In the first book, I was bothered by the focus on romance in a story about nuns, but this time I was expecting it. It’s explicit that chastity is not among the vows of St. Mortain’s nuns, but Sybella and Ismae both have growing doubts about how the convent is run and the role of the Abbess in particular. This plot line looks like it will come even more to the fore in the last book in the trilogy. The Beast seems to hold some ideas that were potentially anachronistic, which I was perfectly willing to accept in the name of a more balanced relationship for modern teens to read about. (I’d say it’s best for high school and up, due to the dark subject matter.) Otherwise, this is a book that pays beautifully close attention to historical accuracy. That, combined with strong characters and the exciting, multi-stranded plot, made for a story I got sucked right into. And yes, I’ll definitely be looking for the sequel.

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Cinnamon and Gunpowder

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Katy K.

A tale of pirates told by a chef? How could I resist?

Cinnamon and GunpowderCinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown.
Owen Wedgewood was chef to the head of the Pendleton Company, which seems to be a fictional relative of the East India Shipping Company. When the famous pirate Hannah Mabbot arrives to kill Wedgewood’s employer, she pauses to eat some of the dinner he’d cooked and decides to take him with her. She offers the straight-laced Wedgewood a bargain: cook her a full dinner every Sunday and be spared. Initially horrified by her lawlessness and determined to try to escape, he gradually comes to appreciate Mabbot’s iron determination to bring down the opium trade, so ruinous for both addicts and for those forced to grow it. Wedgewood is a philosophical cook, waxing poetical about the powers of civilization and wheat to create bread and the meanings of different tastes. Brown seems to have a good background in old-fashioned cooking, as he describes Wedgewood’s efforts to create what he considers a modern, functional kitchen on board ship, including his difficulties with the stove, creating a yeast starter from scratch, using a cannonball as a rolling pin, his joy over making sauerkraut and his delightful first experiments with miso. In between the fabulous meals, there are many piratical adventures, including attacks on prisons, sea chases, and fights in seedy port taverns.

My love, on whom I pressed this, said that he had to decide that Wedgewood was an unreliable narrator when it came to describing nautical things, as there were just too many times when he used the right words just a little bit wrong, such as when he described the ship as “running against the wind.” That last was the only example that I’d noticed myself (ships run with the wind – the laborious process of tacking to go against the wind is not running), but my love is a sailor by avocation and has pored over his books of the old sailing ships. People like myself more casually interested in the sea will probably not be bothered by this. My love, once having dealt with this difficulty, was able to enjoy the story, while I was able to jump into it from the start. Even though Mabbott’s ideas are decidedly more modern than 18th century, Wedgewood’s struggles to reconcile his new world with his beliefs felt perfectly appropriate to his time. While it might seem like an odd combination, I have so many friends who love both food and pirates that I am confident in recommending this to a broad circle of my acquaintance. (Need I say that the subject matter best suits it to adults and perhaps older teens?)

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Blucy

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Katy K.

Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes! My little bunny got home from the hospital a couple of hours ago, and and I expect that she is hopping around like mad now that she can move around more freely.

I won Blucy in a giveaway from Julie at When I Grow Up, I Wanna Write a Kids Book. (Check out the book blast giveaway of Blucy there through September 20, so head over there to win your own copy!) Julia was kind enough to send me an ARC so I could review it before the official pub date last week, which unfortunately didn’t happen because of my bunny being in the hospital. She made it home earlier today,

BlucyBlucy by Julia Dweck. Blucy is the story of a strong-willed blue cat and her young owner’s struggles to keep her out of trouble. Blucy isn’t just blue herself – she’s crazy about blue. It takes her owner Mandy some time to figure out what her blue cat will eat – certainly not regular brown cat food – and in the meantime, Blucy gets herself into all kinds of trouble involving blue things. This silly story is told in bouncy, well-executed rhymes that my three-year-old loved. The juicy pastel illustrations take this over the edge and make it into a book that I was happy to read to her several times in a row. It’s a light tale that’s perfect for young cat-lovers, with an understated message on the power of patience and persistence in solving problems: Mandy never punishes Blucy, but once she’s able to meet her needs, the behavior problems go away. That’s a reminder that’s as helpful for parents as it is for young pet owners.

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Hospital Time

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Katy K.

just a quick note to say that this blog is on hiatus while my little bunny is in the hospital.  She should be ok, it’s just that having a liver transplant means that things that would be a few days at home for a regular kid mean a few more days in the hospital for her.  But trying to keep her from pulling out her IV keeps me a little too busy to be doing book reviews, even if my to-be-reviewed list was already scarily long.  I hope to be back soon, and hope you have good books to read in the meantime! 

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Scratch9

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Katy K.

This is another artist that we discovered at Kids Read Comics. By “we” in this case, I mean my love and my son, who brought this home several years ago and have read it several times over. They were shocked when I said that I’d never actually read it, and placed this conspicuously on top of my stack of library books waiting to be read.

Scratch9Scratch9. Vol 1: The Pet Project. by Rob M. Worley. Illustrated by Jason T. Kruse and Mike Kunkel.

The cute and fluffy cat Scratch loves his owner, young Penelope, but dreams of being a free, wild cat, and so runs away when she tries to put a collar on him. Almost immediately, he is captured by one of those pound collectors so ubiquitous in children’s stories, and then sold to C.R.U.E.L. Laboratories. In the cages there, Scratch meets a scrappy little dog, a crazy squirrel, and a rooster, all of them claiming to be strong loners. But then Dr. Schrodinger, the evil scientist in charge, straps Scratch down and runs his experimental equipment on him. This unleashes Scratch’s other 8 lives, giving him the ability to call them into physical form to help him in times of need. They range from a saber-tooth tiger through a cyborg-like future cat, and Scratch will need help from all of them to rescue his new friends and to find Penelope before the evil scientist brings his nefarious plans to fruition. Meanwhile, Penelope is doing everything she can to find Scratch, with no notion that doing so could put both of them in even more danger.

This series was nominated for an Eisner award and named the Best Children’s Comic of 2010 by School Library Journal. It combines quite a few familiar elements into a fresh and fun story. While the fast-paced action is appealing to boys, Penelope’s presence, the cute cats, and the overarching message of the importance of friendship and teamwork make sure that adventure-loving girls won’t feel shut out. (Those looking for a quiet character drama can look elsewhere, but that’s really just fine.) It’s exciting without ever getting too scary or too violent for elementary-aged kids.

Sadly, it looks like this first volume is no longer generally available – it’s selling used for an outrageous price on Amazon.com. It is available from a few libraries, so you might be able to get it via ILL if your library doesn’t have it. But it looks like they’re doing new floppy comics starting in September in preparation for a new graphic novel, so you can keep an eye out for that at your local comic book shop.

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Ballad

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Katy K.

BalladBallad by Maggie Stiefvater.
Ballad returns us to the characters Stiefvater introduced us to in Lament. It feels more like a linked novel than a continuation of the series, though. Things have been extremely awkward between James and Dierdre because of the events of the last book, so she and James aren’t really talking. We get her point of view in ghostly texts that she types to him but never sends. They are both now attending Thornking Ash, the high school for extremely musically gifted high school students that they were invited to after doing so well at the music competition that opened the first book. James, both hurt by her lack of contact and understanding that she’s going through a hard time, scrambles alone to fit in at the new school. He runs into a roadblock right away: there are no advanced bagpipe teachers at the school. On his way back from a failed lesson, he meets Nuala, a sidhe who must feed off of the inspiration of artists and musicians to survive. While she tells him the partial truth that accepting her help will give him a boost that will bring immortal fame, he’s savvy enough with the realm of fairy to know that the catch – whatever it might be – isn’t something he’s willing to risk. Nevertheless, they find themselves attracted to each other, in a romance that’s especially bittersweet knowing that Nuala is essentially starving herself to stay with James. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, James realizes that Thornking Ash lies in the path taken by Cernunnos, the Horned King, and that he isn’t the only student drawn by the haunting songs. The Fairy Queen is also up to new mischief, and while James may not know what’s going on with Dierdre, we as readers know from her increasingly desperate if cryptic texts that something is going badly wrong. James will need the slightly unexpected help of his English teacher, Mr. Sullivan, as well as his very ordinary seeming roommate to solve the mysteries before it’s too late for both Nuala and Dierdre.

It’s boarding school fantasy! (see also Harry Potter, Hex Hall, Beswitched, White Cat, and Gunnerkrigg Court) And while I enjoyed Lament greatly, I have to say that even though this book has more bagpipes than harps (not that I have anything against bagpipes, really!), there’s an added depth to this book. Both Nuala and James have more developed, nuanced characters than Dierdre and Luke. Music, magic and school integrate perfectly in a book that just confirms Stiefvater’s position as one of my favorite current authors.

And a note: once, in the author interview after an audiobook, Maggie Stiefvater said that she could never again tell people in Germany that she plays the bagpipes, because the German word for bagpipe is “Dudelsack”. I myself have always thought that “Dudelsack” was a fun word, but also that this linguistic disparity is evened out by the poor hurdy-gurdy being elevated to the much more dignified-sounding “Drehorgel” or “turn organ” in German. But maybe that’s easy for me to say as I don’t play either instrument.

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Golden Girl

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Katy K.

Hello, dear readers! Some year, I might be coordinated enough to write reviews and schedule them for posting while I’m on vacation, or even line up guest posts. This year was not that year, however. But I’m back, and ready to try to catch up. And I’m posting this a little late to the Kid Lit Blog Hop.

You might have noticed this cover popping up more than once in my lists of books I’ve been waiting to read. (Isn’t it a gorgeous cover?) I’ve been a Sarah Zettel fan for over a decade now, and really loved last year’s Dust Girl. I went right to my closest book store to buy it as soon as I’d saved up enough money… [Insert rant about big box bookstores not carrying book with starred reviews in major literary publications by established local authors here.] So I read the library’s copy, as usual, and will try the inconvenient but locally run bookstore in the next town over.

Golden GirlGolden Girl. American Fairies book 2. by Sarah Zettel.

In the last book, our heroine Callie, half black, half white, half fairy and half human, first learned of her fairy heritage and that she was wanted – not in a good way – by both the Seelie and the Unseelie courts. At the start of this book, Callie and her friend Jack have just arrived in Hollywood, which they have deduced is the home of the Seelie Court, in hopes of rescuing both of Callie’s parents from them. She meets her Uncle Shake, who would have been heir to the Unseelie Throne instead of her father if plans had gone more smoothly before Callie was born. He’s as selfish as he ever was, but can Callie believe him that helping her is now in his best interests? Through Jack’s job for a big studio, they meet Ivy Bright, “the brightest little star in Hollywood,” who is puzzlingly surrounded by magic.

This is the Golden Age of Hollywood, and Golden Girl mixes Fairy and Hollywood magic. It’s not clear that Callie really knew any Black people in her tiny Kansas hometown, but she was surely exposed to a lot of prejudice against Blacks in Dust Girl. Here, by contrast, she gets her first seductive experience of sophisticated Black culture. It includes intriguing glimpses of true larger-than-life characters William Hearst (who also plays a role in Goliath and whose castle near Hollywood I visited during my Up With People year) and Paul Robeson, a blues singer and civil rights activist I’d never heard of before. As Callie is trying to figure out how to outwit the fairies on both sides, he delivers the line that seems to me to be the heart of the book:

“It’s not about who they are,” he told me with that same implacable, unbreakable calm that had kept his anger from my magic. “It is never about who they are. It’s about who you are. ”

Besides the many interesting supporting characters, I was very pleased to see Callie grow as well, gaining skills with people and her magic. There’s plenty going on in the plot, as well, with narrow escapes from appropriately terrifying unnatural beings, as well as difficulties in hiding magic from humans. I know I keep talking about books that have things to think about – but maybe I need to mention, too, that while thoughts are good, I’m looking for a story with meaning, not a Message with a story draped awkwardly around it. This definitely and happily falls into the first category. It’s marketed for teens, and while Callie is a teen, I still haven’t seen anything to make this inappropriate for older middle grade kids – there’s some violence including death, but still less than, say, Percy Jackson, and the romance is still mostly just a hint for the future. Everything comes together in a highly satisfactory way, with enough plot resolution to end the book while leaving room for the final installment of the trilogy. And now, back to waiting. Maybe I should read both of them again while I’m waiting.

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Return to Cardamom Blog Tour

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Katy K.

Return to Cardamom Blog Tour

I am very happy today to be taking part in the official Blog Tour to celebrate the launch of Julie Anne Grasso’s second book, Return to Cardamom. Julie is one of the hostesses of the Kid Lit Blog Hop which I often participate in, and a regular and very sweet visitor here.  Be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom for the link to the Rafflecopter giveaway for this book!

Return to Cardamom. Adventures of Caramel Cardamom Book 2. by Julie Anne Grasso.
Caramel Cardamom is the twelve-year-old pizza-delivering, scooter-riding, amateur sleuth, princess and elf for whom this series is named. Having saved the day and stopped the evil Alexander222 and her aunt Isabel in the first book, Caramel thought she would be free to resume her healer training and regular consumption of sticky caramel date cake. But when she hears that something has frightened the cardamom trees so much that they drop all of the precious cardamom pods upon which the economy of the entire planet is based, Caramel immediately suspects that they’ve come back. Unfortunately, none of the adults believe her, even when Cardamom’s position in the Interplanetary Council is threatened. Once again, it’s up to Caramel to save the day – with help from her best friends Jemm and Jorde. And once Cardamom and the cardamom crop have been saved, the villain pulls out his revenge, which puts the people of Earth in danger.

Caramel’s character is an interesting blend of super abilities and shortcomings. On the one hand, she’s the only one who can figure out many of the problems in the book, figuring out how to reassure the frightened trees, tracking down the villains, and figuring out how to stop them. On the other, she’s a special needs child, with a leg that so badly injured in childhood that it is still painful and restricts her movement. As the mother of a special-needs child, I very much appreciated having a heroine with physical restrictions who still finds a way to do everything she wants. Grasso’s elves, with their love for sweet, sticky treats, seem in general to be more closely related to the branded treat-baking variety than Tolkien, and use variations on the word “elf” in their general speech much as Strawberry Shortcake uses “berry”. Their world is a mix of modern-seeming technology and magic, with wrist comm units and detectors on buildings that identify elves by scent on the modern side, and trees that will re-grow fruit or grow buildings in response to the prompting of tree-tenders. The very cute comes together with the serious in a story that involves sabotage, chronic diseases and kidnapping, as well as a touch of gentle pre-teen romance. The chapters often end with dire foreboding of things to come, lending a classic pulp feeling to the book. Return to Cardamom is an enthusiastic tale of an impulsive and gifted child who saves the day in spite of restrictions from her own body as well as villainy.

About Return to Cardamom

Return to Cardamom by Julie Anne Grasso

Title: Return to Cardamom (Caramel Cardamom Trilogy, Book #2)

Author: Julie Anne Grasso

Publisher: Independent

Publication Date: July 17, 2013

Pages: 136 (Paperback)

Recommended Age: 9+

Summary: Life is sweet for Caramel and things are finally getting back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be for a telepathic elf who can train trees and control computers, but she soon finds life on Cardamom is not all cupcakes and apple cider. A saboteur is hiding in the rainforest canopy, and the elves’ precious cardamom export has been wiped out. Caramel is certain it’s another trick of Alexander222 and her Aunt Isabel, but no one will believe her, and the clock is ticking. She must expose the saboteur in time to save the crop or the Elves of Cardamom will lose their livelihood. Caramel won’t rest until her theory is proven. While she is on the hunt, she makes a shocking discovery, one that will change everything.

Purchase

Amazon (US) * Amazon (UK) * Amazon (Canada)

The Buzz About Book 1: Escape From the Forbidden Planet

Escape from the Forbidden Planet by Julie Anne Grasso“Julie Anne Grasso has created an action-packed story featuring a range of interesting and imaginative characters (i.e., elves, the Alexanders, and other creatures), intergalactic travel, advanced medical and scientific technology, and complex environmental and conservation issues. Escape From the Forbidden Planet contains an intricate plot which slowly unfolds until you’re hooked and you are left on the edge of your proverbial seat wondering what will happen next.” ~ Mother Daughter Book Reviews, 5 Stars

“It’s part geeky, part science, and part fun, all brought together to become this awesome book called Escape From The Forbidden Planet. I would recommend this book to reading age kids and adults who like sci-fi kids books. Definitely something different. I really enjoyed reading it!” ~ Michael S., Amazon, 5 Stars

“I loved this book. Super great series for middle graders. I loved Caramel. She has a great attitude and determination. I really admired how she was focused on getting home, saving her family but also made the best of being stuck on an alien planet. Definitely a book with great role models for kids. I really hope there is more to come where this came from. Kids need books like this with catchy stories, solid characters who have good values that they can relate to.” ~ Unorthodox Mama, Goodreads, 5 Stars.

*** Get your FREE COPY of Escape From the Forbidden Planet by Julie Anne Grasso July 17 to 21, 2013. Available for 99 cents after July 21, 2013. ***

Amazon (US) * Amazon (UK) * Amazon (Canada)

About the Author

Julie Grasso - Author Julie Anne Grasso is an Australian author with a background in paediatric nursing. She spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed great courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories about a little girl elf just like them. Add in some very funky technology, her love of science fiction and desire to impart great values through her little girl elf named Caramel and there you have it, the Adventures of Caramel Cardamom Trilogy was the result.

Julie lives in Melbourne with her husband Danny and their little elf Giselle. Most days she can be found sipping chai lattes, chasing a toddler, and dreaming up wonderful worlds that often involve consumption of cupcakes.

Book Website: http://www.julieannegrassobooks.com/

Author Blog: WhenIgrowupIwannawriteakidsbook

Facebook page: Julie Anne Grasso Books

Twitter: @Jujuberry37

Goodreads Author: Julie Anne Grasso

Return to Cardamom Blog Tour Schedule (2013)

July 17

Mother Daughter Book Reviews (Launch & Review)

The Wise Owl Factory Book a Day (Review)

Jemima Pett (Review)

July 18

Amanda’s Books and More (Review)

Tales of a Bookworm (Review)

InkSpired: A Blog (Review)

July 19

Sher-A-Hart (Review)

This Kid Reviews Books (Review)

July 20

Fiona Ingram (Review)

swlothian | author (Review)

A Library Mama (Review)

July 21

Imagineer – ing (Book Spotlight)

Stanley and Katrina (Review)

July 22

Published Bestsellers (Author Interview)

The Jenny Evolution (Review)

July 23

Word Spelunking (Guest Post)

Stitch Says (Author Interview)

July 24

Nik’s Picks Book Reviews (Review)

R.K. Grow- reading.writing.blogging. (Author Interview)

Diane Estrella @That’s What I’m Here For… (Review)

July 25

Guiltless Reading (Review)

July 26

Kid Lit Reviews (Review)

BeachBoundBooks (Review)

July 27

Mel’s Shelves (Review)

Learning and Growing the Piwi Way (Review)

July 28

My Devotional Thoughts (Author Interview)

Daisha Korth Books (Review)

July 29

Fiona Ingram (Author Interview)

Published Bestsellers (Review)

Bookworm for Kids (Review)

July 30

Nayu’s Reading Corner (Guest Post)

Stitch Says (Review)

July 31

Cheryl Carpinello’s Writing Pages (Guest Post)

Nayu’s Reading Corner (Review)

Barbara Ann Mojica’s Blog (Review)

*** Return to Cardamom Blog Tour Giveaway ***

Return to Cardamom by Julie Anne GrassoAmazon $50 Gift Card

Prize: One winner will receive a copy (print in U.S./Canada & e-copy interntionally) + a $50 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash

Contest runs: July 17th to August 7th, 11:59 pm, 2013

Open: WW

How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Primates

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Katy K.

It’s KidLit Blog Hop Day! Please hop on over and take a look at all the other wonderful things up on other blogs.

Kid Lit Blog Hop

PrimatesPrimates: the Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas. by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks.
I’ve mentioned before that Jim Ottaviani is a friend of a friend (that friend being Dave over at Yet Another Comics Blog) I’ve met him a couple of times – he’s a super nice guy, as well as being a librarian and author of science comics. I am always excited to see his new books, even if I’m not sure where to put them. In this case, I bought it for the adult graphic novel collection, because that’s the one I buy for, even though everyone else seems to be assuming that it belongs in youth or teen. Such are the problems of buying graphic novels, which are often not marketed to specific ages the way regular books are.

But on to the book! It covers, in order, the careers of three famous primatologists. I’d heard of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey growing up, but first heard of Biruté Galdikas when I read Ottaviani’s Dignifying Science, which has stories of many less well known women scientists. This book is one that I read through in a single sitting at work when I was just supposed to be writing the call number in it, yet it’s packed full of information. I felt like I’d learned a whole lot more about all three women as people as well as about their scientific careers and the kind of work that goes into doing first-hand research on how primates live. All three of these women were hand-selected by Louis Leakey to do research on primates (he believed that women had more of the quiet patience needed for years of observation), though they’d all approached him because of their interest in primates. I was amused at how Leakey told both Fossey and Galdikas that they should have their appendixes out before going to live in the wild, and the different reactions the two of them had to this. With words as minimal as this, the art contributes a lot to the feeling of the book. Wicks’ drawings are both straightforward and expressive, conveying the different personalities of the three women as well as the different places and creatures they researched. This is a great introduction to three (four?) scientists everyone should know, told with energy and feeling.

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Wednesdays in the Tower

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Katy K.

I was lucky enough not to read Tuesdays at the Castle when it first came out, only because I then didn’t have too long to wait for the sequel to come out.

Wendesdays in the TowerWednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George.
Back in the magical Castle Glower, Princess Celie is ushered to a tower with an egg, and from the egg hatches a Griffin. But it won’t let her tell people about the baby Griffin – her oldest brother Bran, the wizard, is allowed to find out, but doors are slammed or items dropped down the chimney any time Celie comes close to telling anyone else about it. She is able, though, to do some research into the castle’s history with griffins with her brother Rolf, the heir. Sister Lilah still plays a relatively minor role, though her would-be sweethearts from the last book still important. Pogue the blacksmith’s son turns out to have more thoughtful ambitions, while Prince Lulath teaches the children his native language of Grathian. Meanwhile, the royal family has sent away to the College of Wizards for a wizard to see why the Castle keeps adding rooms, without taking any away, which it used to do. The wizard who comes, Wizard Arkwright, isn’t one that Bran recognizes, and seems decidedly shifty. Once again, it’s up to the children to protect their castle.

Somehow this book, while still a fine story, didn’t strike me as just perfect in the same way that the last one did. I liked the baby Griffin just fine, and hanging out with the children. But the castle, which had a special bond with Celie in the first book, here doesn’t seem as much of a character as just an enigma. The adults in charge are mostly clueless, not absent or nefarious. Neither the kids nor the kingdom are in as much danger as they were in the first book, so that it was somewhat less exciting, even if it did end on a cliffhanger. But – there’s still plenty of adventure and slightly less perfect is still quite good. I’ll gladly keep reading the series, and recommend it very much for younger middle grade fantasy readers, especially those with a fondness for griffins.

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