Fantasy Pick: The Wizard of Dark Street

The Wizard of Dark Street
by Shawn Thomas Odyssey
Egmont
2011
346 pages

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Magical, mysterious, and delighful, The Wizard of Dark Street is a captivating read. For those readers who enjoyed Harry Potter and other wizarding books, Oona Crate is an appealing new wizard--but one who doesn't want to use magic. Oona, you see, would give it all up to be a detective and use her brains, her powers of deduction (nod to Sherlock Holmes), and clues to solve mysteries. Her uncle, the current Wizard of Dark Street, finally prints an ad in The New York Times for a new apprentice, since it appears his neice will never be able to take over his role.

Dark Street is a magical world the reader will fall in love with. A world just inside New York City yet invisible to most non-magical folk. The gates to the street only open for one minute each night at the stroke of midnight. Most children are fast asleep in their beds at that hour, and most adults would miss that minute. Even if they thought they saw something out of the corner of their eye, upon a second glance perhaps the gate would already close, and they'd think their eyes had played tricks on them.

Dark Street has always existed, "In one form or another it had always been there, a bridge between the fantastic and the ordinary, between magic and reason, between the Land of the Fay and the city that never sleeps."

Oona makes it her business to discover who stole all the designer dresses from Madame Iree's dress shop. The hopelessly bungling police detective Inspector White is laughable, and he sure doesn't want a little girl upstaging him, even if she is the neice of the reigning Wizard.

When her own uncle goes missing, Oona uses her wits and the help of her magical pet raven Deacon, an enchanted know-it-all who holds encyclopedic information about the history of the enchanted world and all its inhabitants, to solve the mystery.

Mystery fans and fans of magic will love the fantastic world of Dark Street. Strange characters abound along with skullduggery. The beautiful cover art will draw readers in, and the author's website is fantastic! check it out here

Recommended grades 5-up. Good readers grade 4 may want to give it a try.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Fantasy Pick: Reckless

Reckless
by Cornelia Funke
Little Brown, 2010
394 pages

Funke has the unique talent of taking fairy tale creatures not really known by the American reading public and making them a part of our literary past. From men who become precious stones and warriors known as goyl to a fox who turns into a human girl, Reckless contains a myriad of fantasy creatures. Jacob Reckless sees a strange mirror in his father's study. He longs for his father who vanished mysteriously some years ago. Jacob walks through the mirror into another world. Only when his younger brother follows him and is cursed by a dark fairy, is Jacob ready to give up his adventures in the fairy tale world.

Jacob, Clara, and Will travel across dangerous territory inhabited by witches, dwarfs, evil goyl, and fairies. Every forrest is a danger, every tree a weapon. Readers will lose themselves in this fantasy world. Layer upon layer is well-developed and vividly told.

Recommended for fantasy collections grade 7-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for the middle school library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

Chick Pick: The False Princess

The False Princess
by Eilis O'Neal
Egmont, 2011
336 pages

Nalia is the princess of Thorvaldor--heir to the throne and the only daughter of the King and Queen. After her sixteenth birthday, Nalia's world is torn apart. The only parents she's ever known tell her that she is a false pretender to the throne--a peasant's baby they raised as their own, secreting the rightful princess, their daughter, away in the countryside for her safety. Nalia is stripped of her title, her home, her parents, even her name--she is now Sinda, a penniless orphan who has a distant aunt who agrees to take her in. Sinda is not meant for the peasant life. She has been tutored in languages and court manners, not cleaning and cooking over an open fire. She is homesick for the palace and her friend Keirnan.


Away from the palace and the spell that wizards put over her, Sinda realizes that she has some powers of her own. She travels back to Thorvaldor to seek out training to help her use her new abilities. It is there that a wise--if befuddled--wizard named Philantha takes her in and trains her to use her magic. Sinda and Keirnan discover that the princess Nalia may also be a fake. Who is the true princess? Where is she? And why would someone try to fool the King and Queen? It is up to Sinda and Keirnan to save the kingdom.

The False Princess has mystery, romance, intrigue, suspense, evil, treachery, magic--everything a reader could want. Readers who enjoy a mystery mixed with romance will love The False Princess.

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up.

Book will be released January 25, 2011.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review.

The Curse of Deadman's Forest

The Curse of Dead Man’s Forest (book 2, Oracles of Delphi Keep)
By Victoria Laurie
Delacorte Press, 2010
423 pages.

As the forces of evil continue to build, Ian Wigby and his sister Theo try to fulfill the 3,000 year old prophecy that they can save the humanity with the help of four other magically gifted children yet to be revealed. The third child is called the healer and can only be found if the children enter the portal—a time travel portal near their home in Dover, England. But, the stakes are high—the prophecy foretells of Ian’s death if he enters the portal again. The children are sure they can’t stay in Dover and wait for evil forces to find them, but they can’t enter the portal and risk Ian’s death either.

A magic sundial found in the second box reveals the way to solve each riddle.

This series is sure to delight readers of all ages. Anyone who liked Harry Potter, Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief series, and A Series of Unfortunate Events is likely to love this book. Part magic, part Greek mythology, part adventure, this novel sets a break-neck pace for page turners. Suspenseful and satisfying.

Highly recommended ages 10-and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher along with book one. I did not receive any monetary compensation for my review or blog posting.

YA Pick

Witch & Wizard
by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
Little Brown and Company, 2009.
314 pages.

Teen readers will be drawn to this novel for three reasons: the large "W" ablaze dominating the cover, the words "witch" and "wizard" in the title, and those readers who followed the Maximum Ride series will want to read Patterson's latest YA novel.

Siblings Wisty and Whit Allgood are awakened in the middle of the night by armed thugs who arrest them, transport them to a "trial," and drop them off at a sadistic prison. The old government has been overthown and replaced by a maniac who refers to himself as "The One Who Is The One." The Allgood teens are dangerous to the new order because of their powers. Wisty and Whit discover that they are a witch and a wizard, respectively. As they begin to harness their powers, they befriend a ghost or "curve" who helps them escape the prison through the Shadowlands, a dangerous otherworld where spirits, and sometimes, humans, roam. Later, they join a gang of likeminded kids who hope to overthrow the new regime and fulfill a prophecy that kids will rule and peace will come.

This is a quick read with chapters only 2-4 pages in length. Each chapter ends on a suspenseful note to keep those pages turning. Action and adventure readers will enjoy this novel. Patterson continues to use a formula he has had past success with: working with another author who is comfortable in the children's and YA lit market. Charbonnet, with over 75 titles to her credit, is best known for the Babysitter's Club Baby Sister's books.

The ending of this novel makes possible a slew of sequels. As prolific a writer as Patterson is, he will likely churn out a whole series.

Recommended for YA collections. Grades 6-high school.