Welcome to my
first middle-grade compilation of 2019! All three stories belong to ongoing
series. I do my best to avoid spoilers, but I cannot guarantee that they are
100% spoiler-free. You have been forewarned!
*This is the final book in a series.*
What is it like
to be both a hero and an outcast, a mage for good and a vessel of evil? Callum
Hunt will know. He is beginning his final year at the Magisterium, a magical
school where mages are taught, but this year he is shunned by some who called
him friend in the past, and one of his best friends is not present like he’d
like to be. The villain, the real “Evil Overlord,” is not shy about making
himself known and visible, yet there are many who still do not trust Call, even
though the Evil Overlord is unlike anything the mage world has ever seen. And
in a world in which Devoureds and elementals exist, that is saying something.
The Evil Overlord, stuffed full of malevolence and power-hungry greed, has
demands, one of which is Call and his friends. They all expect to be killed,
but it is possible to defeat this villain, though it will involve some travel
and an assist from Call’s dad, Alastair. Support from the Assembly wouldn’t
hurt, either. Now, about that voice inside his head …
Brilliant. Magical. This fifth and
concluding novel in the Magisterium
series has been brimful of action, adventure, magic, fantasy and humor.
However, the authors do not shy away from the darker, tough stuff, making
obstacles a different sort of difficult than ours would be since they involve
magic. It stuns with a plot complex enough to keep the interest of advanced
readers, but is still easygoing enough for fans to read for the pure enjoyment
of reading. For me, this series ranks right up there with Harry Potter or any of the mythology-based books by Rick Riordan.
And I do not give that praise lightly!
The Legend of Shadow High (Oct. 17, 2017) by Shannon Hale &
Dean Hale.
*This is a book within a series, but I don’t know if more will follow.*
Ever After High
and Wonderland aren’t the only fantastical places that exist in the World of
Stories. Monster High exists, too, with founders Frankie Stein (daughter of
Frankenstein, obviously) and Draculaura (clearly the daughter of Dracula) going
on an adventure they never dreamed of. They have heard whispers of a place
called Shadow High. Unfortunately, the Evil Queen gets wind of this as well.
Frankie and Draculaura are accidentally transported to Ever After High around
the same time that the Evil Queen is missing from her mirror prison and then
Madeline Hatter winds up kidnapped. Overseeing the narration of the tale is a
Narrator by the name of Brooke Page. She is young and very new in the role of
Narrator. Frankie and Draculaura team up with Raven Queen and Apple White and
once they get over the fact that the others actually exist – for real – they
work to rescue Madeline and save the World of Stories. Because if they don’t,
and those margins crash together, their world will be destroyed. Their stories
will no longer be. They’ll be a jumble of words, an effect of the Unmaking.
As one who has enjoyed the Ever After High series of books, those
written by Shannon Hale and Suzanne Selfors, I was happy to come across this
one last year while perusing books. Like the others, this story is
light-hearted and cute. It’s a bit of mystery within a safety net. In other
words, mystery is present, but what leads up to solving it or getting through
it isn’t nightmare-inducing. With the addition of Brooke Page and Madeline
Hatter’s ability to hear the Narrator, there’s an added element of
communicative ability involved in the story process. Brooke isn’t immune to
fangirl-ing, adding to her youthful vibe. Puns, figurative sayings and
trademark exclamations (like “fangtastic” and “spelltacular”) are always near
at hand. If you’re a fan of the Ever
After High series, and you haven’t read this already, this volume should
meet your approval. It’s also a bit more interactive for you, the Reader, which
can be a help or a hindrance if you like that sort of interaction in reading.
Or don’t. (I don’t prefer choosing
paths and jumping pages.)
Rise of the Isle of the Lost (May 23, 2017) by Melissa de la Cruz.
*This is the third book in a series.*
Are they rotten
to the core no more? That might be pushing it, but the quartet from the Isle of
the Lost, consisting of Mal (daughter of Maleficent), Evie (daughter of Evil
Queen), Jay (son of Jafar) and Carlos (son of Cruella de Vil), have certainly
come a long way from where they started. They’re each both in their elements
and still finding their ways. Mal works to balance Auradon’s agreement to not
use magic (except under highly regulated, exceptional circumstances) while
being the girlfriend of the young king. Evie loves being in Auradon and shines
as a fashionista and unofficial seamstress at Auradon Prep. Jay continues to
understand teamwork instead of looking out only for himself and is accepting
help to prepare for R.O.A.R. (Royal Order of Auradon Regiment) tryouts.
R.O.A.R. is a combination of parkour and fencing (“It’s not linear. … Think of
it as 3-D fencing.” – Li’l Shang, son of Li Shang and Mulan). Carlos also
enjoys life in Auradon, especially now that he likes dogs, and he is excelling
in school with technology his specialty. King Ben gets called away to moderate
a dispute between Northern Wei and Agrabah at the same time that the Isle group
decides to help Evie’s friend Arabella, niece to Ariel and granddaughter of
King Triton. They need to find something before someone notices it’s lost and
before Uma (daughter of Ursula), Harry (son of Hook) and other hooligans find
it first.
This middle-grade novel packs a
rollicking adventure on land and at sea into a relatively slim volume. “Rise of
the Isle of the Lost” features a perilous race that remains G-rated. I enjoyed
the storyline, which included Uma and getting a backstory of her character and
also the story behind the tension between her and Mal. As those two have
mothers who are epic villains, it doesn’t take much for an ocean-size wedge to
come between these past friends. King Ben gets to travel to two different areas
of the kingdom, and I enjoyed the glimpse into different places outside of
Auradon Prep and the Isle of the Lost. Although not wrought with intense
complexity, this story is fun-filled and humorous with cleverness and heart.
This was an enjoyable read. Filled with beloved characters from Descendants aka VKs. Loved the setting for this story and the explanation for mermaids at Auradon/Isle.
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