Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Blackwood's now nearly 13-year-old wizard apprentice demonstrates both the pluck and smarts to cope with a series of misadventures as he sets about to save Simon, his master, from the evil Bonemaster. To locate an important and powerful book of lost magic wisdom and rescue Simon's missing wife, who has the power to save him, Jinx treks through the magical woodlands, studded with trolls, werewolves, and other menacing creatures, to enroll as a would-be scholar in the hostile country of Samara. Meanwhile, land-grabbing Keyland lumberjacks threaten the trees of the Urwald, who Jinx alone can hear, and his allegiances with his friends Reven and Elfwyn are tested when they are at odds with the desires of the Urwald. Blackwood's invented languages are seamlessly believable, and the compelling moral questions facing Jinx how far is he willing to go to rescue the people important to him? will snag readers.Unlike many second volumes in fantasy series, this one delivers all the grace and spark of Jinx (2013) while still allowing the characters to gain depth and complexity and expanding on the already richly dynamic world. This series deserves a permanent place in the children's fantasy pantheon, with Narnia and Earthsea.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-The middle book of a trilogy must be the hardest to write: the thrill of the first book's creation of setting and characters is over and the satisfaction of tying every loose end together is yet to come. In this sequel to Jinx (HarperCollins, 2013), Blackwood succeeds in keeping readers' interests piqued without completely frustrating them. Jinx travels beyond the borders of his beloved Urwald and learns that it must be saved from the greedy depredations of invading foreigners from Keyland. He insinuates himself into the school at the Temple in Samara so he can explore the history of magic. As Blackwood extends Jinx's experiences to other lands, she adds layers of complexity that hint at future developments. Jinx's magical powers are strengthening, but he doesn't fully understand their source or their extent. He's still finding out how to use his gifts. The result of these uncertainties is that readers are left feeling as unsettled and unbalanced as he is. The next installment can't come along soon enough.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
As the first "listener" in a hundred years, Jinx can hear the thoughts of the Urwald's trees (Jinx, rev. 5/13), so he knows how upset they are that Keylanders are slaughtering acres of them on the Urwald/Keyland border. Jinx tries to rally his companions Elfwyn and Reven to his cause, but after he angrily turns a lumberjack into a sapling, they start to fear him, and he returns to the woods alone. There Jinx finds that his nemesis the Bonemaster has escaped his bonds and wiped out a settlement, and that the destruction is being blamed on Jinx. Blackwood has created several distinct types of magic which, as Jinx explores and reinvents them for his own use, form a puzzle that drives the action forward. The plot is a little convoluted, wrapping up loose ends from the first volume and setting up elements for the next before finally establishing its own internal tension, but the unique setting, smart pace, likable characters, and sprightly voice hold the narrative together while keeping Jinx's fans eager for more. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
It's hard not to like a fantasy that is set in an argumentative magical forest, but Blackwood squanders the promise of her debut (Jinx, 2013) with a sequel that just spins its wheels. Though he's repeatedly assured that he doesn't know who he is or what he's doing, 12-year-old wizard-in-training Jinx continues to explore the nebulous extent of his burgeoning magical powers. He does this both at a school in the city of Samara, where he discovers a new style of magic, and in the Urwald, where he can draw huge amounts of raw power from the trees--but his ability to hear and speak to them is a mixed blessing. Meanwhile, his crabby mentor, Simon Magus, is recaptured by the Bonemaster, an affable archnemesis who has also taken to exterminating the Urwald's scattered human communities, and Simon's scholarly wife, Sophie, has been imprisoned. Further complicating matters, Reven (aka Prince Raymond) has given the whole forest fantods by promoting a profitable lumbering operation on the way to reclaiming his throne. Blackwood drops hints of a larger conflict looming and continues to throw her protagonist into dangerous situations. At odds with this are tongue-in-cheek plot elements, such as Jinx's ability to see thoughts as pink puffy clouds or other shapes, cryptic remarks delivered at odd moments by elves and an oddly rational werewolf. Typical of middle volumes: much backing and forthing to not enough purpose. (Fantasy. 10-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
