A flicker of courage Tales of triumph and disaster!

Review by Booklist Review

Henry is lonely, so when he discovers his neighbor Apollo crying, he braves asking him what is wrong and finds that Apollo's younger brother, Rocco, has been turned into a lizard by the town's current HRM (Horrible Ruler with Magic), Vlad Luxor! Deciding that he wants to help, Henry heads with Apollo and classmates Jo and Pirate Girl out to the lighthouse where Henry's grandfather, Captain Every, lives. Upon their arrival, the quartet learns that the captain is the keeper of light, while his companion, the Beautiful Librarian, is the keeper of knowledge, and they inform the four preteens that they themselves are descended from spell breakers rare, magical people who can undo the spells cast by evildoers such as Luxor. Can the group face off against him and bring Rocco back? Caletti, known for her heartbreaking, realistic young adult novels, goes in a completely new direction with this tongue-in-cheek middle-grade fantasy, and fans of the genre will enjoy her sympathetic protagonist who, after years of self-doubt, is thrust into the role of hero.--Lindsey Tomsu Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Kind Henry Every lives a life of hunger and fear in a dilapidated house with neglectful parents. The only spots of light are his glimpses into the joyful Dante house next door, where his classmate Apollo lives with his loving family, and secret excursions to visit his beloved grandfather, Captain Every, who lives in a lighthouse that houses a towering library. When Apollo appears wailing in front of Henry's house, it turns out that the town's villain, Vlad Luxor, has transformed his little brother Rocco into a lizard. Joined by classmates kind Jo and fearless Pirate Girl, and a loyal terrier named Button, the kids learn that they are what people barely dare to whisper: spell breakers. Together, the friends find the courage to embrace their power, saving Rocco and standing up to the childish, pompous tyrant to stop him from hurting anyone else. Through a broad-strokes portrayal of good vs. evil, this fast-paced middle grade debut from YA author Caletti (A Heart in a Body in the World) offers an allegorical message about activism and cooperation. Images that reinforce descriptions appear throughout alongside faux-serious titles ("A Great, Glistening Walrus"). Ages 8--12. (Jan.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 4--8--Emotionally and physically abused by his parents, Henry relies on his vivid imagination to escape a bleak home life. But when disaster strikes for his popular classmate Apollo and his family, Henry comes out of his shell to help. Evil Vlad Luxor, who rules their town, has turned Apollo's younger brother into a lizard, and Henry recruits kids to break the spell. With the help of Henry's ingenious grandfather and a brilliant librarian, the group realizes how powerful they are, both alone and as a team. This conversational series starter deals with intense and painful emotions. The hopeful tone is encouraging, and the focus on the power of knowledge and books may lead readers back to the stacks. VERDICT This magical adventure is a good fit for fans of Brandon Mull's Fablehaven and Karuna Riazi's The Gauntlet, as well as readers dealing with a home life like Henry's.--Kerry Sutherland, Akron-Summit County Public Library

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Henrys life is a misery on all fronts. His parents are cruel and neglectful, and his province is ruled by a malevolent madman with magic powers. Henry survives by keeping his head down, but a local tragedy catapults him into action and heroism. The evil Vlad Luxor has turned Rocco, the little boy next door, into a lizard, so Henry joins Roccos older brother and two brave and capable girls from school in a quest to break the spell. The breathless plot that follows is rich in riddle-solving, cliffhangers, hiding from bad guys, lock-picking, near-death experiences, riding bikes really fast, and comedy. Some of the humor is comfortably corny: a baker named Ms. Esm Silvooplay; Ms. Toomey from Socket-Toomey Hardware. Some is satirical: Vlad builds walls, hates science, and has hair that loops upward like a soft-serve ice cream cone. Some is visual: the story is generously illustrated with retro images from old postcards, handbooks, vintage ads, and wonderfully weird photos, images that relate in a wacky and tngential way to the text, often in response to a simile. At one point when the normally quiet Henry speaks, some words form and fly out of his mouth like a mostly orderly flock of geese; the accompanying photo shows geese flying in V formation. Its an original, deadpan touch that keeps the tone buoyant in this exhilarating, often poignant adventure. Sarah Ellis January/February 2020 p.86(c) Copyright 2020. 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.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Four kids fight back against an evil tyrant in this fantasy geared for middle graders from a veteran YA author.Anxious, lonely Henry lives with his parents next to the raucous, loving Dante family, and he's long yearned to befriend the family's oldest son, Apollo. However, it's only after Apollo's little brother Rocco is changed into a lizard by Vlad Luxor, their Horrible Ruler with Magic, that Henry gathers his nerve to band together with Apollo and Jo and Pirate Girl, two other kids, to try to find a way to break the spell. Playful names and vocabulary set a fantastical mood, and stylized, vintage-looking drawings and diagrams are peppered throughout. From the start, it's clear that a familiar epic battle is to be fought between the decent young people and the sinister megalomaniac leader. Luxor is described as a science-denying, thick-fingered, image-obsessed oaf with an inability to spella setup that feels heavy-handed even with the abundance of quick-paced action that propels the novel along, which seems destined for a sequel. Most of the characters, including Henry, the Dantes, and Pirate Girl, are white, or at least are assumed to be by default. Jo and her family are South American.Too-clever details and cloying messages get in the way of this story. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chapter 1 The Backward Clock On this Saturday morning, the Saturday morning that changes everything, Henry Every opens his bedroom window. Still wearing his striped pajamas, he leans far out. Even Henry knows you shouldn't do this, of course, but never mind that now. He sticks one ear toward the wind and listens as hard as he can. There are a few things you need to know about Henry. He's a kind boy. He shudders when people are mean, and feels sorry for the losing team. He always says hello to dogs when he sees them sitting alone in cars, and when a cow is standing by herself in a field, he'll give a friendly wave. But he's also lonely. So lonely that he feels it like an actual ache in his heart. So lonely that he lifts his window like this every Saturday at sunrise, and every afternoon, and every evening, too. He lifts it even if the wind whips in or the rain drips down or the snow splats. In winter, when he sticks his head out, the end of his nose freezes, and on mornings like this, he breathes in the delicious smells of summer. He doesn't lean out his window to take in the glories of nature, though. He leans out for a more important reason, a critical reason: to listen to the Dante family next door. And the best day to do this is Saturday, at a very early hour. If he sticks his head far out then, he can hear the Dante children watching an episode of their favorite show,  Rocket Galaxy . If he sits just so and barely makes a move, he can hear laser swords clashing with laser swords and the  clink-zip sound of shots fired from spaceships. He can hear Rex Xavier capturing the Rebels of Venus as a meteor smashes into a magnificent planet. Henry loves getting to listen to his favorite television show. But what he loves even more are the other sounds coming from the Dante house. The family sounds. The giggles and teasing of the Dante children, and even the shouts of GET AWAY FROM ME! and LEAVE ME ALONE! and YOUR LEG IS TOUCHING MY LEG! In the evenings, he can hear the low murmurs of Mr. and Mrs. Dante discussing important but mysterious things like mortgages and carburetors and gallbladders. He can hear the rattle and clank of pans at dinnertime as the fabulous smell of a Meat Mayhem Loaf drifts over to his window. And he can hear his classmate Apollo Dante just being Apollo Dante--practicing his spelling words with a confident voice, patiently explaining to his sister, Coco, how a radio works. He can hear the  thump, thump of a baseball hitting the very center of Apollo Dante's mitt as he tosses it into the air again and again. Henry has lived next door to Apollo his whole life, and he and Apollo have been at the same school forever, but Henry can't even speak to him. Henry can barely speak to anyone at school, but with Apollo it's worse. Apollo is so smart and so astonishing that every, every time he asks Henry to play, Henry's voice glugs and splutters like a clogged-up toilet. All he can manage to do is shake his head to say no as his insides scream yes . Honestly, every time any of the various members of the Dante family say,  Good morning, Henry! or, How are you, Henry? or, Would you like to come over for dinner, Henry? his cheeks flame hot and his chin tilts down and he feels an upsetting clash of joy and sadness in his stomach. This is hard to understand, let alone explain, but a very deep piece of Henry is sure that he should never have any of that lovely goodness that belongs to the Dantes, and that Apollo should never, ever even see the terrible horribleness that belongs to him. So instead, he leans out his window and listens to them. And, wow, it's all wonderful. It's all reassuring and calm and happy. Since Henry's house feels empty, these smells and sounds fill him up same as Yummers With Cheese. Well, he's never actually eaten Yummers With Cheese. His parents would never let him have something that marvelous, not in a million years. But the point is, he loves what goes on at the Dante house. It makes him feel such longing that his chest hurts. This morning, though, when he pops his head out, something is strange. Something is very, very strange. Eerie strange. It's quiet over there. Dead silent. There's not a tickle or a shriek or someone getting mad because they've just been pinched. No one is tattling or screeching from fun. No one is crying because their glitter ball just rolled into the garbage disposal. Rex Xavier's laser sword is not slashing and jabbing and ridding the earth of evil. It's strange, and also worrisome. A bad feeling inches in. He stares hard at the Dante house. Henry needs glasses, but no one has noticed. So if you looked up at his window right then, you'd see a boy with thin shoulders and rumpled black hair, his eyes squinched in order to see better. From what he can tell, the Dante windows are shut tight on this warm summer morning. The cars sit still in the drive. Even the bright green blades of grass of the Dante lawn stand straight and unmoving. It's weird, all right. It's making Henry quite nervous. Well, he has lots of reasons to be nervous anyway, but now he gets the shivery creeps, the kind where it seems like a mouse has just scampered up your spine. And then he hears it. A horrible wail. It's the sound of a wounded animal or a heart breaking. A bunch of awful and shocking images flash across Henry's mind. His gut gives a wing-flap of panic. He cranes his neck farther. This is extraordinarily inad-visable. Also terribly foolish. The whole top half of his body sticks out. One more inch, and he'll tumble forward like a rolled-up sleeping bag. His heart pounds. His striped pajamas get somewhat sweaty in the armpits. But this is when he finally sees Apollo Dante, standing right there on the sidewalk in front of Henry's house. That noise, that wailing--it's coming from Apollo. Suddenly, Henry's doing stuff without even thinking about it. He backs up fast. Slams the window shut. He throws on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. His knees look like a pair of tennis balls. The shirt is an old holey hand-me-down from his father. Henry's skin is so pale, you can practically see the highway of veins underneath. Still, you see something else, too. The tiny, flickery flame of a person who badly wants to have a friend. To be a friend. The golden hue of someone who might one day be a hero. Here is another thing you need to know about Henry Every: Way down deep, in that quietest place where you keep secrets even from yourself, Henry holds a tiny hope. Maybe, just maybe, there's something else out there for him, something other than loneliness and hunger and hiding. He has felt this inside, a waiting, like a caterpillar wrapped up in its cocoon. He didn't know what to do with a feeling like that. So he tucked it far, far back in his mind, as if it were a present he might someday open. And now, seeing Apollo in despair, the butterfly knocks at the cocoon, and the ribbon is flung off the gift. Apollo's tears send Henry down the stairs so fast, he's practically flying. He races past his parents and hurls open his front door. A different Henry steps outside, only he doesn't know it yet. A story old and new begins. But be warned, because in this story, there are slippery creatures, dark forests, and dazzling displays of courage. There is also evil, lots of evil, and a few near misses, and several daring escapes. It is a terrifying and nail-biting and nerve-racking tale. One that unwinds, like a timeless, backward clock. Excerpted from A Flicker of Courage by Deb Caletti All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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