Night of the Solstice; Heart of Valor, by L. J. Smith
L. J. Smith’s everything-in-a-blender middle-grade-ish fantasies have been reprinted at last. The first book has a lot of plot coupons and somewhat random action, the second book has a distinctly anti-climactic climax, and both are kind of clunky and awkward, but they are so sweet and playful that I don’t much care.
Three sisters and a brother find a talking fox who delivers an eye-glazing expository lump about how there’s this other world with fairies and stuff and her sorceress mistress Morgana has been kidnapped and trapped there by some evil people, help! The kids proceed to go back and forth between our world and another via magic mirrors, fighting things, meeting strange creatures, and discovering new aspects of themselves.
What makes this so much fun are the kids themselves, who are vividly drawn, and their relationships with each other: Alys, the heroic oldest sister, who is strongly associated with King Arthur; Janie, the sarcastic genius, who becomes a magical mad scientist and is possibly associated with Mordred; the very young Claudia, who is dyslexic and loves animals and has plausible little-kid meltdowns; and Charles, the token boy, who spends most of his time making wisecracks and getting kidnapped by flirtatious, nitwitted fairies.
There are monsters, flying snakes, Morgan Le Fay, earthquakes, Los Angeles, riddles, uncooperative familiars (Janie gets those), significant swords (Alys gets those), well-meaning but none-too-bright talking animals (Claudia gets those), and Kryptonite (Charles gets that.) It’s meant for a younger audience than Smith’s other books, but if you enjoyed the comedy of Daughters of Darkness, the kitchen-sink quality of Forbidden Game, or the girl-centricity of Secret Circle, you will probably enjoy these as well.
The Night of the Solstice (Wildworld)
(Only $4.00 on Amazon!)
Heart of Valor (Wildworld)
This entry was originally posted at http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/868130.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Three sisters and a brother find a talking fox who delivers an eye-glazing expository lump about how there’s this other world with fairies and stuff and her sorceress mistress Morgana has been kidnapped and trapped there by some evil people, help! The kids proceed to go back and forth between our world and another via magic mirrors, fighting things, meeting strange creatures, and discovering new aspects of themselves.
What makes this so much fun are the kids themselves, who are vividly drawn, and their relationships with each other: Alys, the heroic oldest sister, who is strongly associated with King Arthur; Janie, the sarcastic genius, who becomes a magical mad scientist and is possibly associated with Mordred; the very young Claudia, who is dyslexic and loves animals and has plausible little-kid meltdowns; and Charles, the token boy, who spends most of his time making wisecracks and getting kidnapped by flirtatious, nitwitted fairies.
There are monsters, flying snakes, Morgan Le Fay, earthquakes, Los Angeles, riddles, uncooperative familiars (Janie gets those), significant swords (Alys gets those), well-meaning but none-too-bright talking animals (Claudia gets those), and Kryptonite (Charles gets that.) It’s meant for a younger audience than Smith’s other books, but if you enjoyed the comedy of Daughters of Darkness, the kitchen-sink quality of Forbidden Game, or the girl-centricity of Secret Circle, you will probably enjoy these as well.
The Night of the Solstice (Wildworld)
(Only $4.00 on Amazon!)
Heart of Valor (Wildworld)
This entry was originally posted at http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/868130.html. Please comment there using OpenID.