Magyk (Septimus Heap, bk 1) by Angie Sage, 2005Fantasy : Epic & Good vs. Evil
Family Relationships
Politics & Rulers
Rating : Loved
When Jenna learns she is the princess and whisked from her home by the Extraordinary Wizard Marcia, she and her adopted family are pursued by the evil forces that killed her Queen mother ten years earlier. The Heaps are “magykal” and have been well respected, even related to a White Witch Zelda, but the custodians of the castle have a new leader - dark magyk DonDaniel, who is determined to destroy any magyk not subjected to his own. The world is richly imaged with characters and magical items, such as Assassins, Hunters, Confidential Rats, Boggarts, Brownies, White Witches, Ordinary Wizards, Custodians, Shield Bugs, Magogs, Dragon Boat, scrying duck ponds, and so.

Our good friends, the Fletchers, recommended this series, and I found it very entertaining. When newborn Septimus Heap dies in the first chapter, I knew something was up. The seventh son of a seventh son, and the namesake of the series, my suspicions hardly required extraordinary insight, but I was more than happy to keep reading to discover how it was going to all work out. I will be reading the next book soon.



Maddigan’s Fantasia by Margaret Mahy, 2007Fantasy : Space & Time Travel
Family Relationships
Rating : OK
In a world where a great ancient catastrophe has created shifting and dissolving roads, traveling around as a member of a circus family is always precarious. When Garland’s Fantasia allows two brothers to start traveling with them, their lives just got much more complicated and dangerous. The two brothers Timon and Eden can perform real magic and contribute to the circus’s livelihood, but are pursued by enemies from the future who will stop at nothing to steal their magic talisman.

I think at another time I might enjoyed this story. It promises to be quite good, but after 230 pages (not quite halfway), I cannot keep my mind on the story, and so I will not finish it at this time. The plot is interesting, the world they live in is creative and original, the dangers and scraps are entertaining. Perhaps the voice of the New Zealand author is just enough unfamiliar to throw me, or perhaps there are too many characters to keep straight in the time I’m giving it.



Tangerine by Edward Bloor, 1997Family Relationships
Sports (soccer, football)
School Story
Diversity: Hispanic Am
Nature & Environment
Rating : Loved
Paul Fisher’s older brother is a high school football star, and his parents and everyone else who enters Erik’s orbit become part of the Erik Fisher Football Dream. Paul’s own sport, soccer, and his success at it are ignored. When the family moves to Florida, the golden sunshine obscures some very serious problems. For instance, their new large-home neighborhood, build over old orchards, is infested with termites, has a standing water and mosquito problem, and constantly smells of a muck fire that cannot be put out. When Paul’s neighborhood school sinks into a mud hole, he is given an option to enroll in the town’s school, which he does so he can play soccer. His one friend from the neighborhood school follows him, but does not know how to survive in the minority-strong environment and shortly returns home. While Paul is playing soccer, writing science reports, and helping save young fruit trees from a freeze with his new friends, he slowly remembers some experiences relating to a serious eye injury he had as a child, and confronting his fear of his brother.

I saw this book on the shelf at King’s English, and didn’t realize it was older until I saw it again in my library. I figured it must be good if it’s still on the bookstore’s shelves, and I was not disappointed. This story has many layers written in a compelling way. The soccer scenes are as exciting as any quiddich scene from Harry Potter, and the interactions between Paul and his new classmates are awkward, intimidating, enlightening, and hopeful all at once. (This new cover image is awful. The kid is too young, and most middle schoolers wouldn't pick it up. The original is much better.)