The Newbery Honor author of Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine, weaves a thrilling tale of mystery in this companion to A Tale of Two Castles.
Elodie, the dragon detective Meenore, and the kindly ogre Count Jonty Um are all on their way to Elodie's home island of Lahnt.
Elodie has barely set foot on land before she learns that the Replica, a statue that keeps her island's deadly volcano from erupting, has been stolen! If the Replica isn't found in three days, a mountain will be destroyed. And when Elodie ends up alone with a cast of characters that may all be guilty, she has to use her wits to try to unravel a tangled web of lies.
New York Times bestselling author Gail Carson Levine has written an imaginative, fast-paced mystery that will be enjoyed by fans of A Tale of Two Castles, as well as those meeting Elodie, Meenore, and Count Jonty Um for the first time.
About the Author :
Gail Carson Levine's first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a Newbery Honor Book. Levine's other books include Ever, a New York Times bestseller; Fairest, a Best Book of the Year for Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal and a New York Times bestseller; Dave at Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; A Tale of Two Castles; Stolen Magic; The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre; Ogre Enchanted; and the six Princess Tales books. She is also the author of the nonfiction books Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly and Writer to Writer: From Think to Ink, as well as the picture books Betsy Who Cried Wolf and Betsy Red Hoodie. Gail Carson Levine and her husband, David, live in a two-centuries-old farmhouse in the Hudson Valley of New York State.
Sarah Coomes trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and spent three blissful years there, learning how to cry, speak Shakespeare, and stage fight like a tiger. She is a comedienne and an actress, appearing in numerous television shows in England, including a recurring role as Nurse Leonard in the popular series EastEnders. She won the 2008 Westminster Prize for her play Hookie and an AudioFile Earphones Award for her narration of The Unforgotten Coat by Frank Cottrell Boyce in 2011.
Review :
"The writing is consistently engaging, and the story's deliberate pace will encourage kids to observe the characters and solve the mystery before all is revealed. A satisfying mixture of fantasy, mystery, and adventure."
-- "Booklist"
"Stolen Magic, the sequel to A Tale of Two Castles, follows the events of the first book but can easily be read without having met any of the characters before...Stolen Magic is best suited for young, tween readers and younger."
-- "VOYA"
"Levine's prose is clear and accessible, and her invented world, with its quirky inhabitants and distinctive vocabulary, is pleasantly unpredictable and nonthreatening--even with a volcanic eruption in the offing."
-- "Horn Book"
"Offers a detailed magical world, high-stakes action, and arch observations of family tensions and racial divides. The unusual blend of magical medieval mystery and disaster lite...[is] effervescent."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Thanks to narrator Sarah Coomes' steadfast characterizations, listeners can distinguish the varied characters in the second journey of young Elodie; the dragon detective, Meenore; and the shape-shifting ogre, Count Jonty Om...Coomes's vocal switches seem effortless. As Elodie moves between being an inquisitive character in the story and being its confident first-person narrator, Coomes pulls the listener in."
-- "AudioFile"
"The blend of mystery and fantasy with an overlay of romanticized medieval society is interesting...Devotees of Ella Enchanted and A Tale of Two Castles will relish the excitement."
-- "Children's Literature"
"There is plenty of adventure and mystery to engage readers, and fans of Levine's other works will be pleased to see this in the collection."
-- "School Library Journal"
