Archie Greene and the Magician's Secret

by D. D. Everest

Overview

D. D. Everest’s magical middle grade debut, now available in paperback, is filled with enchanted books and mysterious activity that is sure to captivate readers. Open this book…if you dare to face what awaits you inside!

On his twelfth birthday, Archie Greene receives a mysterious package containing an ancient book in a language he doesn’t recognize. The gift leads him to a family he didn’t know he had and a world he never knew existed.

With the help of his cousins, Bramble and Thistle, Archie tries to unravel the mystery behind his book, but he begins to realize that his gift is something more powerful than he could have imagined. And the only thing more perilous than its contents is being its owner. The book waited four hundred years for Archie Greene. Now Archie must discover why.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062312129
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Series:	Archie Greene , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

D. D. Everest is a successful journalist and author. He thought he knew how to write books until he started this one. It is his first book for children and nearly killed him, which serves him right.

He lives in a rambling Victorian house on the Ashdown Forest, in England, with his partner, Sara, their son and daughter, and two cats.

Editorial Reviews

03/02/2015
In his first book for children, Everest launches a fanciful series about a secret organization dedicated to protecting the legacy of the Library of Alexandria. When Archie Greene turns 12, he receives a mysterious package: an ancient book, with instructions to return it to a certain bookstore. There, he’s inducted into the Flame Keepers as an apprentice bookbinder and introduced to the Museum of Magical Miscellany, where magical books are stored. As he becomes acquainted with the wonders and perils of his new role, he gets to know the cousins he never knew existed. But the Flame Keepers have enemies—such as the Greaders, who want the books’ magic for themselves—and ominous events suggest that a traitor is working to release a long-imprisoned evil. Only Archie, with his newfound ability to speak with books, can save the day. Many of the novel’s elements are familiar (a hidden, magic-based society; a predestined hero with a special power), but Everest uses them to deliver a fast-paced tale full of mystery and excitement. Ages 8–12. Agent: Jo Hayes, Bell Lomax Moreton. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2015
Gr 4–6—A 12-year-old orphaned British boy discovers his magical roots and embarks on a quest to save the world alongside his two trusty companions in the hidden world in England that nonmagical people cannot see. No, not the "boy who lived." In this tale, Archie Greene is an apprentice tasked with the protection of magical books, a family tradition. The books are being sought by the Greeders, who want to keep magic (especially dark magic) for their own purposes, and in steps Archie to save the day. Along the way he reunites with long-lost relatives in the family business and learns more about his father. Archie is a likable hero, and his daffy family is warm and inviting. Comparisons between Everest's debut novel and the "Harry Potter" series are inevitable. Though this is lighthearted, fun, and filled with great tidbits for young book lovers, the characters lack depth and the exposition is at times heavy-handed and repetitive. VERDICT An additional purchase where plot-driven magical adventures for the middle grade set are in high demand.—Susannah Goldstein, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

School Library Journal

2015-01-20
The delivery of an ancient book propels Archie Greene into a world of magic and danger: the perfect birthday present for any 12-year-old.Fearing for his safety, Archie's grandmother sends him to stay with family he has never met. But first he must visit the Aisle of White, a bookshop that specializes in rare and magical tomes. But Archie soon discovers that the shop is also a gateway to the Museum of Magical Miscellany, where curators called the Flame Keepers of Alexandria collect and preserve magical artifacts. Archie is quickly apprenticed to Old Zeb, a bookbinder, from whom he learns about all kinds of magic. But when characters from the books begin endangering the security of the museum and the books themselves begin whispering about a dangerous presence, Archie and his cousins find that they might be the only ones brave enough or foolish enough to investigate. Forced humor, humdrum magic and a mystery that is barely mysterious—not to mention a distressingly familiar-sounding, formulaic title—all combine to create a story that never takes flight. Fans of whimsical fantasy would do well to look elsewhere (or just to reread Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone). While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, it does not necessarily make for good fiction. Familiarity in fiction breeds boredom. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Review