Jones hits all the bases with her fluid storytelling, trademark sly humor, and exquisitely drawn characters…With this enthralling book, Jones proves that she is still at the top of her game.” — Booklist (starred review)
“An intelligent, refreshing hoot.” — The Horn Book
“She’s the best children’s writer of the last 40 years. I read her latest book, Enchanted Glass, and marveled once again at how good she is. It’s a tale of magic, double-dealing, subversion, and plot, not to mention giant vegetables and dangerous fairies.” — Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline
“Irresistible to adventure, humor, and fantasy buffs.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
An intelligent, refreshing hoot.
Irresistible to adventure, humor, and fantasy buffs.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
She’s the best children’s writer of the last 40 years. I read her latest book, Enchanted Glass, and marveled once again at how good she is. It’s a tale of magic, double-dealing, subversion, and plot, not to mention giant vegetables and dangerous fairies.
Wynne Jones's inimitable style showcases a multi-generational cast of heroes and a chaotic finale at the village fete. Andrew Hope leaves his job as a university lecturer when his grandfather bequeaths him both a house and a field-of-care. Andrew isn't exactly sure what the field-of-care is, but he knows he needs to protect it. Perhaps it has something to do with the mystical beasties he'd forgotten inhabit his grandfather's land. Or perhaps it has something to do with 12-year-old Aidan, the runaway who's taken refuge with Andrew after being chased from a foster home by creatures he calls Stalkers. Goodness knows Andrew won't get a moment's peace to write his Great Work unless he takes control of the whole shebang. A rousing finale-complete with zeppelin-sized squash, a bouncy castle and several Darth Vaders-brings it all home for a gleeful, magic-packed conclusion. Too bad much of the humor comes from cheap fat jokes, classism and jibes about the cognitively disabled; the mean-spirited moments mar an otherwise playful frolic. (Fantasy. 10-12)
One of the foremost living children's fantasy writers, Jones serves up a quirky comedy of magicians dealing with an incursion of troublesome fairies in contemporary England. Andrew Hope, an absentminded academic with magical abilities he barely recognizes, has inherited the property and responsibilities of his wizard grandfather. Melstone House comes complete with two bossy and irate servants, Mr. Stock and Mrs. Stock (no relation), as well as a number of supernatural beings, including an elusive giant. Andrew wants to write a book, but he's soon distracted by 12-year-old Aidan, who is on the run from supernatural enemies; Stashe, a pretty young woman intent on becoming his secretary; and the wealthy, powerful, and mysterious Mr. Brown. The pacing is leisurely, but Jones writes with the utmost respect for readers' intelligence. One very funny gag has Stashe using horse racing results for divination (“The two-oh-five at Kempton: first, Dark Menace; second, Runaway; third, Sanctuary. That seems to outline the situation pretty well, doesn't it?”), just one of several unusual talents that Melstone residents exhibit. Although the book contains a few tense moments, whimsy is the dominant mood and there's little doubt that virtue and romance will triumph. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)
Jones hits all the bases with her fluid storytelling, trademark sly humor, and exquisitely drawn characters…With this enthralling book, Jones proves that she is still at the top of her game.
Booklist (starred review)
Irresistible to adventure, humor, and fantasy buffs.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Jones hits all the bases with her fluid storytelling, trademark sly humor, and exquisitely drawn characters…With this enthralling book, Jones proves that she is still at the top of her game."
Irresistible to adventure, humor, and fantasy buffs.
The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
Gr 7–9—In Diana Wynne Jones's labyrinthine tale (Greenwillow, 2010), Andrew Hope has recently been informed of his grandfather's death and subsequent inheritance of his estate in Melstone. As Andrew comes to take possession of the house and property, he discovers some rather unusual characters both within the grounds and outside in what his grandfather called his "field of care." When a boy named Aidan Cain shows up on his doorstep seeking protection, Andrew finds himself embroiled in a magical mystery involving the great fairy king Oberon, regular village folk of Melstone, and various magical creatures. Andrew must discover everything his grandfather wanted him to remember from his childhood about the "field of care." Steven Crossley's deep, rich voice suits the subtle ironies and complications of the text. While he shows great skill in timing, he is less adept at voicing the many characters in Andrew's world. He gives most of the villagers the same type of accent, except for Andrew's love interest, Stashe, who sounds very different. Andrew believes that Stashe's father, Tarquin, is a leprechaun, and while Crossley sometimes gives him a very slight Irish accent, it is mostly inconsistent. These vocal problems make an already complicated plot even more difficult to follow. With Jones's penchant for assuming her readers will infer many important plot points by careful listening, and Crossley's erratic narration, this is best suited to fans of the author's previous work.—Necia Blundy, Marlborough Public Library, MA
