Fork-Tongue Charmers (The Luck Uglies Series #2)

by Paul Durham, Petur Antonsson (Illustrator)

Overview

The Luck Uglies must face their greatest enemy in this second installment of the series that's a perfect match for fans of Chris Colfer's Land of Stories series and books by Kelly Barnhill. "There is not a single dull moment in this story. A total delight," raved Bookslist in a starred review!

Rye O’Chanter was shocked to discover that her father was the leader of the notorious band of outlaws known as the Luck Uglies. Now she too has been declared a criminal in her own village, and she must flee to the strange and remote Isle of Pest while her father faces off against the Luck Uglies’ bitter rivals, the Fork-Tongue-Charmers, on the mainland.

But all bets are off when the battle moves to the shores of Pest. To defeat the Fork-Tongue Charmers, Rye must defy a deranged earl, survive a test meant to judge the grit of the fiercest men, and lead the charge in defending the island against a strangely familiar enemy, which means uncovering some long-buried family secrets….

The first Luck Uglies book was named an ALA Notable Children’s Book as well as a New York Public Library Title for Reading and Sharing, and it won the Cybil Award for Middle Grade Speculative Fiction and a Sunshine State Young Readers Award.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062271549
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Series:	Luck Uglies Series , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	649,018
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	820L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Paul Durham wrote this book and The Luck Uglies in an abandoned chicken coop at the edge of a swamp. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife, two daughters, and an enormous, bushy creature the local animal shelter identified as a cat.

Editorial Reviews

★ “There is not a single dull moment in this story, which packs in as many clever twists and fully-fleshed characters as the first book. And the writing remains a total delight: witty, richly layered, and capable of creating a world as real as this one.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Though enough questions are answered to satisfy readers, the cliffhanger ending will have them enthusiastically awaiting the final installment.” — School Library Journal

This book packs plenty of action, and the plot takes some interesting twists and turns that will keep readers engaged. Fans of the previous volume will enjoy Rye’s new adventure, and those unfamiliar with first book will be able to jump right into this story. — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

Praise for THE LUCK UGLIES: ★ “By turns funny and heart-stopping. A bona-fide page-turner.” — Booklist (starred review)

“A rollicking good tale. A fast, fresh, engaging adventure sure to delight readers on several levels.” — School Library Journal

“Paul Durham has created the best kind of fantasy world—one that is equal parts wondrous and deadly, and in which the line between heroism and villainy is deliciously blurred.” — Christopher Healy, author of The Hero’s Guide to Storming Your Kingdom

“A magical, mist-shrouded world humming with danger and mystery.” — Jonathan Auxier, author of The Night Gardener and Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes

“For fantasy-lovers, The Luck Uglies has it all: a feisty heroine, monstrous creatures, and a brimful of horror and humour to keep the reader turning the pages.” — Joseph Delaney, author of the Last Apprentice series

“Funny, magical, and absolutely crackling with those little sparks that make a book wonderful.” — Stefan Bachmann, author of The Peculiar and The Whatnot

“If you are lucky enough to pick up this book, prepare for a wild ride!” — Marissa Burt, author of Storybound and Story’s End

From the Publisher

★ “There is not a single dull moment in this story, which packs in as many clever twists and fully-fleshed characters as the first book. And the writing remains a total delight: witty, richly layered, and capable of creating a world as real as this one.

Booklist (starred review)

Funny, magical, and absolutely crackling with those little sparks that make a book wonderful.

Stefan Bachmann

For fantasy-lovers, The Luck Uglies has it all: a feisty heroine, monstrous creatures, and a brimful of horror and humour to keep the reader turning the pages.

Joseph Delaney

Paul Durham has created the best kind of fantasy world—one that is equal parts wondrous and deadly, and in which the line between heroism and villainy is deliciously blurred.

Christopher Healy

A magical, mist-shrouded world humming with danger and mystery.

Jonathan Auxier

This book packs plenty of action, and the plot takes some interesting twists and turns that will keep readers engaged. Fans of the previous volume will enjoy Rye’s new adventure, and those unfamiliar with first book will be able to jump right into this story.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

If you are lucky enough to pick up this book, prepare for a wild ride!

Marissa Burt

Paul Durham has created the best kind of fantasy world—one that is equal parts wondrous and deadly, and in which the line between heroism and villainy is deliciously blurred.

Chris Healy

02/01/2015
Gr 4–6—Rye and her friends Quinn and Folly are thrown together for another complex but fast-paced adventure in this second installment of a planned trilogy. While preparing for Silvermas with her family, Rye O'Chanter receives an unexpected message to join her father, who she has learned is a Luck Ugly, a member of a secret band of outlaws who once helped eradicate the Bog Noblins. Though Rye loves her father, she doesn't want to miss the village festivities, even with her mother's assurances that there will be a special holiday surprise from her father. Plans quickly change as life in their muddy village of Drowning worsens when the evil Earl of Longchamps hires an vile, intolerant sheriff who declares Rye and her family outlaws. They take refuge on the Isle of Pest, where Rye discovers that her mother has roots, meets her grandfather, and uncovers even more of her family's secrets. A menacing man named Slinester continues to threaten the protagonist and her family. The story line that started in The Luck Uglies (2014)—including the reappearance of fierce, treacherous Bog Noblins—continues, although this volume can be read independently. As in the first book, things and people are not always what they appear to be. The Luck Uglies, though outlaws, are rather like Robin Hood, who must fight to overcome the wretched Earl and recently elevated and thoroughly wicked sheriff. VERDICT Though enough questions are answered to satisfy readers, the cliff-hanger ending will have them enthusiastically awaiting the final installment.—Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

School Library Journal

With her British accent, Fiona Hardingham follows fantasy tradition in the second installment of Durham’s series. Rye is swept up in an escalating feud between her father’s band of Luck Uglies and a splinter group, led by the aptly named Slinister. Hardingham’s performance matches the pace and energy of the plot as Rye is forced into hiding and flees to her mother’s war-torn island home. But Slinister is always infuriatingly one step ahead of her. Hardingham hits the occasional false note, such as the garbled voice she creates for Rye’s precocious little sister, Lottie, and this story breaks no new ground, but listeners can still enjoy this fantasy. A.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JULY 2015 - AudioFile

2015-01-10
Book 2 in the middle-grade Luck Uglies trilogy (The Luck Uglies, 2014) continues the adventure in the fantasy world of the Shale. The despicable Earl Morningwig Longchance has hired a new Constable who is clamping down on Village Drowning and especially the O'Chanter family. Twelve-year-old Rye O'Chanter, her mother, Abby, younger sister, Lottie, and Rye's two best friends, Folly and Quinn, flee to the Isle of Pest, where Abby was raised. On Pest, life seems safe as Rye meets her long-lost grandfather and makes friends with village children, but she is troubled by the black stones she keeps finding—earlier in her shoe at Village Drowning, then in her pocket and again on her windowsill on Pest. Curiosity leads Rye to the notorious Wailing Cave and the unwelcome discovery of the dark side of her father's Luck Uglies brotherhood—a splinter group called the Fork-Tongue Charmers. Durham's ambitious plot is chock-full of twists but is occasionally hard to follow due to inconsistencies and the addition of too many characters, who divert readers' attention. As in Book 1, Durham shades his main characters with plenty of nuance, but the crowded plot leaves little space for readers to absorb it. Generally successful, this adventuresome second installment entertains and leaves dangling ends to set up the third. (Fantasy. 9-13)

Kirkus Reviews