January 15, 2015
Still searching for her missing father, 12- or 13-year-old Alice Creighton finds a formidable enemy in Torment, a wildly dominating magical creature, in this second book in the Forbidden Library series. Alice has spent the last six months as a Reader's apprentice, during which she learned to do magic and nearly died twice. Full-fledged Readers ultimately can enter into stories and use their energy to bring creatures out of their "prison-books." Alice hopes that gathering all of this insight and experience will help her to find her father. When sent by Geryon, her master, on a dangerous mission to find a wayward apprentice who is believed to have killed his own master, Alice finds out just how nuanced this world's politics really are, with some masters teaching their apprentices to be rivals with one another. Meanwhile, she continues her gentle interest in Isaac, another apprentice, who seems just as interested in her. While the story gets a bit protracted at times-like a movie with too many special effects-Wexler is an able builder of magical worlds and creatures, with labyrinths, an enchanted library, and a feisty, swashbuckling heroine at the center. A story rich in action and allegory-fantasy fans will want to hang on for what comes next. (Fantasy. 10-14)
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February 1, 2015
Gr 4-7-Wexler's second installation in the series is a fast-paced ride. The tale continues six months after the end of the first book. Alice is learning magic and tricks from her master, the old reader, Uncle Geryon. Alice's latest task has to do with a reader like herself and she must set out on a journey to find an apprentice who seems to have gone mad. She's soon joined by five other apprentices, all of whom serve different masters. The apprentices each have a skill that they acquired from the books that they tamed. The protagonist soon learns that Torment, the magic creature that holds the library together, must be outwitted. Throughout it all, Alice works to find clues about her father's disappearance. In this series continuation, readers learn more about Alice's world and explore new characters and places. VERDICT Full of action and adventure, this tale will enthrall fans of the first novel.-H. Islam, Brooklyn Public Library
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 1, 2015
Alice is a Reader, able to enter different worlds via certain powerful books and to work magic by subduing the creatures trapped within (The Forbidden Library, rev. 3/14). When Esau-of-the-Waters, one of the Old Readers, is murdered by his apprentice, Alice is employed by her master Geryon to bring the apprentice to justice. Since Esau was implicated in Alice's father's death, she hopes to find some answers as well. A big problem faces Alice and other apprentices sent on the same errand: the towers and bridges that form Esau's stronghold are an active labyrinth controlled by the rogue supernatural being Torment. Struggling against Torment's misdirection and fighting the monstrous creatures he sends after them showcases the apprentices' diverse, often appealing personalities; the powers they've earned while sojourning in their masters' books; and their ingenuity in using those powers. The forthright plot objective and unique setting allow Wexler to continue to develop his fantasy world and keep the tension strung high. With an original concept, a brave and spirited heroine, and tantalizing incipient relationships among the apprentices (including Alice's hot-and-cold friendship with Isaac, who tricked her in the first volume), Wexler's series grows stronger by the book. anita l. burkam
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)