The Mad Apprentice

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

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