Sage and the Journey to Wishworld

August 31, 2015
The husband-and-wife Zappas launch their 12-book Star Darlings series, part of a multimedia property that will include animated shorts, dolls, apps, and music. The novels spotlight the dozen Starling Academy students who are tapped to grant the wishes of the inhabitants of Wishworld, which sounds quite a bit like Earth. Since the positive energy generated by young Wishers powers Starland, the Star Darlings' missions will save their own world's dire energy crisis. This first entry focuses on determined, adventurous Sage, who travels to Wishworld on a shooting star to identify her chosen Wisher and fulfill her wish within the allotted time. The authors ground their fantasy with such real-life tangles as feeling left out, coping with mean girls, and not judging others, while stuffing the pages with details about the girls' outfits and accouterments, as well as unoriginal thematic adjectives like "startacular" and "starmendous." Substantial exposition and backstory regarding the Star Darlings' world makes for slow-going reading, though the story picks up once Sage starts her mission. Available simultaneously: Libby and the Class Election. Ages 8â12.

July 15, 2015
A new student at the academy for Wish-Granters joins a specially selected group for secret missions. After opening pages consisting of short profiles of the 12 students that the series will follow, the story begins with Sage's arrival at Starling Academy, the prestigious school where Starlings learn to travel to the Wishworld (implied Earth) to harness positive energy by granting Wishlings' wishes. Further exposition (clumsily framed with "As every Starling knows," "As we all know," and "As everyone knows") attempts to explain the elaborate wish mechanics. During orientation, Sage is selected with 11 others for a secret meeting. The headmistress tells them about Starland's energy crisis and that she's experimenting with sending student visitors to Wishworld in an attempt to drastically increase the levels of positive energy. She has selected this group of students to be the Star Darlings. The already-convoluted world's mechanics further complicate with the revelation of a prophecy. Soon Sage gets the honor of the first trip to Wishworld to fulfill a wish, which is difficult, as she must correctly identify both the wisher and the specific wish. Humor arises from her incomplete education on Wishworld culture and tension, from the mission's near-failure. While some readers will appreciate the constant clothing descriptions and glittery references, many will be left cold by the heroine's insistence that science and math are boring. Complicated, retrograde, and very sparkly. (Fantasy. 7-11)

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October 1, 2015

Gr 3-6-Any girl in Starland would be excited to go to Starling Academy and learn how to grant wishes; this series follows 12 very special students known as the Star Darlings, as they become part of an elite wish-granting group and prepare for their top-secret missions to find and grant wishes on Wishworld (also known as Earth). The Star Darlings learn all about the peculiarities of Wishworld and how the Wishers lives are very different from the magical and star-gazing world of Starland. They take classes on how to grant wishes made on shooting stars and birthday candles all as a way to help harness the positive energy of wishes, which works as a natural resource to help light and illuminate Starland. The Star Darlings will each be sent to Wishworld to find the wisher and figure out how to grant their wish-not an easy task when traveling to a new and very different world. Each story follows one of the Darlings on their travels as they discover how challenging life on a new planet can be and the importance of friendship and teamwork. VERDICT These novels are filled with magical, descriptive language and imagery; a fun combination for magical fantasy lovers-though the abundance of ultra-pink and sparkly design motifs may limit the audience.-Christina Pesiri, Michael F. Stokes Elementary School Library, Island Trees-Levittown, NY

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