The Luck Uglies

July 21, 2014
In Durham's witty fantasy debut, 11-year-old Rye O'Chanter is bent on mischief with her friends Quinn and Folly. They live in Village Drowning, a muddy place haunted by tales of ravenous Bog Noblins, vicious creatures from Beyond the Shale, and criminal Luck Uglies, outlaw robbers long since driven away by the Earl of Longchance, who holds Drowning in an iron grip. Rye's household offers no respite from the peculiarities of the outside world: her mother enforces a cryptic set of House Rules, Rye's pet cat Shady can't possibly be only a cat, and her father's identity remains unknown to her. When a monster from legend and a tattooed man named Harmless appear, Rye aligns with the blind street rat Truitt and the Earl's unpleasant daughter, Malydia, to help the Luck Uglies save Drowning from dangers without and tyranny within. First in a planned trilogy, this adventure staggers slightly under the weight of its thorny plot turns, but is kept aloft by brisk wordplay, a charming heroine, and a provocative blurring of the border between heroism and villainy. Ages 8â12. Author's agent: Michelle Andelman, Regal Literary.

March 1, 2014

Gr 5-7-Eleven-year-old Rye and her best friends, Quinn and Folly, are curious about their town and its history. What really lies beyond Village Drowning's walls in the area known as Beyond the Shale? Do the huge, ravenous monsters known as Bog Noblins actually exist? Are there still avengers known as Luck Uglies? The trio tries to find answers in Tam's Tome, a book banned by the Earl. In their quest for knowledge, the children become accidental thieves and must escape from the Angry Poet. Together with help from her friends, Rye uncovers the village's secrets (and those within her own family), including an underground maze that leads from one end of the village to the other. Confrontations with Bog Noblins bring back the banished and much maligned Luck Uglies to defeat the evil creatures and return justice to Drowning. Rye learns that things aren't always as they seem and that people are not all good or bad but often somewhere in between. Nonstop action makes for a rollicking good tale set in a medieval-like place and period. The fast plot is enhanced by humor, likable characters-including some adults-undiluted heroism, frightful Bog Noblins, and a despicable Earl. Altogether, this is a fast, fresh, and engaging adventure sure to delight readers on several levels.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

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