Fork-Tongue Charmers

January 15, 2015
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)

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February 1, 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

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2015
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* The second volume in Durham's spirited series starts with a mysterious summons for Rye O'Chanter from her father, Harmless, now known to her as the High Chieftain of the Luck Uglies. This is the first of several ruses that propel the story from the claustrophobic streets of the Shale to the unexpected shores of the Isle of Pest, a location that looms large in Rye's background. The Luck Uglies are trying to counter an ill-conceived challenge by Earl Longchance while simultaneously managing a power struggle between Harmless and another Luck Ugly known as Slinister. Rye fears she is missing out on the action, hiding on Pest with her friends, but new allies and secrets from the past provide her plenty of opportunity for danger and her own special brand of reckless heroism. When the island is attacked by the Uninvited, Rye leads the charge in its defense. 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. A bittersweet ending assures the reader that Rye's adventures are not over yet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)