Wednesdays in the Tower

April 1, 2013
What happens when your playfully sentient stone palace goes off kilter and leaves you a bright orange egg to care for--secretly? Princess Celie and her family love Castle Glower and its habit of adding and removing rooms on Tuesdays (Tuesdays at the Castle, 2011). But now the Castle changes on Wednesdays too, and the modifications have a frantic air. In a tower that only she can see, Celie discovers a huge egg and nurtures it. Startlingly, what hatches is a griffin. Celie keeps fast-growing Rufus hidden; she tries to tell the king and queen, "[b]ut as soon as I opened my mouth to do it, that pack of cloaks fell down the chimney." The Castle allows only Celie, one older brother (Bran, the Royal Wizard) and amiable Pogue (the village blacksmith) to know about Rufus. George's core mysteries--if griffins are mythical, why do hallway tapestries imply that the Castle once had "ordinary, every day griffins?" Is the Castle frightened or, possibly, angry?--intrigue. Historical exposition is somewhat dry, but Celie's flights on Rufus' back are exhilarating. Danger lurks, somehow related to a visiting wizard and an unknown foreign land, but its precise nature waits for next time, as this installment ends on a cliffhanger (almost literally--several characters are high in the air). A sweet, funny, sincere story in which siblings work together. (Fantasy. 8-11)

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September 1, 2013

Gr 4-6-Life is never dull for the inhabitants of Castle Glower-particularly when the Castle adds, moves, or removes rooms. It takes care of the royal family and has a special affinity for the youngest princess, Celie, having helped her thwart an attempted coup in Tuesdays at the Castle (Bloomsbury, 2011). On her way to her lessons one Wednesday, Celie is led up a spiral staircase to a roofless tower containing a large egg. The Castle clearly wants it kept secret, so only Celie is present when it hatches to reveal a mythical griffin. Despite repeated attempts to tell her parents about it, the Castle prevents her from revealing its existence to all but her oldest brother, Bran; the Royal Wizard; and Pogue Parry, a family friend. With their help, Celie cares for the griffin, dubbed Rufus, and explores the Castle's history and connection to the animals. Complicating their search is the Castle's recent spate of potentially dangerous changes and the arrival of a mysterious wizard. There is plenty to charm readers in this second book in the series. The excitement of raising (and riding!) a griffin will entice readers, and Celie continues to be a plucky, capable heroine. The Castle is a character in its own right, and readers will be fascinated to learn more about its history, but they will have to wait until the next book for answers to the many mysteries raised by the revelation of its origins.-Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL

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