How to Save a Queendom

February 15, 2021
A poor, lonely girl's adventure into unknown territory. Stub, an orphan, has lived and worked at a subpar tavern for all of her 12 years. She sleeps in an unused chicken shed next to the magically enhanced, oversized animals. With no apparent path out of her wretched circumstances and carrying some trauma from mistreatment, Stub has a rather unhappy life. One of the only things she has to look forward to is the country's centennial Peace Day celebration, an annual remembrance of a brokered truce with foreign armies. Out of nowhere, a shrunken man appears, a wizard no less, who is now magically attached to Stub--by accident, of course. The wizard serves at the palace of the current Peace Queen, who's Stub's age, and he shares with her some troubling information that threatens the queendom and the peace. Stub, her pet chicken, the pocket-sized wizard, and a young, eager tavern cook set off across the queendom to stop the mysterious plot. The characters' episodic journey and the slow-reveal plot never quite click. Overall, the tale explores some good ideas, but the author tries to pack so much in that the execution suffers. The narrative makes a point of emphasizing this world's heavily matriarchal society. Physical descriptions are limited, but most people in Maradon are said to have light brown skin. A promising premise let down by an overstuffed plot. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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March 1, 2021
Grades 4-7 Stub has never known family or comfort or even hope. Abandoned as a baby, she was taken in by a tavern keeper to be an "apprentice," though "indentured servant" is more accurate. It's a gloomy life of drudgery, but Stub's world cracks open when a tiny, ancient wizard appears in her apron pocket. The magical advisor to the realm's young queen, he demands that Stub return him to the faraway palace at once, as the queendom's long-standing peace is under threat. A bewildered Stub gathers her few belongings, enormous amounts of courage, and an unexpected ally and begins the perilous journey to pull her queendom back from the brink of war. The story unspools in a satisfying, suspenseful fashion, and it's heartening to tag along with Stub and watch as she gradually discovers that the world contains marvelous wonders, along with horrors, and that people are capable of such good, along with the bad. The terrifying details (tree-climbing wolves!), fast friendships, and a hefty dose of magic weave together into a wonderfully enchanting adventure.

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