A Week without Tuesday

bibliophile - Meet Tuesday Macgillycuddy, a brave young soul, who has the smile that can bright up a whole room and someone who loves to write A LOT. Now before I start with the summary, I would want to give my insight on this book. So I honestly believe that writing is a very special, useful tool. With writing you can have your own voice and express what YOU want to say. I thought that the way the author wrote it was very easy to understand, although on some parts I was a bit confused because I didn't read the first book... but the author made it a goal to make the readers understand what is going on. So I just want to take a minute and like just applaud her for the whole story plot. This tale was gripping and very imaginative. I also liked how the author made it seem that we were the one watching what Tuesday and Serendipity. By the way... Serendipity is Tuesday's mother and a famous writer in disguise. The way the author described it seemed so realistic and normal... even though that we know it will never happen... well maybe until our technology improves more... What Tuesday can do... well she can A LOT of things... but one cool super power she has is that she can go into a different realm... a new place.... and it's not earth... but it's one of Serendipity's books... You see that's what I love about books... I can transport somewhere I never been like in Hogwarts or meet some of my favorite characters in one sitting... just laying down in a comfy recliner... No fancy airplanes with all that hassle... See with reading and imagination... you get to be in a new world and meet new friends.. .and Ms. Banks took that concept and made a spin with this book. I am disappointed that I didn't read the first book.. but I'm glad to find out about this book... So onto the summary! So when the real and imaginary world starts merging as one... so what do you do??? Well if I was in Tuesday's shoes I would probably hide inside the attic, bring everything I love with me, and lock the attic door... I know, totally mature XD... Anyways because these two worlds are colliding, many famous authors disappear and come back in a mysterious location with no memory... So Tuesday's dad wants to play it safe and confiscate everything that has to do with writing so that was Serendipity and Tuesday won't go missing... But the problem is the world revolves around writing... I mean one must write in order to make a book. Anyways Tuesday becomes determined in order to make things write and fight for justice towards writers. So now Tuesday is stuck in the imaginary -writing world trying to get things back to original... With many obstacles... Can Tuesday do it? Is she capable of doing this? Well first of all don't underestimate young children... especially females... Because WE CAN DO IT... Just some of the parts were a bit cheesy and kind of easy to predict will happen to next... however... any young and aspiring readers and writers will love this book, with a dash of fantasy and realism rally brings this book to life...

November 15, 2015
In this middle-grade sequel to Finding Serendipity (2015), Tuesday McGillycuddy, Baxterr the dog, and the fictional, winged Vivienne Small continue their adventures in the worlds of writerly imagination. Writers are disappearing and turning up injured far from where they live, and Denis McGillycuddy, the father of Tuesday and husband of famous author Serendipity Smith, decrees no more writing until the cause is uncovered. Like his wife and daughter, Denis knows the secret all writers share: there is a magical place (with a Library, upon whose door lintel is inscribed "IMAGINE" and which is presided over by an inexorable Librarian) where writers go to write, and something there must be wrong. With confidence and a deft touch, Banks' narrative unfolds a setting in which every writer's story creates an actual world spinning in space, overseen by the Gardener, whose job it is to keep them separate. But the Gardener is now frail, and the worlds are colliding. This fascinating premise gives a nod to the current fashion for metafictive mashups but delivers so much more, as when the Gardener explains to Tuesday that some new worlds are "key worlds" and with their creation, "become like a sun in a solar system"--a perfect way to describe the effect of a classic story on both readers and writers. Lewis' spot illustrations present Tuesday and Vivienne as white. A stimulating read that validates and encourages the creative impulse--highly recommended. (Fantasy. 8-14)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2015

Gr 4-6-In this fantastical sequel to Finding Serendipity (Holt, 2015), Tuesday and her dog, Baxterr, are beckoned back to the land where all stories are created. Her mother's famous character, Vivienne Small, is in need of immediate help for her troubled world. Things are going horribly wrong: mountains have grown so much that they pierce the sky, and strange, terrorizing birds known as vercaka arrive from another world. Vivienne shares a possible clue to the mystery from a note tucked into the collar of a dying winged dog: "I cannot hold the worlds apart much longer. Have you found our answer?" Tuesday delivers this note to the Librarian in charge of all books and is informed that the fictional worlds are colliding and out of control. Tuesday, with the assistance of Vivienne and Baxterr, is commissioned to find and help the Gardener, the man in charge of keeping the story worlds apart. On the way, they are attacked by the murderous vercaka, witness oceans from another world pouring into theirs, and see the sky cave in like the bottom of a fishbowl. When Tuesday finally discovers the Gardener, she finds he is old and losing his memory. She must step in and take his place, never to return home to her world again. Banks's wondrously whimsical language helps transport readers into this imaginative world. The complex landscape may demand extra concentration, but those who follow closely won't want to come back to our mundane universe. Budding writers might be particularly interested in this tale. The illustrations enliven and clarify this magical story. VERDICT Creative young authors as well as fantasy lovers will enjoy this inventive book.-Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2015
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* This sequel to Finding Serendipity (2015) sees the charming return of aspiring author and spunky adventuress Tuesday McGillycuddy. Beginning with the vantage point of Vivienne Small, of Tuesday's novelist mother's books, readers learn that Vivienne's storied world, there, is in trouble: a winged dog has been fatally injured, and the Mountains of Margolov are literally puncturing the sky. So she does the only thing she knows to docall Tuesday and her dog, Baxterr, to see if they can help. Meanwhile, in Tuesday's world, writers are disappearing and her parents fear for her safety. But Tuesday cannot resist the clarion call of adventure, so she enters the fictional world of there to help her friends and makes the shocking discovery that all worlds (real and imagined) are colliding and creating chaos. This novel is a little darker and more dangerous than its predecessor and requires more sacrifice from its characters, but it still retains a playful spirit, thanks in large part to the characters themselves. All the worlds are fully rendered, and themes of imagination, courage, family, sacrifice, and friendship are beautifully explored. Fans of Edith Nesbit, Michael Ende's The Neverending Story (1979), and Roderick Townley's The Great Good Thing (2001) have a new home with Banks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)