Written by Django Wexler
This is a fabulous book. It is the sequel to The Forbidden Library, but the worlds are more complex and the quest is still to find Alice’s father. Alice falls into other worlds not through a looking glass or by eating special mushrooms, but by reading. Alice falls into books and faces danger there. By binding the creatures she meets inside she is able to use their power when she calls on them.
This book is wonderfully fun to read. The worlds Mr. Wexler creates are wildly imaginative (or the result of interesting dreams and nightmares). There are two-headed monsters, wolves, changing landscapes, a genie, sirens, a cloud-like creature, and, of course, a dragon. The magic is also special and plausible, with one possible exception. Alice gets hurt when her Swarm does. But when one of her bound creatures dies she is okay and still uses his power. Other than that these fantastic stories seem completely possible and realistic. I’m giving Mr. Wexler the opportunity to explain in the next book. I’m sure he has a perfectly logical reason why that was possible.
There will be a next book and I’m looking forward to it. I just hope Alice won’t disappoint her father. Let’s hope she doesn’t go over to the dark side like so many Readers have. In the meantime, enjoy this second book in the series.
Review by Cheryl Baker, Teacher, Mill Creek Elementary
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 5-8
Author Website: http://djangowexler.com/
The Mad Apprentice
Written by Django Wexler
Kathy Dawson Books, an imprint of Penguin Group
335 pages
Release Date: April 21, 2015
