Skip to main content

Chrestomanci: Part Two

My adventures in the world of Chrestomanci continue.  I am delighted that I chose now to read these books.  They just fit so well with the month and season.  There is no denying they are great fun no matter when you read them but there is something quite festive about reading them in October. 

Here are books 3 & 4:
   
You can, again, get both novels in a combined edition (I really like this cover):
 
In this multiple parallel universes of the Twelve Related Worlds, only an enchanter with nine lives is powerful enough to control the rampant misuse of magic -- and to hold the title Chrestomanci...

Witch Week takes place in a world that is a part of series 12.  There is magic in this world, a lot of it.  It is, however, illegal and witches are still burned at the stake.  At a boarding school for children who are mostly witch orphans an anonymous note is found among the composition books of 6B stating "Someone in this class is a witch."  This worries some of the students including Charles Morgan who has just discovered he has magical powers and Nan Pilgrim who is named after and descended from the most famous witch in history.  A number of bizarre incidents occurring around this class lead to inspectors being called in.  In an attempt to get help a few students use a spell that is supposed to bring assistance.  It is very old and they don't know what to expect.  What they get is a well dressed arrogant enchanter going by the name of Chrestomanci.

The kids in this book are from the age group I taught.  Diana Wynne Jones brilliantly rendered the group dynamics of a class of 11 year olds.  I could actually match names of former students from each year I taught with the characters.  The interactions of these students make this volume funnier than any of the Chrestomanci books I've read yet.  This book also has Chrestomanci at his snarky, elegant, arrogant best.  Two of the girls manage to fall in love with him on sight.  This was the quickest read of the lot so far and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute.

The Magicians of Caprona takes place in the same world Chrestomanci lives in but in the country of Italy, which, in this world, is still divided into small city states.  In the state of Caprona there are two families with amazing magic abilities who bitterly hate each other, the Montanas and the Petrocchis.  (I was sorely tempted to right the summary of this to the opening lines of Romeo and Juliet but I have restrained myself.)  The magic both houses have put up as protection over the city are beginning to fade.  The surrounding states are gearing for war.  Chrestomanci arrives from England eager to help but restrained in how far he is permitted to get involved as a government employee and warns both families an unknown enchanter is working to undo Caprona.    Amidst all this young Tonino Montana goes about his daily life a little frightened of the future.  He feels less important than the other members of his family because he is slow at learning magic.  His only real talent is his ability to understand the cats.  When he and Angelica Petrocchi are abducted, things go from bad to worse as the two houses each blame the other.  Tonino, Angelica and their siblings must overcome old prejudices and hatred and work together to unleash the power of the Angel of Caprona and save their city. 

This has been my least favorite one so far but I still liked it.  The beginning was a bit slow as there are a lot of characters and it took a while to set  up the plot.   Once the action was underway the book was exciting and great big magic began happening all over the place.  I really liked Tonino's character and thoroughly enjoyed the side plot of Rosa and Marco. 

My greatest quibble with these two books is there was no Millie.  I really like her and want to see more of her.  This is why I am anxious to get into Conrad's Fate.  I know from the plot summary she's in that one. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

Shadowshaper

Shadowshaper  by Daniel José Older is everywhere. Best of lists. Award buzz. Blogs everywhere. It's one of those books everyone is reading and talking about. I had it on my TBR but decided I definitely needed to read it before the year was out just so I could weigh in on one of the most talked about books of 2015 if asked. It is deserving of every good thing said about it. Every. One. Sierra was looking forward to a relaxing summer break. Her plans involved hanging out with her friends and painting. They did not involve being chased by zombie like creatures and threatened by a magical power connected to her family's heritage she has never heard of. When murals begin fading all over her Brooklyn neighborhood, Sierra is perplexed. When her grandfather, who had a stroke, begins to apologize and starts repeating strange phases and insisting Sierra get the help of a boy she barely knows to help her finish her mural, Sierra is concerned but mostly about her grandfather. Then at a

The Field Guide to the North American Teeanager

The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe is a book I picked up on a whim at the bookstore when it first came out. I liked the cover. I thought it had an engaging premise. I went into it with a healthy does of trepidation because the execution could have gone so terribly wrong. Fortunately, Philippe is an excellent character writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent reading about Norris's adventures in Texas and high school. High school junior Norris Kaplan's life is ruined by his mother when she takes a job that requires them to leave the only home he has ever known in Montreal, Quebec. Moving is always hard, but Norris knows for him it will be harder than it's ever been for anyone else. Norris is moving to Texas. He will be a Canadian living in Texas. Not just a Canadian. A French Canadian who speaks fluent French. And not just your average run-of-the-mill French Canadian. A black son of Haitian immigrant parents French Canadian. If Norris has