Jinx (Jinx Series #1)

by Sage Blackwood

Overview

The highly acclaimed first book of a fantasy adventure series set in a mysterious forest, starring a daring new hero.

"Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx" (SLJ, starred review), a wizard's apprentice, as he sets off on a quest through the dangerous Urwald, a magical forest full of wizards and were-creatures, and discovers that it is more complex than he could imagine, and that it needs him more than he could ever guess.

This humorous and smart tween fantasy adventure is perfect for fans of Septimus Heap, The Sisters Grimm, and Fablehaven.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062129925
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Series:	Sage Blackwood's Jinx Series , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	285
Lexile:	HL620L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sage Blackwood was born in Chicago and grew up in New York State. She graduated from Antioch College and the University at Albany and taught ESL for many years. Her first fantasy novel, Jinx, was selected as a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, ALA Booklist, School Library Journal, and Amazon.com, and was purchased by President Obama.

Editorial Reviews

In this expertly paced, beautifully written fantasy, Blackwood elevates familiar fantasy elements with exquisitely credible characters who inhabit a world filled with well-drawn magic and whimsy. — Booklist (starred review)

Blackwood fills her tale with drama and delightfully funny dialogue. — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx. — School Library Journal (starred review)

[Blackwood] puts her central three [characters] through a string of suspenseful, scary situations before delivering a properly balanced closing set of resolutions, revelations and road signs to future episodes. — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Flowing dialogue, easy interactions between the characters, a mixed Diana Wynne Jones/Lloyd Alexander vibe, and a setting both familiar and original make the novel immediately inviting and compelling. — The Horn Book

From the Publisher

In this expertly paced, beautifully written fantasy, Blackwood elevates familiar fantasy elements with exquisitely credible characters who inhabit a world filled with well-drawn magic and whimsy.

Booklist (starred review)

Flowing dialogue, easy interactions between the characters, a mixed Diana Wynne Jones/Lloyd Alexander vibe, and a setting both familiar and original make the novel immediately inviting and compelling.

The Horn Book

In this expertly paced, beautifully written fantasy, Blackwood elevates familiar fantasy elements with exquisitely credible characters who inhabit a world filled with well-drawn magic and whimsy.

Booklist

In a story with strong middle-grade appeal, Jinx has grown up in the Urwald, an enormous, sentient forest where humans exist on sufferance, safe only in their own clearings and the paths between them. Trolls and werewolves prowl the Urwald, as do dangerous witches and wizards. After Jinx's brutal stepfather decides to abandon him in the forest, the boy is saved by a crusty, morally ambiguous wizard named Simon, who takes him in as a servant, eventually teaching him some magic. Years later, a 12-year-old Jinx and two new friends set off to find another wizard, the monstrous Bonemaster, in hopes he can help them overcome their respective magical troubles. Blackwood...fills her tale with drama and delightfully funny dialogue ("You could have told us you had a curse on you that made you have to tell the truth," Jinx complains at one point). Jinx is an engaging and memorable hero, and adult characters like Simon, the Bonemaster, and the witch Dame Glammer (who rides a butter churn) are entertainingly eccentric. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly