The Dark Lord Clementine

by Sarah Jean Horwitz

Overview

The new face of big evil is a little . . . small.
 
Dastardly deeds aren’t exactly the first things that come to mind when one hears the name “Clementine,” but as the sole heir of the infamous Dark Lord Elithor, twelve-year-old Clementine Morcerous has been groomed since birth to be the best (worst?) Evil Overlord she can be. But everything changes the day her father is cursed by a mysterious rival.

Now, Clementine must not only search for a way to break the curse, but also take on the full responsibilities of the Dark Lord. But when it’s time for her to perform dastardly deeds against the townspeople—including her brand-new friends—she begins to question her father’s code of good and evil. What if the Dark Lord Clementine doesn’t want to be a dark lord after all?
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616208943
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	980L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 13 Years

About the Author

SARAH JEAN HORWITZ grew up next door to a cemetery and down the street from an abandoned fairytale theme park, which probably explains a lot. She currently lives near Boston, MA. Find her on Twitter, @sunshineJHwitz, or at sarahjeanhorwitz.com.
 

Editorial Reviews

…a hilariously heartwarming magical adventure…Conflicting loyalties make Clementine a remarkably three-dimensional character. Her imperfections, many failures and constant letdowns make her likable and relatable. Her ridiculous antics…will charm and delight young readers…The Dark Lord Clementine is infused with humor and adventure, but the foundation of the story—friendship, loyalty and compassion—never wavers. Clementine is a worthy heroine. At the start of the novel, she lives a lonely, sequestered life with her father, but as the story progresses, her world opens into a unique and beautifully absurd wonderland. This clever, inventive novel knows the value of a good-versus-evil story that is served fresh, yet familiar.

The New York Times Book Review - Erin Entrada Kelly

09/16/2019

“Clementine Morcerous awoke one morning to discover that her father had no nose.” With her opening sentence, Horwitz (the Carmer and Grit series) primes readers to expect the unexpected—and delivers. After Clementine notices that something is “chipping away” at her parent, the fearsome Dark Lord, he corrects her: “Not. Chipping....Whittling.” Such droll wordplay punctuates the labyrinthine narrative, which reveals that the Dark Lord has been cursed by his archnemesis, the Whittle Witch, who carves a wooden-doll replica of her victims and reduces them down to nothing. Horwitz’s ingenuity for bizarre enchantment and characterization proves boundless: Clementine’s confidantes include a boy transfigured into a witty black sheep, a paper chicken that morphed from the family spell book, an amorphous snow figure who protects the area, and a huntress searching for a powerful unicorn. Anchoring the tale are the sensitive girl’s conflicted feelings about inheriting the Dark Lord title, since she prefers flowers over weeds and spells that involve sunshine rather than darkness. In a wry, satisfying ending, Clementine hints at future enchantments ahead. Ages 10–up. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Agency. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2019

Gr 4–7—Clementine has always tried to be as bad as possible, following the example of her father, the Dark Lord Elithor, who strives to terrify the local villagers with dastardly deeds. Everything changes when Lord Elithor starts to lose his power at the hands of a mysterious witch. Clementine's quest to save her father brings her a host of new experiences and leads her to question her commitment to being truly evil. Horwitz has created a perfect blend of wit and heart in this fresh fantasy adventure. Even secondary characters are given intriguing personalities and well-developed back stories, and the plot is paced just quickly enough to keep young people guessing. Fans of Shrek-style fractured fairy tales will especially enjoy having their expectations upended. VERDICT Highly recommended, this title will keep a wide variety of readers entertained with its compelling characters and witty twists on the fairy tale universe.—Gesse Stark-Smith, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

School Library Journal

2019-06-30
A daughter must fill in for her indisposed Dark Lord father.

Twelve-year-old Clementine's father has been cursed by the Whittle Witch and is being slowly whittled into a wooden puppet. While he locks himself away in his laboratory to try to find a way to stop and reverse the curse, it's up to Clementine to keep their farm running, a task that becomes harder as her father's magic begins to fail. Helping her are a talking black sheep (who used to be a boy and isn't so sure he wants to be human again) and a local boy who dreams of heroic knighthood. More worryingly, letters start arriving from the Council of Evil Overlords, instructing Clementine to carry out and report Dastardly Deeds to fulfill their family's Dark Lord obligations. Shifts in viewpoint reveal the dangerous witch to be after the Dark Lord's title and their mountain's unicorn; also after the unicorn is a huntress named Darka, who neglects to give her true motivation when befriending Clementine. After luring readers in with wordplay and tongue-in-cheek, genre-savvy humor, the plot takes an emotionally rich thematic turn, dwelling on community and forgiveness—all the while building toward a mythical, mystical arc involving the unicorn. The few action sequences are mined for utmost impact, as are the slice-of-life scenes and flashback vignettes. The characters seem to default to white.

Absolutely delightful. (Fantasy. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews

A hilariously heartwarming magical adventure . . . Clementine [is] a remarkably three-dimensional character. Her imperfections, many failures and constant letdowns make her likable and relatable. Her ridiculous antics…will charm and delight young readers . . . The Dark Lord Clementine is infused with humor and adventure, but the foundation of the story—friendship, loyalty and compassion—never wavers. Clementine is a worthy heroine. At the start of the novel, she lives a lonely, sequestered life with her father, but as the story progresses, her world opens into a unique and beautifully absurd wonderland. This clever, inventive novel knows the value of a good-versus-evil story that is served fresh, yet familiar.”
—The New York Times Book Review

"Chock-full of the cheerfully macabre . . . This quirky novel stands out from the crowd in its hilarity and its compelling premise; give it to readers who like villains who aren’t, really."
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Horwitz has created a perfect blend of wit and heart in this fresh fantasy adventure . . . Highly recommended, this title will keep a wide variety of readers entertained with its compelling characters and witty twists on the fairy-tale universe."
—School Library Journal

"Horwitz primes readers to expect the unexpected—and delivers. . . .Horwitz’s ingenuity for bizarre enchantment and characterization proves boundless . . . In a wry, satisfying ending, Clementine hints at future enchantments ahead.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A spell-binding tale of dark lords and unicorns.”
—The Newark Star-Ledger
 
“The castle is full of sorcery and cleverly devised magical objects, and the legends about the mountains surrounding it give Horwitz’s imagined world a unique history. The story has plenty of heart and charm. Themes of trust, forgiveness, and belonging deepen this enjoyable fantasy.”
—The Horn Book

“The descriptions of magical beings are fittingly awe-inspiring  . . . This inventive fantasy twists conventions while involving readers through good storytelling laced with irony and wit."
—Booklist

“After luring readers in with wordplay and tongue-in-cheek, genre-savvy humor, the plot takes an emotionally rich thematic turn, dwelling on community and forgiveness—all the while building toward a mythical, mystical arc involving the unicorn. The few action sequences are mined for utmost impact, as are the slice-of-life scenes and flashback vignettes . . . Absolutely delightful.”
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher