Carmer and Grit, Book Two: The Crooked Castle

by Sarah Jean Horwitz

Overview

Carmer and Grit investigate a mysteriously magical flying circus in the follow-up to“a fun and frolicking middle grade adventure full of enough fantasy, humor and heart to make giddy even the most finicky reader.” (BookPage)

Shortly after saving the faeries of Skemantis, magician’s apprentice Felix Carmer III and his faerie companion, Grit, head out to see the world. They soon come across a mysteriously magical flying circus. As they get to know the outlandish world of Rinka Tinka’s Roving Wonder Show, it becomes clear there's something not quite normal about this circus or its inventor–and that recent airship disasters plaguing nearby Driftside City may have a sinister explanation.
 
Fans of the Wildwood trilogy and Lockwood & Co. series will love the thrills and chills of Carmer and Grit, Book 2: The Crooked Castle as it takes readers up in the air with a flying circus, under the sea to the evil Unseelie kingdom, through a terrifying magical snowstorm, and on a chase with the menacing Wild Hunt.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616206642
Publisher:	Workman Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/10/2018
Series:	Carmer and Grit Series , #2
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	1,076,785
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Sarah Jean Horowitz was raised in New Jersey, where her love of storytelling grew from listening to her mother's original "fractured fairy tales." She lives in Boston, Massachusetts. The Crooked Castle is the second book in the Carmer and Grit series. Find her on Twitter, @sunshineJHwitz, or at sarahjeanhorowitz.com.

Editorial Reviews

Sarah Jean Horwitz ups the quotient of magic, mystery, humor, and heart in this riveting sequel to the well-loved series debut.”
—BookPage 
 
“Even richer in detail and full of undersea and high-flying adventure and danger. Grit and Carmer are recognizable from the previous story, but they continue to grow as they make hard decisions and learn more about the world . . . a well-plotted, magical adventure.”
—School Library Journal
 
“A rollicking fantasy ride. Grit, Carmer, and Bell are appealing characters who almost meet their match in the evil counterparts here; but, in the end, justice prevails. Fans of The Wingsnatchers will not be disappointed.”
—VOYA Magazine
 
“I would recommend this book if you like a good mysterious fairytale adventure.”
—KidsBookBuzz.com
 

From the Publisher

2018-01-22
An erstwhile magician's assistant and a renegade faerie princess investigate a steampunk circus in this fantasy follow-up to The Wingsnatchers (2017).Felix Cassius Tiberius Carmer III and Grit (nee Grettifrida Lonewing), still reeling from their first adventure together, are traveling leisurely southward when they crash into Bell Daisimer, daredevil balloonist. Detecting a whiff of faerie magic around "Rinka Tinka's Roving Wonder Show," they soon become entangled in the aerial circus's complicated—and deadly—mysteries. While the glamorous milieu is sadly underutilized and, despite a plethora of airships, the mechanical marvels are less than dazzling, Horwitz deftly grounds and expands her fictional world, diving deep into political intrigues among various faerie factions. The protagonists also gain depth and maturity: Carmer remains clever, kind, and conscientious, but he sheds some of his diffident awkwardness; Grit, although still rude and self-centered, begins to accept her responsibilities. Their antagonists are ruthless but, true to their own code, are hardly cartoon villains. The remaining characters are charming, if paper-thin; with the exception of Bell's "ebony skin" they apparently default to white—and if the utter absence of observable racial bigotry in this alternate turn-of-the-century Virginia feels unlikely, it's not much odder than a 13-year-old boy motoring about the country (seemingly) alone, conducting professional technical inquiries, without comment.Improbabilities notwithstanding, anyone who enjoyed the first book will be delighted by this suspenseful series entry. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews