Secrets of Valhalla (Secrets of Valhalla Series #1)

by Jasmine Richards

Overview

"Readers will clamor for more, especially those who loved Rick Riordan’s Norse-themed The Sword of Summer.” —ALA Booklist

Two friends awaken a world of myth and magic in this epic middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Anne Ursu.

It’s not every day that you find a famous weatherwoman bound by magic to a tree deep in the woods. Or discover that the weatherwoman is in fact Sunna, the Norse Goddess of the Sun, and one of the seven day guardians who keep time in order. But that’s just what happens to new friends Buzz and Mary—and it’s only the start of their adventure.

Now, as the people of Earth are forced to repeat the same Saturday over and over again, Buzz and Mary must journey to collect the Runes of Valhalla and awaken the other day guardians, before vengeful god Loki can get to them first.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062010100
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/16/2017
Series:	Secrets of Valhalla Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.12(w) x 7.62(h) x 0.67(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jasmine Richards was born in London, grew up in a library, and was the first in her family to go to university. After graduating from Oxford she had a brief stint at New Scotland Yard, then chose a career in publishing over being the next Sherlock Holmes. Today Jasmine is a senior editor at a leading British publishing house and lives in the Cotswolds (rather near the Tangley Woods) with her husband and two children. She is the author of Keeper of Myths, Secrets of Valhalla, and The Book of Wonders, of which School Library Journal said, “Swiftly paced writing, appealing characters, and action packed; will appeal to fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books.” You can visit Jasmine online at www.jasminerichards.com.

Editorial Reviews

The combination of adventure, appealing characters, and high stakes should satisfy middle-grade fantasy fans.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Richards excels at weaving stories that mesh the real, modern world and classic mythologies. Readers will clamor for more, especially those who loved Rick Riordan’s Norse-themed The Sword of Summer.” — Booklist

“A worthy addition to the recent Norse mythology kick, particularly as it includes some aspects and figures that have been underrepresented to date.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

A worthy addition to the recent Norse mythology kick, particularly as it includes some aspects and figures that have been underrepresented to date.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A worthy addition to the recent Norse mythology kick, particularly as it includes some aspects and figures that have been underrepresented to date.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Richards excels at weaving stories that mesh the real, modern world and classic mythologies. Readers will clamor for more, especially those who loved Rick Riordan’s Norse-themed The Sword of Summer.

Booklist

Richards excels at weaving stories that mesh the real, modern world and classic mythologies. Readers will clamor for more, especially those who loved Rick Riordan’s Norse-themed The Sword of Summer.

Booklist

11/01/2015
Gr 4–7—Friday the 13th has always been an unlucky day for Buzz, and this year it promises to be even stranger, with talking squirrels, supernatural trees, and murderous dragons appearing from invisible caverns beneath the earth. With a cast of characters inspired by Norse mythology, Richards takes her reluctant hero on a quest to find and rescue a handful of adults who have mysteriously disappeared from Buzz's town of Crowmarsh. Buzz enlists the help of the unpopular Mary, and together they manage to persuade the Norse gods and goddesses to release the mortals they've possessed in order to fight Tyr and prevent Ragnarok (the final battle). In the meantime, the doomed citizens of Crowmarsh are trapped in an endless repetition of the same Saturday, and Buzz's mother, who, in a confusing and inconsequential subplot, disappeared from her research expedition in the Amazon a year ago, reappears. By the end, Buzz achieves a happy ending and his family drama resolves all too perfectly. His friend Mary, on the other hand, has less success with her rigid and authoritarian grandmother. Richards's story is yet another venture into the genre that Rick Riordan has so successfully made his own, and she doesn't quite pull it off. In an effort to explain the lesser-known details of Norse mythology, Richards periodically takes time out from the story to provide context, and the result is a little jerky. Nevertheless, kids will love meeting the lachrymose Kraken, who is also, apparently, the Loch Ness Monster and cheeky Ratatosk, the talking squirrel. Richards's vivid animal characters are the stars of this narrative. VERDICT A fine purchase to supplement middle grade collections where myth-inspired fantasy/adventure is popular.—Jane Barrer, United Nations International School, New York City

School Library Journal

2015-09-16
Two unlikely preteens battle the gods of Norse mythology to save their world from Ragnarok—chaos and destruction. Strange things are happening in Crowmarsh, England, and Buzz Buzzard has lots to contend with: his botanist mother in missing in the Amazon cloud forest; his famous mythology-professor father is as remote as ever; he's bullied by his sister's boyfriend; and it is Friday the 13th, a date he dreads. Buzz meets Mary, a visiting American girl who can see ghosts and read people's fears. In the Tangley Woods they discover the missing local meteorologist, only to find that she has become a host for the goddess Sunna, one of the day guardians. Loki has escaped his bonds and captured Sunna, causing Sunday to cease to exist and throwing the world into a repeating Saturday time loop. Loki wants the Runes of Valhalla, held by the day guardians. In order to find the runes first, Buzz and Mary travel, with the help of a huge magic tree, to the cloud realm, to Atlantis, and to the underworld, battling magic and danger. Although the action proceeds at breakneck speed, character development does not suffer; both Mary and Buzz are appealing. Some knowledge of Norse mythology will help readers unravel the multiple gods and complicated plot, but it's not critical. The combination of adventure, appealing characters, and high stakes should satisfy middle-grade fantasy fans. (Fantasy. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews