The Inquisitor's Apprentice

The Inquisitor's Apprentice
by Chris Moriarty
Harcourt, 2011. 343 pgs. Fantasy.

While Sacha Kessler is shopping with his Mom at Lassky & Daughters Kosher Baked Goods, he sees an aura around Mrs. Kessler's head. "How did you do that?" he asks and is almost immediately fingered by an NYPD Inquisitor. Inquisitor's ferret out illegal magic in this alternate history of turn-of-the-century New York and Sacha's ability to see witches gets him a job as an apprentice to the NYPD's chief Inquisitor, Maximillian Wolf. Not a line of work a nice young Jewish boy really wants to get into, but it's a job that will bring cash to his impoverished family so he agrees. Soon he and his fellow apprentice Lily Astral (one of the upper East Side, rich as Croesus Astrals) are racing to discover who is trying to kill Thomas Edison and keep his mechanical witch detector from ever seeing the light of day. Robber barons, Harry Houdini, the Elephant Hotel of Coney Island, and an extremely frightening dybbuk who looks a lot like . . . but no spoilers here . . . fill these pages with slightly off-kilter history, fantastical duels, Jewish mythology, and the rich ethnic stew of 19th century New York. A terrific story which begs for a sequel. One can only hope.

Comments

Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick

If there's one book today's kids need to read, it is Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) . The authors provide a fun format for teaching etiquette to children. They discuss proper behavior at home, at school, at other people's homes and in public places. The information is completely up-to-date with cellphone manners and netiquette included. Fun, cartoony illustrations are on practically every page giving the book great visual appeal. This book is perfect for boys and girls in the fourth grade or older. WARNING: Bodily functions are discussed.

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin

Faces of the Moon by Bob Crelin Illustrated by Leslie Evans Charlesburg; 2009; unpaged Faces of the Moon is a short nonfiction book that describes the different phases of the moon and why the moon appears like it does on certain nights. This book is short and sweet so even the youngest of moon lovers will enjoy it. The layout is simplistic and easy to follow. I don’t know much about the moon so I found it very interesting.

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 2008

J Fiction 328 pages I almost didn't finish this book. I got to Chapter 4, and was just about ready to quit (a kind of slow story about a girl, name of Piper McCloud, who discovers she can fly, parents freak out, she becomes a social outcast, yadda, yadda) but suddenly, right there in Chapter 4, the story takes a sharp turn and becomes really interesting . Piper finds herself in the company of others like her, but not "fliers", and under the care and authority of Dr. Hellion. I won't even tell you any more. Read this book. Forester does a great job of keeping you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad? Piper is a likeable, strong, endearing character that girl readers will enjoy. But don't NOT give it to boys! The main male character is an extremely intelligent young man who is one of the ones you wonder about . . . good or bad? This is a good one, well worth your time.

Provo Library Children's Book Blog

Search This Blog