  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 10/01/2010 There is an unseen war being waged in the alleys of Victorian London, and twelve-year-old orphan Emily Snow accidentally finds herself in the middle of it after witnessing a scuffle between opposing faerie clans. Suddenly gifted with the Sight, the ability to see the fey folk, she is drawn into a centuries-old battle in which the constantly changing sides have no problem manipulating Emily to get their way. She’s left with nothing to count on except a smart-mouthed piskie, a thieving human, and a mysterious riddle that seems to indicate a connection between Emily’s destiny and the fate of the faerie world. Rife with Celtic-inspired lore and Victorian atmosphere (including villainous bad guys with capes and mysterious societies), this first installment of a proposed series shows plenty of promise. Emily is the consummate plucky heroine joined by a ragtag group set to save the world, and while we’ve certainly seen this trope before, Crilley injects a bit of innovation with the mysterious references to her presence in battles long past and the magician Merlin’s insistence that she is the reason the humans defeated the fey two hundred years ago. With an ending that transports Emily through space and time to supposedly find her destiny and possibly her missing parents, this book will have readers anxiously wondering what will befall our poor orphan heroine next. KQG - Copyright 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 10/01/2010 Gr 5–8—This fantasy has all the right elements, weaving lore of the faeries, a classic quest, epic battles, a riddle, and a clever heroine into a fast-moving, suspenseful plot. Emily, 12, sells bunches of watercress to earn a penny or two to feed herself and her brother, orphaned when their parents disappeared a few years earlier. One morning, she is surprised to learn of a hidden war in the dreary streets of Victorian London. Emily is a True Seer, able to see the faeries. Corrigan, a pesky piskie left behind after the battle, involves her in the fight between the Seelie and the Unseelie, faeries in a war that began in 1666 with the Great Fire. Emily faces betrayal upon betrayal as she tries to save her kidnapped brother and figure out whom to trust and to help. Which group wants to subjugate humans, which one wants to coexist? And what are the real intentions of the members in the Invisible Order, a secret society that protects humans from the faeries? Emily must solve a riddle to find a magic stone that leads to a key to an underground London. Along the way she meets Merlin, learns she has been around for centuries, and discovers that her parents may be alive. Corrigan supplies some humor, while Emily's friend Spring-Heeled Jack provides intimations of a budding romance. Intricate and layered, with a rapidly moving plot and an appealing and resourceful heroine, this book will have kids eagerly awaiting the next installment.—Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME - Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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