SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Midnight Train
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.angiesage.com/
CITY: Cornwall
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: SATA 343
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/midnight-train-enchanters-child-book-2
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1952, in London, England; father a publisher; married Rhodri Powell; children: Laurie, Lois.
EDUCATION:Attended college; B.A. (graphic design and illustration).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and illustrator.
AVOCATIONS:Sailing, the sea, boats, Cornwall, rock music.
WRITINGS
Work included in anthology The Big Book of Pet Stories, Viking (London, England), 2001.
Syren was adapted for audiobook, read by Gerard Doyle, Recorded Books, 2009. Film rights to the “Septimus Heap” series were purchased by Warner Bros. and adapted for film by Peter Craig.
SIDELIGHTS
Angie Sage ranges widely in her writing and illustrating for children, from picture books for the youngest to middle-grade fantasy novels such as her popular “World of Septimus Heap” series. The daughter of a publishing executive, Sage trained as a radiographer and planned to attend medical school in her native England, but switched to art school and earned a degree in graphic design. After creating dozens of original, self-illustrated picture books and contributing artwork to texts by other authors, she opted to pass on illustration duties in favor of more fanciful story-crafting. Illustrator Jimmy Pickering captures the weird whimsy in Sage’s “Araminta Spookie” saga, while Mark Zug brings to life her “Septimus Heap” stories as well as the fascinating The Magykal Papers, a compendium of maps, diaries, and other ephemera related to Heap’s saga that School Library Journal critic Lisa Marie Williams described as “beautifully rendered” and “amazingly detailed.”
(open new1)On her personal website, Sage shared her advice on writing. She urged aspiring writers to “be patient. Writing a good story takes time. Someone said that writing a novel is like filling a swimming pool with a teaspoon, which makes writing a story like filling a bath with an eggcup. It takes a little bit at a time, but you will get there in the end.”(close new1)
Sage’s early work included board books for toddlers, co-created with Chris Sage, such as Happy Baby and Sleepy Baby. In Molly and the Birthday Party, Sage employed a lift-the-flap-format book to allow children to discover what will happen next. When Molly the Monster attends Olly’s birthday party, she does not want to give up the present she has brought. She plays games and wins a prize, but only after she sees Olly’s other friends giving him presents is she ready to offer hers. In Molly at the Dentist, the reluctant monster resists letting the dentist examine her teeth. When he takes out a small dental mirror, however, Molly agrees to have a look along with him. In School Library Journal, Laura Scott called Molly’s adventures “treats for storytime or laptime.” Sage tackles the sometimes tricky subject of sharing in her self-illustrated That’s Mine, That’s Yours.
Sage solicited an older readership with her “Septimus Heap” fantasy series for middle graders. In Magyk she introduces the magically gifted Septimus, a boy born with powers only given to the seventh son of a seventh son. In Booklist, Jennifer A. Mattson cited “Sage’s fluent, charismatic storytelling” and character development, while a Kirkus Reviews contributor called Magyk “a quick-reading, stand-alone, deliciously spellbinding series opener.”
Septimus and his close friend Jenna Heap return in Flyte, The villainy of their nemesis, the necromancer DomDaniel, is eclipsed by the ghost of an evil queen in Physik, as Septimus is pulled 500 years into the past. Ordered to apprentice himself to an ancient alchemist, Septimus is soon joined by several others from his own era, including several members of the Heap family. Although School Library Journal contributor Emily Rodriguez noted the sometimes-confusing cast of characters in Flyte, she predicted that fantasy buffs “will find themselves quickly immersed in [the author’s] … imaginative world, moving from one well-crafted adventure to another at a suspenseful pace.”
When Jenna’s relative Nicko and friend Snorri become trapped in the past in Queste, their predicament forces Septimus and his cohorts to locate the place where all paths through Time intersect. A rescue effort is underway that takes Septimus into the treacherous Harbor area in Syren. Praising Queste, a Kirkus Reviews writer remarked that Sage’s “buoyant plot combin[es] … drama and comedy in just the right proportions.” In Syren, series fans are treated to the characteristic “humor, adventure, and inventive storytelling” that they have come to expect, according to Booklist contributor Ernie Cox.
Septimus is commanded to the fearsome Castle in Darke, as the fateful fourteenth birthday he shares with Jenna approaches. When an inky blackness blankets the Castle entire, it is the evil work of unstable library clerk Merrin Merideth. Ghosts, a Darke Dragon, and the continued threat posed by Merrin all vie for Our Hero’s attention, making Darke “the most suspenseful installment yet” according to Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Mary Ann Darby. The author “proves [yet] again that she has an inventive feel for fantasy,” asserted Cindy Welch in her Booklist review of Darke, and a Kirkus Reviews writer predicted that young Septimus’s “memorable, edge-of-the-seat escapade … will enthrall confirmed fans and newbies alike.”
Sage ended her “World of Septimus Heap” story arc with Fyre, before starting a new saga about Alice TodHunter Moon, whose imperiled state draws Nicko and Snorri into her orbit. Alice’s story begins in PathFinder, takes on a new dimension in SandRider, and unites her with Septimus in StarChaser. “Sage returns middle and junior high readers to both new and familiar parts of the Magykal world, once again masterfully blending suspense, humor, and engaging characters in her tale,” remarked Darby, in reviewing PathFinder in the Voice of Youth Advocates. Alice “is growing into her role” as heroine, declared Stacy Dillon in a School Library Journal appraisal of SandRider, the critic adding that “Sage is giving her a depth that is fitting a life torn between loyalties.” In StarChaser, “Sage brings together the many pieces” for a rewarding finale, judged Horn Book reviewer Lauren Chambers.
While Sage was beginning her “Septimus Heap” stories, she also took time out to create the humorously creepy, spine-tickling tales in her “Araminta Spookie” series of middle-grade novels. In the series opener, My Haunted House, Araminta lives in a crumbling manse with her aunt Tabby and uncle Drac. When Aunt Tabby attempts to put Spook House on the market because of the costs of maintaining it, Araminta gets help from several resident ghosts to keep interested real-estate agents fleeing from the house. When the fun-loving Wizzard family shows up, their love of ghostly haunts makes them a perfect fit as the home’s new owners.
The “Araminta Spookie” series continues in The Sword in the Grotto, as Araminta and Wanda Wizzard join Edward the ghost and on a trip into a hidden tunnel in Spook House. Their goal: to locate a long-missing sword that would make the perfect birthday gift for chief Spook House ghost Sir Horace. Frognapped finds the two girls on the hunt for Mr. Wizzard’s five acrobatic frogs, even when the trail leads them to a bizarre marine park that has been constructed on the property of their crabby neighbor Old Morris. Uncle Drac’s spoiled nephew is a guest at Spook House in Vampire Brat, while Ghostsitters finds the house thrown into chaos by a pair of poltergeists who moves in while Tabby and Drac are away on holiday. According to School Library Journal critic Walter Minkel, Frognapped will appeal to middle graders “who like the idea of spooky things such as secret passages and ghosts,” but would like to avoid more gruesome fare.
In Gargoyle Hall, Araminta is unhappily packed off to boarding school, but she discovers enough intrigue there to whet her appetite for more sleuthing missions. “This lively and mysterious novel will hold the attention of students with a passion for mystery,” opined School Library Journal critic Katy Charles, while in Booklist, Teri Lesesne predicted of Gargoyle Hall that “fans of the series will welcome the return of the dauntless detective and her eccentric family.” In Skeleton Island, Araminta and her newly bonded classmates take a school trip to the ominously named titular landmass. Noting the occasionally testy friendship between Wanda and Araminta, a writer in Kirkus Reviews praised Sage’s heroine, writing that “it’s intriguing to watch her use her brains to get the two of them out of sticky situations.”
Following the success of her “World of Septimus Heap” and “Araminta Spookie” series, Sage produced the middle-grade fantasy Rise of the Dragons. Feeling downcast, isolated, and bullied in London while her mother is dying of an illness, eleven-year-old Sirin clings to her belief in the legendary stories of dragons her mother told. In another world, young shepherd Joss and his sister Allie happen upon a silver dragon egg—the first in ages, promising a dragon who can travel between worlds. Joss learns to ride the dragon, and they must evade the clutches of the power-hungry Lennix family to escape to freedom and perhaps lend Sirin a helping hand.
Noting the importance of family and belief in the novel, Booklist reviewer Elizabeth Konkel observed that Joss and Allie’s “dark, gritty world balances Sirin’s modern one that’s filled with loss and change.” A Kirkus Reviews writer feared that, with table-top and online games attached to this projected opener of a multiauthor series, it feels prefabricated and perfunctory: the human characters lack genuine agency, and “with no evident sign that the larger story has a direction, the author leaves everything, and everyone, up in the air.” Konkel nevertheless deemed Rise of the Dragons an “exciting dragon adventure.”
(open new2)With the dark young adult novel Maximillian Fly, the town of Hope has been encased in a force field for several generations to help it avoid contamination from a disease that ravaged the planet. Many of the town’s residents have been genetically modified and turned into large, flying insects. One of these so-called roaches, Maximillian, has been emotionally abused by his mother and is even missing one of his six arms. When he agrees to help two SilverSeed children fleeing their own oppressive system, his mundane and depressing life is upturned quickly. Booklist contributor John Peters suggested that readers “will appreciate the author’s dexterity, as well as the way she uses mistaken, misunderstood, or misconstrued incidents as an ongoing motif.”
In Twilight Hauntings, eleven-year-old Alex is an Enchanter. After her foster sister reports her for having illegal Enchanted cards, Alex runs away from home with her foster brother, Louie. The two must learn to survive in a hostile environment, where creatures known as Hauntings hunt them. Alex, however, is determined to learn more about her parents and her own identity since they were taken away from her when she was young by the government for their Enchanter background. Former Enchanter hunter, Danny, teams up with the king’s former Enchanter to help end the persecution against Enchanters.
A Kirkus Reviews contributor pointed out that “Sage offers intricate worldbuilding, richly evocative settings, nuanced characters, … deftly woven plotting, and wry humor.” The same reviewer concluded by calling Twilight Hauntings “an unmitigated delight.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly found that “the overlapping, interweaving narrative allows for a panoramic experience with an almost madcap intensity.” Writing in School Library Journal, Martha Simpson insisted that “fans of fantasy and adventure will snap this up and eagerly await the sequel.”(close new2)
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, March 15, 2005, Jennifer Mattson, review of Magyk, p. 1295; May 15, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Flyte, p. 59; April 1, 2007, Jennifer Mattson, review of Physik, p. 52; May 15, 2008, Jennifer Mattson, review of Queste, p. 56; November 15, 2009, Ernie Cox, review of Syren, p. 40; May 15, 2011, Cindy Welch, review of Darke, p. 57; September 1, 2014, Cindy Welch, review of PathFinder, p. 117; May 1, 2015, Teri Lesesne, review of Gargoyle Hall, p. 55; November 15, 2018, Elizabeth Konkel, review of Rise of the Dragons, p. 58; August 1, 2019, John Peters, review of Maximillian Fly, p. 81.
Childhood Education, September 22, 2008, Rachel Lamb, review of Frognapped, p. 52.
Christian Parenting Today, November 1, 2001, reviews of Molly and the Birthday Party and Molly at the Dentist, both p. 60.
Horn Book Guide, September 22, 2013, Lauren Chambers, review of Fyre, p. 91; March 22, 2015, Lauren Chambers, review of PathFinder, p. 91; March 22, 2016, Lauren Rizutto, review of Gargoyle Hall, and Lauren Chambers, review of SandRider, both p. 92; March 22, 2017, Lauren Chambers, review of StarChaser, p. 103.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2005, review of Magyk, p. 125; March 1, 2007, review of Physik, p. 231; April 15, 2008, review of Queste; May 1, 2011, review of Darke; September 1, 2014, review of PathFinder; August 15, 2015, review of SandRider; May 1, 2016, review of Skeleton Island; October 15, 2018, review of Rise of the Dragons; December 1, 2019, review of Twilight Hauntings.
Publishers Weekly, June 29, 1990, reviews of Happy Baby and Sleepy Baby, both p. 99; March 22, 1991, review of That’s Mine, That’s Yours, p. 79; August 9, 1999, review of Stack-a-Car: Read the Books! Make the Toy!, p. 355; January 31, 2000, review of Give a Little Love: Stories of Love and Friendship, p. 109; January 3, 2005, review of Magyk, p. 561; August 14, 2006, review of My Haunted House, p. 205; January 27, 2020, review of Twilight Hauntings, p. 75.
School Librarian, March 22, 2010, Chris Brown, reviews of The Magykal Papers and Syren, both p. 40; June 22, 2015, Lucy Carlton-Walker, review of PathFinder, p. 109.
School Library Journal, August 1, 2000, Susan Hepler, review of Give a Little Love, p. 164; November 1, 2001, Laura Scott, review of Molly and the Birthday Party, p. 136; April 1, 2005, Steve Engelfried, review of Magyk, p. 140; June 1, 2006, Emily Rodriguez, review of Flyte, p. 165; February 1, 2007, Amelia Jenkins, review of My Haunted House, p. 96; June 1, 2007, Emily Rodriguez, review of Physik, p. 159; September 1, 2007, Walter Minkel, review of Frognapped, p. 175; June 1, 2008, Elizabeth Bird, review of Queste, p. 150; November 1, 2009, Jessica Miller, review of Syren, and Lisa Marie Williams, review of The Magykal Papers, both p. 119; August 1, 2014, Stacy Dillon, review of PathFinder, p. 90; April 1, 2015, Katy Charles, review of Gargoyle Hall, p. 149; August 1, 2015, Stacy Dillon, review of SandRider, p. 90; February 1, 2020, Martha Simpson, review of Twilight Hauntings, p. 70.
Voice of Youth Advocates, April 1, 2005, review of Magyk, p. 13; June 1, 2011, Mary Ann Darby, review of Darke, p. 191; August 1, 2014, Mary Ann Darby, review of PathFinder, p. 87.
ONLINE
Angie Sage website, http://www.angiesage.com (April 19, 2022).
BookBrowse, http://www.bookbrowse.com/ (June 28, 2017), author interview.
Septimus Heap website, https://www.septimusheap.com/ (April 19, 2022), author profile.
S.M. Bucklin website, https://www.smbucklin.com/ (December 6, 2018), Stephanie Bucklin, author interview.
Angie Sage
UK flag (b.1952)
Angie Sage (born 1952) is the author of the Septimus Heap series which includes Magyk, Flyte, Physik, Queste, Syren, Darke and Fyre, the final book which is scheduled to come out later in 2013. Also, she wrote The Magykal Papers, an additional book with extra information about Septimus' world. She is also the illustrator and/or writer of many children's books, and is the new writer of the Araminta Spookie series.
Angie Sage grew up in Thames Valley, London and Kent. Her father was a publisher. He would bring home blank books that she could fill with pictures and stories. Sage first studied medicine, but changed her mind and went to Art School in Leicester. There she studied Graphic Design and Illustration. She began illustrating books after college. Then she progressed to writing children stories, including toddler books and chapter books. Her first novel was Septimus Heap: Magyk. Angie Sage is married and has two daughters, Laurie and Lois.
Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Children's Fiction
Series
Septimus Heap
1. Magyk (2005)
1.5. The Darke Toad (2013)
2. Flyte (2006)
3. Physik (2007)
4. Queste (2008)
5. Syren (2009)
6. Darke (2011)
7. Fyre (2013)
The Magykal Papers (2009)
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Araminta Spook
1. My Haunted House (2006)
2. The Sword in the Grotto (2006)
3. Frognapped (2007)
4. Vampire Brat (2007)
5. Ghostsitters (2008)
6. Gargoyle Hall (2014)
7. Skeleton Island (2015)
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Septimus Heap: Todhunter Moon
1. PathFinder (2014)
2. SandRider (2015)
3. StarChaser (2016)
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Enchanter's Child
1. Twilight Hauntings (2020)
2. Midnight Train (2021)
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Novels
Maximillian Fly (2019)
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Picture Books
Green Mug (1998)
Red Ball (1998)
Yellow Lolly (1998)
Yellow Ice (1998)
Give a Little Love (1999)
Molly and the Birthday Party (2000)
Hello Ducks (2001)
No Banana! (2001)
The Lonely Puppy (2003)
Molly at the Dentist (2007)
Molly and the Party (2007)
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Chapter Books
Dear Alien (1998)
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Series contributed to
Rise of the Dragons
1. Rise of the Dragons (2019)
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Anthologies edited
Mouse (2001)
My Story
I was born in London, England, and grew up in Berkshire, London and Kent.
I remember how excited I was when I learnt to read and how it opened up so many new worlds. I used to love to get lost in a book and I still do. I also loved drawing and reading about history, which I think is as good as time travelling. My father worked in publishing and used to bring home blank books called dummy books. I used to think of all the stories I could fill them with, although usually I just drew pictures in them. After school I studied illustration because I knew I wanted to be part of making books. I think books are magical objects that can take you to so many amazing places, and I love being part of them.
I have two grown-up daughters and live in Cornwall, which has a mysterious atmosphere that I think creeps into everything I write.
Top Tips for Writing
How to begin…
· Writing begins with reading – so read lots and lots and lots.
· Write about something that you are really interested in.
· Beginning is often the hardest part. I always start by thinking of the actual place where the story is set: the landscape. Walk yourself through it in your imagination and then decided on the place where your story begins.
· Next, put characters into the landscape. These do not need to be human, but they do need to have enough human characteristics to allow the reader to identify with them.
· Now get to know your characters like friends and they will guide you through your story.
Keep going…
· Write a little bit every day if possible. Just a few sentences to keep the story fresh in your mind.
· And after you have written it, read it out loud to yourself.
· Be patient. Writing a good story takes time. Someone said that writing a novel is like filling a swimming pool with a teaspoon, which makes writing a story like filling a bath with an eggcup. It takes a little bit at a time, but you will get there in the end.
· Be sure to go over and over what you have written and make sure it all makes sense. And that it is spelt right. This is called editing.
· When you have something you are pleased with be brave and show it to a friend. Tell them you really want to know what they think of it. Remember, you are writing your story for other people to read. Listen to what they say, and if you think you need to make changes, make them. A story is like a living thing. You must allow it to grow and develop.
If you get stuck…
If your story gets stuck don’t panic. This happens to all writers at some time. There are all kinds of reasons for this, but whatever the reason you are stuck, do not worry that you might be suffering from the dreaded Writers Block, you are not. Click HERE for some tips on what to do.
Biography
I was born in London and grew up in the Thames Valley, London, and Kent. As a child I loved reading and would often escape to the orchards behind the house with a book. I particularly liked E. Nesbitt’s and Elizabeth Gouge’s books. My father worked in publishing and would bring home wonderful “dummy” books, beautifully bound with blank pages, that I would fill with pictures and stories. I have written about a dozen books for young readers and illustrated quite a few too, including the Araminta Spookie series.
I have two daughters, Laurie and Lois, who are grown now but still give me lots of ideas. I live in Somerset in the west of England in a very old house in the middle of a village. The west of England is a Magykal place, with marches, ancient ports and ruined castles. It is a great place to live and write Septimus Heap.
I have two daughters, Laurie and Lois, who are grown now but still give me lots of ideas. I live in Somerset in the west of England in a very old house in the middle of a village. The west of England is a Magykal place, with marches, ancient ports and ruined castles. It is a great place to live and write Septimus Heap.
Interview with Angie Sage
1. You have written many picture books and chapter books for children. What was it that inspired this, your first novel, Septimus Heap?
I have had the character of Septimus in my head for a long time—and the world he lived in too. I knew Septimus was someone who was in a strange and hostile world who did not have a clue about who he really was. But it was only when Marcia suddenly jumped into the picture that the story began to happen. She was so bossy and just insisted that I had to keep writing—and you don’t say no to Marcia.
2. When you began writing, did you know what would happen to Septimus, or did the story and the characters unfold as you wrote?
I knew what would happen to Septimus in the end, but I did not know exactly how he would get there, or who he would meet on the way. That’s the exciting thing about writing the world that he lives in—so many creatures and people just appear and make things happen.
3. Tell us little more about the world you have created—the Castle, the Port, the Forest, the Marshes…is any of it based on places you know and love?
The whole slightly off-the-wall feeling of the place comes from living in Cornwall, England!
The Castle is really a huge walled city—I love history and I’ve based it on ancient walled cities—the ones that were completely self-sufficient and almost little nation states in their own right. It is also a bit of wish fulfillment as I think it would be a great place to live.
The Port is a mixture of lots of different harbors around here, but much bigger. I love the buzz a place gets when boats are arriving from—well it could be anywhere. I see the Port as somewhere like that, full of beginning and adventures—and endings too.
The Forest comes from the old medieval Forests which were huge and were a law unto themselves. Scary to be in if you were a stranger, but free from the authority of the outside world if you belonged.
The Marshes are based on all the boggy bits at the end of the creek that I live on, and made much, much bigger. I took a canoe up there a couple years ago, along the smallest ditches it would travel through. I thought what fun it would be to do that as part of a journey. All the tides and the phases of the moon are real, and the times of high and low tide are those for Falmouth, Cornwall.
4. Is it true that you yourself have a boat called Muriel?
Yes, it is. She is just like Muriel in the book. She is a picarooner, a little open boat used for herring fishing in coastal waters (although my Muriel would not know a herring if one jumped up and bit her). She is green and has dark red sails. She also has an outboard motor which I don’t think Nicko would approve of.
5. At the core of Septimus Heap is the warmth and strength of the Heap family. What are some of their qualities that you most admire?
I like their chaotic acceptance of life, and the fact that they don’t do what they are told by authority if they think it is wrong. Stuff happens to them that makes their life difficult at times but they don’t moan about things, they just get on and sort it out as best they can. They are remarkably accepting of other people, I think because they are so strong as a unit.
They are also a family which becomes separated by circumstances—and I wanted to show that families can still be close to each other and care for each other even though they live apart. The family relationships develop as the books progress, and are central to the story.
6. We have to ask…do you believe in magyk?
Yes, of course!
SAGE, Angie. Twilight Hauntings. 368p. (Enchanter's Child: Bk. 1). HarperCollins/ Katherine Tegen Bks. Mar. 2020. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780062875143.
Gr 4-7--Sage kicks off the first book in her "Enchanter's Child" duology with a prologue that describes how the King's Enchanter gave up his baby daughter to an unknown woman in order to save her. Ten years later in the city of Luma, Alex knows nothing of her true parents; only the drudgery of doing household chores while her stepmother and foster sisters boss her around. She does have two comforts--her younger brother Louie and her hexagonal cards that can foretell the future. But Luma has banned magic and when one sister betrays her to the Sentinels, Alex and Louie must flee. They escape to a forest but are pursued by deadly Twilight Hauntings including river snakes, stinging butterflies, a giant Hawke, and the suffocating Gray Walker. Meanwhile, the ex-Enchanter Hagos Ravenstarr forms an alliance with the Hawke's former Flyer, Danny. They start searching for the magical items needed to destroy the Hauntings; the same quest Alex also undertakes. Sage has built a fully realized world populated by intriguing characters and terrifying monsters. She skillfully builds tension using plot twists that include friendship and betrayal, good intentions and misunderstandings, fearsome attacks and daring escapes, and family dramas of various sorts. VERDICT Fans of fantasy and adventure will snap this up and eagerly await the sequel. A first purchase.--Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Simpson, Martha. "SAGE, Angie. Twilight Hauntings." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 2, Feb. 2020, p. 70. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A613048806/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8a56c974. Accessed 18 Mar. 2022.
Twilight Hauntings (Enchanter's Child #1)
Angie Sage. HarperCollins/Tegen, $16.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-287514-3
In this fast-paced fantasy, first in a duology, Sage (the Septimus Heap series) weaves an engaging tale of constant danger and capricious magic. When Alex, 11, an Enchanter, is betrayed by her foster sister for the crime of possessing Enchanted cards, she's forced to flee Luma for her life with foster brother Louie in tow. Now they must survive in a land where Enchanters and their works are illegal, and terrifying creatures called Hauntings hunt them at every turn. Determined to fight back against the system that imprisoned her birth parents, Alex goes in search of clues to her identity. Meanwhile, Danny Dark, a young man responsible for hunting down Enchanters, has a change of heart and partners with the King's former Enchanter, who's also determined to stop this persecution. Sage's world is inventive and weird, featuring creatures such as the enormous Enchanter-hunting Hawke and the talkative pokkle (a parrot/ gecko mix). Following multiple viewpoints, including those of Alex, Danny, and a goat named Howard, the overlapping, interweaving narrative allows for a panoramic experience with an almost madcap intensity. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Twilight Hauntings (Enchanter's Child #1)." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 4, 27 Jan. 2020, pp. 75+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622069631/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6a7fd2f8. Accessed 18 Mar. 2022.
Sage, Angie TWILIGHT HAUNTINGS Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (Children's Fiction) $16.99 3, 31 ISBN: 978-0-06-287514-3
In this series opener from Septimus Heap creator Sage, an oracle's accidentally truthful prophecy feeds a monarch's paranoia and prompts his magically enforced ban on Enchanters.
Ten years ago, unable to escape themselves, Alex's parents handed her to a woman with two daughters on the last train out of Rekadom. Now 11, Alex endures life as Mirram's foster daughter and bullied household drudge. Secretly reading cards in the Luma marketplace yields her spending money--also danger; Sentinels are everywhere, enforcing the city's ban on Enchanters and their magic. Alex fears she's been seen reading for her last customer, Benn. Instead, Mirram's youngest daughter Names not only Alex, but her own mother and little brother, Louie, to the Sentinels. Dire consequences ensue. Fleeing with Louie and the family's pet pokkle, Alex is spotted by King Belamus' magical enforcers: the enormous Hawke and its novice Flyer, who, fortunately, can't bring himself to shoot them or his next Quarry, an old man in the forest. Once again, Sage offers intricate worldbuilding, richly evocative settings, nuanced characters (all have flaws and don't always manifest their good intentions), deftly woven plotting, and wry humor. The downside to eating dried snake is revealed; the royal ex-Enchanter offers caustic comments on the king's penchant for alliteration; and visitors making the arduous climb to question the Oracle are confronted with a "No Picnicking" sign. Characters are default white.
An unmitigated delight. (Fantasy. 10-13)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Sage, Angie: TWILIGHT HAUNTINGS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A606964298/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a05e3720. Accessed 18 Mar. 2022.
Maximillian Fly. By Angie Sage. 2019.384p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, $16.99 (9780062571168). Gr. 5-7.
In an unusually dark and brutal outing, the creator of the Septimus Heap and Araminta Spookie series sets a persecuted family and friends--some of whom have been genetically altered into big flying insects disparagingly known as Roaches--in a dismal dystopian town called Hope that has huddled under a force field since a contagion swept Earth generations before. Nearly all the major characters take narrator or point-of-view turns, but Maximillian, a young bug damaged in both body and spirit after being brought up by a toxic mother sets the mood: "Roach and Wingless alike, we are all prisoners of Hope." Sage exploits both sides of this double entendre by pulling out an improbably happy ending from a tale in which blood, vomit, poisons, cruelty both physical and psychological, wanton destruction, terror, torture, a parental rift that has deepened into psychotic hatred (on one side, anyway), and a barely averted mass killing of children all feature. Shaken readers, at least those of an analytical bent, will appreciate the author's dexterity, as well as the way she uses mistaken, misunderstood, or misconstrued incidents as an ongoing motif. On a deeper, less technical level, watching Maximillian escape the influence of his demonic mother to rediscover loving connections with a long sundered and unusually diverse four- and six- (or in his case, five-) limbed circle give the tale a sweet aftertaste.--John Peters
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Peters, John. "Maximillian Fly." Booklist, vol. 115, no. 22, 1 Aug. 2019, p. 81. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A598305384/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=dd872369. Accessed 18 Mar. 2022.