Thursdays with the Crown - Softcover

Jessica Day George is the author of many books for young readers, including the wonderfully whimsical Tuesdays at the Castle and Wednesdays in the Tower, and three books in the Dragonskin Slippers series. Jessica lives with her family in Salt Lake City, Utah. To find out more, visit www.jessicadaygeorge.com.

Gr 4–6—Picking up right where Wednesdays in the Tower (Bloomsbury, 2013) left off, Princess Celie and her siblings have been transported by Castle Glower to a strange land. With them are their friends Pogue and Prince Lulath, as well as Celie's griffin, Rufus. In order to return home and heal the Castle, Celie and company must find the missing piece of the Eye that has been stolen. They meet a wizard, the Arkower, and though they don't trust him, he may be the only one who can help them in their mission. Filled with magnificent griffins and mysteries about the true history of the land and the Castle, fans of the series will eagerly devour this latest installment. The stakes are higher than ever before and the well-paced narrative keeps readers engaged throughout. Supporting characters such as Lulath are more fully fleshed out in this title and while circumstances often separate members of the group, the perspective always stays with Celie, so readers share her confusion and skepticism as she hears conflicting stories about the Castle and the kingdom. Like the protagonist, readers will come away with the valuable lesson that there are multiple sides to every story and that there isn't always a clear right or wrong side in a conflict between groups of people. Though this part of Celie's tale concludes, fans will be delighted at the hints of her next adventure in the final paragraphs.—Amanda Raklovits, Champaign Public Library, IL