FICTION

A Box of Gargoyles

by Anne NESBET
368p. HarperCollins/Harper. 2013. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-210425-0.
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Gr 4–8—This sequel to The Cabinet of Earths (HarperCollins, 2012) begins shortly after Maya Davidson's victory against her wicked, "sort of" uncle, the powerful magician Henri de Fourcroy. Just as the 12-year-old is beginning to relax and enjoy her new life in Paris, strange things start happening around her. A mysterious swirl of dust that seems to have the shape and colors of a purple-eyed man is following her, and growing regions of magical transformation bring danger and threatening magical creatures to the city. When Maya inadvertently reads a letter that holds a magical compulsion, it seems that she will be forced to give up her own life in exchange for Henri's. With the help of her friends Valko and Pauline, Maya is determined to outwit the constraints of the letter and defeat Henri again. Magical gargoyles and their egg add to the mystery as Maya tries to understand what they need her to do and how they can help her with her mission. Nesbet creates threatening evil and an engagingly magical setting. She gives Maya real doubts and worries, particularly about protecting her family and her mother's recurring illness. Fans of the first book will enjoy this next installation, but it functions smoothly on its own as well.—Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI
By the end of Nesbet's The Cabinet of Earths (rev. 1/12), Maya has vanquished her immortality-hungry relative Henri de Fourcroy to his proper state -- ashes and dust. But in the time-honored tradition of sequels, Maya's nemesis doesn't quite sputter out: he reappears as a "bent-over smoke streak of a man" who hides his mind in the stones of a Paris wall, casting a spell that will force Maya to restore his vitality. Maya and her friend Valko struggle to outwit the spell (since they can't resist it), contending with gargoyles, a gargoyle egg, and a very bad violinist, as well as convulsive waves of magic that promise to change not just Paris but all the world. The logic of Nesbet's plot is rather ornate, but there's plenty of strength and charm here -- especially in the animated, personal voice of the narrator, who seems to speak out of Maya's own head but, at the same time, offers its own sympathetic interpretation of events. And Nesbet's style is both animated and animating: through pervasive personification -- "the smell of rocks beginning to lose their temper"; drizzle moving on "to bother somebody else's day"; memories that are "pretty shy creatures" -- all elements of her story fairly quiver with life. deirdre f. baker
Reviewed by Beth L. Meister , Jul 01, 2013

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