A Week Without Tuesday

Gr 4–6—In this fantastical sequel to Finding Serendipity (Holt, 2015), Tuesday and her dog, Baxterr, are beckoned back to the land where all stories are created. Her mother's famous character, Vivienne Small, is in need of immediate help for her troubled world. Things are going horribly wrong: mountains have grown so much that they pierce the sky, and strange, terrorizing birds known as vercaka arrive from another world. Vivienne shares a possible clue to the mystery from a note tucked into the collar of a dying winged dog: "I cannot hold the worlds apart much longer. Have you found our answer?" Tuesday delivers this note to the Librarian in charge of all books and is informed that the fictional worlds are colliding and out of control. Tuesday, with the assistance of Vivienne and Baxterr, is commissioned to find and help the Gardener, the man in charge of keeping the story worlds apart. On the way, they are attacked by the murderous vercaka, witness oceans from another world pouring into theirs, and see the sky cave in like the bottom of a fishbowl. When Tuesday finally discovers the Gardener, she finds he is old and losing his memory. She must step in and take his place, never to return home to her world again. Banks's wondrously whimsical language helps transport readers into this imaginative world. The complex landscape may demand extra concentration, but those who follow closely won't want to come back to our mundane universe. Budding writers might be particularly interested in this tale. The illustrations enliven and clarify this magical story.