The Apprentices

Gr 5–9—Janie and Benjamin are back in this global, heart-pounding adventure (2013). Meloy picks up the narrative two years after the events in The Apothecary (2011, both Putnam). Janie is now at a boarding school in New Hampshire, while Benjamin and his father are making their way through the war-torn jungles of Vietnam, caring for the injured and trying to stay alive. Janie hasn't spoken to Benjamin since he left her in the London train station, but when a series of unpleasant events befall Janie, including getting kicked out of her prep school for cheating (which she didn't do), she reaches out to her old friend Pip. This precipitates a cascade of adventures that will take Janie, Pip, and Benjamin on an adventure halfway around the world, and involve encounters with a new enemy, an old nemesis, and a handful of cannibalistic South Sea islanders. With the help of Jin Lo and new friends Rafaello and Opal, the Apothecary's gang comes together to uncover a sinister mystery and once more save the world from impending doom. Cristin Milioti expertly voices Opal, Benjamin, Pip, and a myriad of other characters in this ensemble offering. Fans of the first in the series will eagerly devour this sequel.—Michaela Schied, Indian River Middle School, Philadelphia, NY