The Master of Misrule

Gr 7–10—Taking up right where The Game of Triumphs (Knopf, 2011) leaves off, Cat, Toby, Blaine, and Flora are back in the real world after having released the Fool and won the Game. But when they try to claim their prizes, they discover that they were pawns in the Fool's plan to take over. Now calling himself the Master of Misrule, he appears to be well on his way and the Game is no longer confined to the Arcanum, but has spilled over into the everyday world. Throughout London, people are finding mysterious scratch-off cards and becoming caught up in the Triumph Lottery of Luck. If the card reveals heads, it leads to untold riches; tails is a harbinger of disaster. When the four friends return to Temple House, a looted and destroyed version of its former glory, the High Priest informs them that because they released the Hanged Man, they are to blame for the current mayhem. They realize they must go back into the Game to set things right. Since their previous actions overthrew the kings and queens of the four courts, Cat and her friends will go in as their substitutes, and each one undertakes a quest in order to win the highest prize of all, the Triumph of Eternity. Only then can the Master of Misrule be stopped. Readers might find it difficult to keep up with the plethora of cards and what they represent, but the action is fast-paced and the four main characters are nicely fleshed out. Purchase where the first book is popular.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA