The Wand & the Sea

Gr 4–7—Holly, her brother Ben, and neighbor Everett reunite in the sequel to The Key and the Flame (S. & S., 2013). The children met a year ago on holiday in England, discovering a portal into the magical country, Anglielle. They return there to continue Holly's magical training as an Adept and to rescue her loyal "rebel alliance" from evil King Reynard, but the rescue ends with everyone in the castle moat. They escape on Captain Morgan's enchanted ship, the Sea Witch, and set sail to locate Anglielle's missing Adepts. Sorcerer Raethius's attempts to steal Holly's powers derail the journey. Caterer's writing is stronger in this book. Holly and Everett express genuine regret and longing as they mend friendship fences. The story takes fewer detours, and the pace of the action is more dramatic. However, the story still lacks organic depth. Continuity problems take their toll on the work's integrity. The author details the female sailors then skips the men. Holly and Everett do have emotional revelations, but Caterer fails to develop them or continue the growth throughout the novel. Holly's companions leave her abruptly for hours on an island, later explaining that they had left her to "regroup," which hardly seems plausible given her perilous situation. Characters have personality quirks but not fully fleshed out backstories. Django Wexler's The Forbidden Library (Penguin, 2014) places a female character in similarly perilous and fantastical situation with more clearly delineated cause and effect.