Gr 4–7—The island of Aletheia boasts as its crown jewel the city of Asteri, powered by the lingering magic of ancient wizards. Nowadays there is only one, mildly magical magician, Caleb, and his lowly assistant, Oscar, to provide magical solutions for Asteri's demanding residents. People, social situations, and breaks in routine discomfit the orphaned Oscar in ways reminiscent of autistic spectrum children. He prefers to gather plants from the forest and converse with Caleb's cats. Circumstances force Oscar to depart from routine when Asteri's magic goes awry. Oscar teams up with Callie, the healer's apprentice, to cure the ailments and repair the broken magic that threatens Aletheia. In the process, Oscar discovers Caleb's illicit use of magic, questioning his own origins and purpose. This is a tale replete with memorable settings and weighty issues. Readers will dog Oscar's footsteps, wondering as he does, when magic moves from being a gift to becoming a crutch. His friendship with Callie serves as a bridge between him and the larger community, and it often puzzles him. Ursu subtly proves that Oscar and Callie have a mutually beneficial relationship that gives both needed insight and support. As the novel concludes, the dense plotlines pull in as tight as they can, but there are still unanswered questions and a rather quick ending. Still, Oscar's tremendous heart fills every nook of this richly told story. His heroic stumbles will fondly remind readers of Gail Carson Levine's
Ella Enchanted (HarperCollins, 1997) and Meg from Madeleine L'Engle's
A Wrinkle in Time.—
Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CTMisfit orphan Oscar is content to be his magician master's menial "hand." Then Master Caleb disappears, and children in the magically protected City suddenly begin to sicken. Using Pinocchio as her point of departure, Ursu creates a highly rewarding and involving adventure, with a tight plot, resonant themes, a clearly limned fantasy landscape, and a sympathetic main character.
Misfit orphan Oscar is content to be his magician master's "hand": doing the menial work of preparing herbs; staying in the cellar with his cat friends. Then his orderly world explodes: Master Caleb disappears and bane-of-Oscar's-life apprentice Wolf is mysteriously killed, leaving Oscar to mind the shop -- Oscar, who, like a person with Asperger's syndrome, lacks interpersonal skills and can't decode facial expressions. Even worse, children in the magically protected City suddenly begin to sicken, and together with his new friend Callie, a healer's apprentice, Oscar must find both cause and cure. Using Pinocchio as her point of departure (with a little "Red Riding Hood" thrown in for good measure), Ursu skillfully implies a connection between Oscar and the little wooden puppet boy. . .which turns out to be a clever piece of misdirection. But not quite, because in fact Oscar does become more of a "real boy" in the end. It's all highly rewarding and involving, with a tight plot, resonant themes, a gripping adventure, a clearly limned fantasy landscape, and a sympathetic main character. Callie and Oscar's sometimes prickly relationship sparks the dialogue, while Oscar's self-doubts feed the considerable emotional content. As in Breadcrumbs (rev. 1/12), there are holes in the story's logic (why should the ailing children have different symptoms when the source of the problem is the same?), but readers will forgive the book's flaws as they root for Oscar to come into his own: "You're not made at all, Oscar. Don't you see?. . .You get to do the making." Final art unseen. martha v. parravano
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