Jaclyn Moriarty is the award-winning author of A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom, A Tangle of Gold, The Year of Secret Assignments, The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie, The Ghosts of Ashbury High, and The Spell Book of Listen Taylor. A former media and entertainment lawyer, Jaclyn grew up in Sydney, Australia, lived in the United States, Canada, and UK, and now lives in Sydney again. She is very fond of chocolate, blueberries, and sleep.
Praise for The Cracks in the Kingdom: * Madcap, whimsical, smart
and even heartbreaking... Even better than the first. -- Kirkus
Reviews, starred review* Full of clever invention and intrigue,
excellent surprises... and all the sophisticated wit Moriarty's
fans expect. -- Horn Book, starred review* Readers will be
clamoring for the next title after the thrilling yet satisfying
conclusion. -- School Library Journal, starred reviewPraise for A
Corner of White: A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor BookA Kirkus Best
Book of the YearA School Library Journal Best Book of the YearA
Horn Book Fanfare BookJaclyn Moriarty makes me laugh, hysterically
-- and cry, unexpectedly... Startlingly original fantasy. -- E.
Lockhart, New York Times bestselling author of We Were LiarsA
marvelous novel -- in every sense of the word... A Corner of White
slips through a previously unnoticed crack in the reader's heart
and changes everything. -- Deborah Harkness, New York Times
bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches* Quirky, charming,
funny, sad: another winner from this always-surprising author. --
Kirkus Reviews, starred review* Irresistible characters help
readers navigate a tantalizingly complex plot that will leave them
eagerly awaiting the next book. -- Horn Book, starred review* In
this lovely fantasy... mysteries abound. -- School Library Journal,
starred review* [A] genre-blending feat of stylistic energy... The
plotting is as innovative and riveting as the world-making. --
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review
Horn Book Magazine Starred Review
In this second book in the trilogy (A Corner of White, rev. 5/13),
Madeleine (in Cambridge, England) and Elliot (in the Kingdom of
Cello) continue to communicate through letters they send through a
"crack" between their two worlds. Elliot is even more determined to
find his missing father but is sidetracked by Princess Ko, whose
parents and siblings have disappeared into various places in
Madeleine's world, where they have found new identities and
completely forgotten who they are (for example, the queen lives in
Taipei and teaches Zumba). Ko has been covertly running everything
while pretending the other royals are traveling, but if the king
doesn't turn up soon, war may break out. At Ko's behest, Madeleine
and Elliot attempt to cross into each other's worlds; they achieve
a measure of success and give readers a tantalizing hint of romance
to come. The characters' desperate yearning for absent loved ones
adds emotional depth to the story, which is full of clever
invention and intrigue, excellent surprises (readers will kick
themselves for not spotting one of the missing persons earlier),
and all the sophisticated wit Moriarty's fans expect. This wholly
engrossing book outdoes the first--not an easy task.
School Library Journal Starred Review
In this lively follow-up to A Corner of White (Scholastic, 2013),
Moriarty chronicles the ever-intertwining lives of Cambridge
resident Madeline Tully and her secret correspondent Elliot
Baranski, a quick-witted farm boy from the Kingdom of Cello. After
discovering a crack between their parallel worlds, the teens have
been exchanging letters through the gap, venturing on a tentative
friendship that may be growing into something more. The stakes are
higher in this second installment, with Elliot recruited to help
save the missing royalty of Cello, who were pushed into Madeline's
world in an attempt to destabilize the monarchy. Mixed in with the
regal intrigue is a complex, moving look at families, friendship,
and loss. The blossoming relationship between the pen pals, told in
letters and through omniscient narration, is but one of the many
charms this novel has to offer. Madeline's emotional growth
enriches her interactions with her friends and teachers in
Cambridge, who fans will remember fondly from the first book.
Elliot's mission introduces the Royal Youth Alliance (RYA), an
intriguing group of Cellian young people working (some reluctantly)
toward a common goal. The RYA's work around Cello expands an
already complex and intricately drawn world. Readers will be
clamoring for the next title after the thrilling yet satisfying
conclusion.
Kirkus Starred Review
Moriarty's latest draws this world and Cello ever closer.Picking up
just after the revelations that ended A Corner of White (2013) and
ratcheting the stakes up even higher, this middle volume moves from
a balance between Madeleine, in our world, and Elliot, in Cello
(which is kind of fairyland, but stranger and more modern), to a
tighter focus on Elliot and Cello's political situation. Elliot has
teamed up with the seemingly airheaded but actually ruthless
Princess Ko and the Royal Youth Alliance in search of the abducted
royal family, who have all been spirited away to this world.
Meanwhile, the search for Elliot's missing father has been taken
over by a pair of agents, now that it appears Abel really was a
Loyalist abducted by Hostiles; in this world, Madeleine continues
learning strange facts that seem to have bearing on Cello. This is
madcap, whimsical, smart and even heartbreaking, but Moriarty never
drops the dozens of balls in the air. By turns coming-of-age and
wild adventure (the Lake of Spells and the Turquoise Rain in Jagged
Edge stand out), this volume complicates the characters, expands
the worldbuilding and sets things up for a grand finish in the
trilogy closer.Not for the impatient or new reader, but otherwise
even better than the first.
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