A wildly imaginative middle grades fantasy about the power of stories and the lengths to which we must go to protect them.
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard: a Peter Nimble Adventure by Jonathan Auxier. Abrams, 2016. 454 pages.
Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12
Recommended For: Middle grades, ages 10-12 (or anyone who enjoys a wild, fantastical romp with super villains, young hero(ine)s, and the “magic” of stories)
Sophie Quire is a quiet book mender who has been seeking out and saving fairy tales whilst missing her long-deceased mother, learning the ways of the old city’s winding streets, and helping her father in his bookshop. The city, led by Inquisitor Prigg, is planning a large celebratory pyre in the coming days, a pyre that will hold all the (now banned) fairy tales and inventive stories Sophie and her father cherish. Peter Nimble and his trusty sidekick Sir Tode show up with a magical book in need of repair, and Sophie lands in the adventure of a lifetime. A magical book, truly evil villains, stories that come to life, and Peter’s desperado lifestyle make the book a wild ride.
Auxier weaves such intricate and exciting stories. Sophie Quire is a perfect companion to the first Peter Nimble book with new, nuanced characters and a fantastic expansion of Peter’s original world. Auxier plunges the reader into the middle of the action on the first page, and the story doesn’t rest until the very last page. Friendship and family relationships are tested and hold true, and even a villain or two appears to soften. Auxier’s villains are true villains, though, and he’s not afraid of violence and blood and gore–fairy tale style, that is. Nothing is gratuitous, nothing is happening in our real world, and justice wins out. Perfect for middle grade fantasy lovers! The theme of the importance of words and stories is nothing new, but Auxier makes it fresh. Note: as in much fantasy, there is magic aplenty in this book. Interestingly, though, the “good guys” are not wielding magic. Rather, the villains work magic and the words/stories themselves work magic.
Cautions: Supernatural/Magic (fantasy-style)
Overall Rating: 4.5
Artistic Rating: 4.75
Worldview Rating: 4.25
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I meant- you know, I’ll amend the whole thing:
It does have romance. I hate that about the book. Why couldn’t she and Peter just be friends? They RUINED the fun. I’ve thought of a hundred scenarios where they’re just friends, and it turns out it would’ve been so much more fun. And hilarious. Like, beside the campfire, when they discussed Peter’s fear of Mr. Seamus, wouldn’t it be better if the two insulted him all night long, seeing who could come up with the best nickname, then checking The Book of Who for his profile, and seeing that their long list of insulting nicknames about him pop up in the profile, under “Known Aliases”, making them roar with laughter for a long time. Instead of the gross blushing and weirdness, why can’t there be more adventure and fun? And lessons that they learned, too? For example, when Professor Cake says to Peter “I see you’ve ditched the blindfold.” he should’ve said “Turns out, my eyes are more useful than I thought.” instead of “I guess I have something better to look at.” when he’s referring to Sophie. It’s not fair to the characters- they’re TWELVE, for goodness’ sake! And the reply I made up is better because when the Zeitgeist is causing destruction, all his senses are useless except his eyes. You could show he learned that his sight is useful as well as his other senses. And at the end they could’ve been friends setting out on another epic journey, but this romance RUINS IT. UGH.
Oh, I’m sorry you think the romance ruins it. There are plenty of 12-year-olds who are blushing around the opposite sex, though! I didn’t think the romance part stood out too much.
My boys loved the romance 9-13
This was our summer book club book, we invited a few kids ate cookies. Everyone loved it.
Great to hear!