The Warble by Victoria Simcox- Giveaway, Book excerpt and Review

 

The (Magic) Warble (1)

By Victoria Simcox

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Youth

 Published Feb 2009
Pages: 268

Publisher:Two Harbors Press

View on Goodreads. 

Summary: "Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself magically transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals and the evil Queen Sentiz. In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she's honored as "the chosen one," the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz's control. But it's not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous "Magic Warble," in its final resting place. She must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen's "zelbocks" before she reaches her destination. Guided by her new fairy friends, Clover and Looper and by Prince Werrien, a teenage boy, and an assortment of other characters, Kristina sets off on a perilous journey that not only tests her strength but her heart." 

 Book excerpt- Chapter 18, Off to Treachery Island

The trio continued on their journey along the cliffs and bluffs,

heading eastward until they could see the small cottage that Looper

had mentioned. Near it, a gnome man and woman were working

with hoes in a vegetable garden. When they caught sight of Kristina

riding Taysha, they put down their hoes. Then the man picked up

a basket, and the woman and he both ran toward them.

“I think they want to give us something,” Taysha said to

Kristina.

“Should we trust them?” Kristina asked.

“My instinct tells me they are friendly,” Taysha answered. She

trotted toward the gnome couple.

“Do not worry; we are believers,” the gnome woman said with

labored breath.

“Please accept this gift from us,” the gnome man said, holding

out the basket full of fresh vegetables and fruit.

“How do you know us?” Kristina asked.

“Word is getting around among the believers,” the gnome man

said.

“Thank you for the food. It comes at a perfect time, for our

supply is getting low,” Kristina said.

The gnome woman took Kristina’s hand in hers and said, “Bless

you, child, for you are the one chosen to restore Bernovem.”

Kristina felt a lump in her throat after hearing these words.

Then the gnome woman kissed her hand, and they said good-bye.

As Kristina rode away, the couple shouted after them, “Long live

Queen Lafinia!”

My Review:  This book turned out to be more fun than expected. When I got this book, I was thinking it would simply be a pre-teen/young teen book that my niece could enjoy. What I didn't expect is how much I enjoyed it!

The book starts off in current time with Kristina leaving school when her teacher gives her a hat box. That night, she hears a strange noise and soon finds herself in another world, not her own! A world filled with fairies, gnomes, dwarves and a wicked queen! She is told that she must save the land from the false queen and break the curse that has dwelled over the land. Lucky for her she is not alone. She has her pet rat, Raymond with her. And in this new land he can now talk!
 
So the journey begins. Along the way she meets up with Prince Werrien, Clover, the raven Roage (a character I easily came to love), and more. Yet she is not the only one to enter this strange world. Two of her classmates (and school bullies) and her nasty baby-sitter also find themselves in this new place. Yet Kristina does not realize they too are there so these three become easy targets for the queen.

This leads to my favorite line in the book when the Queen and her son learn of the humans arrival. "They're popping up like a bad skin rash" I couldn't help but laugh at that. The son, Ramon, just seems so flabbergasted at the idea of humans. 
 
So the chessboard is set and the pieces move. Yet they refuse to follow the rules! So many characters switch sides, good to bad and bad to good. You never know who to trust. I loved this as a reader. It really keeps you guessing.

The evil queen reminded me strongly of the Queen from 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.' Especially when her servant is trying to row her across the water, and a storm kicks up he is stuck rushing to keep water out of the boat while she just sits there. Really?! So then she became the Lazy, evil queen.

Overall, very nicely done. Easy enough for an older child (say age 9-10) to read, but with enough plot and context for teenagers and even adults with an inner child yearning for those magical days once again.

I won this book in a raffle giveaway. This is a fair and honest review. 

About the Author-Victoria Simcox

Victoria was born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, to an Austrian immigrant mother, and a Dutch immigrant father. She now lives in Western Washington with her husband, Russ and their three children, Toby, Kristina, and William. Her other family members are a Chihuahua, named Pipsy and two cats, named Frodo and Fritz. Besides being an author, Victoria is a home-schooling mother of twelve years and an elementary school art teacher of eleven years. In her spare time, Victoria enjoys managing her two older children's Celtic band. She also loves writing, reading, painting watercolors, hiking, good movies, and just simply hanging out with her family and friends. 

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