Reviews: (by author)

Susan Cooper. The Magician's Boy. Illus. Serena Riglietti. New York: McElderry Books, 2005. $14.95

More than anything else in the world the Magician's Boy wants to learn real magic. But every time he asks the Magician for lessons he gets the same reply, "Not yet." So the Boy spends his days washing rabbits, polishing wands, and operating the marionettes for the Magician's puppet theater production of "St. George and the Dragon." Alas, one day while performing at an important party the play hits an unexpected snag - the puppet of St. George has disappeared! Enraged, the Magician transports his young apprentice to the Land of Story to seek and recover the missing puppet. Accompanied by a walking, talking signpost, the Boy sets out on a grand adventure peopled by a strange cast of nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters from Little Red Riding Hood to The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Stranger still is the marvelously surprising outcome of the Boy's quest. The author's lifelong fascination with myth and legend breathes life and laughter into this effervescent romp through the Land of Story. Cooper lets readers glimpse seldom seen sides of fairy tale denizens like the Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood and the Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. Like The Boggart and The Boggart and the Monster, The Magician's Boy marks a stylistic departure from Ms. Cooper's earlier, less humorous works. Here, fun and mirth abound and the author handles it all with the sure touch of a gifted storyteller. Serena Riglietti, who illustrated the Italian editions of the Harry Potter series, provides perfect visual accompaniment for the tale. Her portrayal of action and expression brilliantly captures the inner vitality of the characters. Creating a powerful visual dynamic, her pictures have a disturbingly hallucinatory quality that underlies their light-hearted charm. The Magician's Boy is a splendid and memorable collaboration between two great talents.

Mark Janssen, January 2006

 

Cooper, Susan. Green Boy. New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, 2003.

Imagine having your own tropical private island practically in your own backyard. Bahamian brothers, Lou, seven, and Trey, twelve, spend their summer days collecting hidden treasures to store in their secret cave and bird calling the majestic ospreys on the island of Long Pond Cay. Trey is not only the voice of the story, but also of his mute younger brother Lou. But what Lou lacks in communication with humans, he makes up for in his unique dialogue with the environment. Humming birds land in his hand and dangerous millipedes lay strangely still for him.

Suddenly, the paradise they call home is threatened when developers plan to construct a massive resort on Long Pond Cay. Their grandfather launches a crusade against the white American and French developers, arguing that this resort will endanger the ecosystem, overpopulate the neighboring town of Lucaya and hurt his fishing tour business.

Meanwhile, Lou and Trey are summoned to fight a war of their own. Mother Nature herself transports them into a parallel universe where the grimmest environmental premonitions have occurred. Sprawling grey concrete has overrun every flower and tree and global warming has submerged coastlines. Lou and Trey are treated as messiahs who must solve a riddle to fulfill an ancient prophecy and restore nature's balance. They are hunted by the government, and protected by a group of extremists from an underground green movement. Trey does not know whom to trust, but follows Lou who, in this world, has an eerie instinct of what to do.

Back at home, the developers have not taken kindly to their grandfather's objections. His crops are slashed and his boats stolen. Construction on the resort has begun. And as if Trey and Lou's world wasn't complicated enough, their long lost evil father has resurfaced. He has come to town to work on the resort.

Catapulted between the two worlds, the boys race to save the OtherWorld and grow hopeless when it seems they can't save their own beloved island. As the conflict crescendos, the two worlds collide. The outcome is thrilling and unexpected.

True to her fantastical style, Susan Cooper dazzles the reader with underground labyrinths, genetically mutated rats the size of dogs, evil doctors, and scorpions disguised as moths. Her idyllic prose lulls the reader into the romance of the Bahamas describing the wind humming through the feathery branches, a silvery flash of bonefish, and a pine needle carpet .

Her stark contrasts between a great peaceful bay and the tractors tearing up the land are effective in creating the environmentally conscious point she is trying to drive home. However, the book at times made me question whether it was fair to classify all scientific and technological progress as greedy and evil as Cooper does. The plot does become convoluted, but young readers will enjoy the fast-paced action. The sub-plot involving Lou and Trey's dad, although intriguing, occurs as an afterthought. In my mind, the story could have easily survived without it.

Young kids will walk away from the story wanting to be more like Lou and Trey and save the earth. Not a bad message to convey in these environmentally challenged times.

Shelley Moreno, March 2006

 

Back to Reviews A-C