Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George Series: Castle Glower #2
Published by Bloomsbury USA Children's on 5/07/13
Genres: Children's Books, Fantasy, MG Books
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Also by this author: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Princess of the Midnight Ball
A castle that is constantly rearranging itself, and a young royal family sworn to protect it... Celie, Rolf, and their beloved Castle Glower are back in this exciting sequel.When her brother Rolf dares her to catch magical Castle Glower creating a new room, Princess Celie takes the challenge! No one knows the Castle better than she does. But as usual, the Castle has ideas of its own.Celie finds the new room first, and inside it is hidden a giant egg. It looks like The Castle wants Celie to care for the egg and whatever creature it hatches! Celie hadn't bargained for a pet, and caring for this one will prove to be especially tricky, once Celie and her siblings realize what else the Castle is hiding....
Review:
Wednesdays in the Tower is almost as delightful and charming but a little more serious than Tuesdays at the Castle. Something seems to be amiss. Why is the Castle suddenly growing so many extra rooms – and not only on Tuesdays? Why has it opened the feasting hall when it isn’t even a holiday? And why has it given Celie a very special charge, but not allowed her to tell anyone about it?
I really love this series, as much for the characters as for the whimsy. Celie is the perfect main character for a middle-grade novel: she’s smart, capable, observant, practical, and fiercely loyal to the Castle. As the 4th child in the royal family, she’s also a bit uncertain, even insecure, and tries to establish her place or role by becoming the Castle’s cartographer. The other significant characters — Bran, the eldest son and Royal Wizard; Rolf, the second son and Crown Prince; Layla, Celie’s somewhat bossy older sister; Pogue, their good friend from the village; and Lulath, a goodhearted but dandyish ambassador — are all individual and well written. But it’s Celie who is clearly the heart of the story, along with the Castle (which is almost a character itself.)
It’s very hard to talk about the plot without spoilers. We learn more about Castle Glower’s fascinating and unexpected history, meet a new potential villain, and encounter a serious threat to the Castle’s very existence. Readers should be warned that this book has a cliffhanger ending. Luckily, Thursdays with the Crown comes out on October 7, so we don’t have much longer to wait.
About the author: Jessica Day George earned a BA in Humanities/Comparative Literature from Brigham Young University, where she enjoyed classes in Pottery and Old Norse, and dutifully forced herself to take Algebra and Biology. Originally from Idaho, she now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her husband and three young children.
I’ve worked at a wedding invitation factory (Bet you didn’t know they made them in big scary factories, did you?), at a video store (back at the birth of DVD), at libraries and bookstores, and even been an office lady at a school while I waited to get published. I knew that I would be published eventually, because . . . well, I just had to be.Now, don’t get me wrong, I have other interests. I took eight years of German, four of Norwegian, and even studied Old Norse so that I could read the great Viking sagas in the original language. I knit like a maniac: hats, scarves, sweaters, dog sweaters, socks, felted purses, you name it. I play the piano and viola, love to travel and to watch movies.But mostly, it’s about the books.
Connect with the author: Website Facebook Twitter (@JessDayGeorge) Goodreads Pinterest
Challenges:
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER Summer Vacation 2014
abibliophilesstyle
Oh, excellent! I’ve been curious about this series for my kids (ages 6 & 9), and now that I’ve read your reviews I’m convinced they will love these books. 🙂
Bea
I’m not a big fan of MG books but I think I’d like the whimsy in this series and I love that the castle is practically a character too. Have you ever read The Castle Perilous series by John de Chancie? You should give it a try. It’s for adults bu it involves a castle that’s always changing, and there’s adventure and romance. It’s funny, sometimes stupid, but lots of fun.
Katherine P
This sounds fun! I’ve really been enjoying going back reading middle grade and this sounds like something I’d really enjoy. Plus this sounds like it may be a fun read aloud book to read with the Tornado!
Elisa Bergslien
Not long to wait ? Speak for yourself! I read this when it first came out have been waiting and waiting anxiously for the next book. What a cliff hanger ! The kids have refused to let me read it to them because they heard my “but now what?!?” shriek when I finished reading.
Lark_Bookwyrm
Oh, I know! I had the same reaction when I read it when it came out. But with the new one due out soon, I decided to re-read it so it would be fresh in my memory. 🙂