Jinx's Magic (Jinx Series #2)

by Sage Blackwood

Overview

Jinx's Magic is the second book in Sage Blackwood's highly acclaimed fantasy-adventure series, Jinx. This humorous and smart tween trilogy set in a magical forest is perfect for fans of Angie Sage's Septimus Heap, Michael Buckley's the Sisters Grimm, and Brandon Mull's Fablehaven.

"Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx" (Jinx, School Library Journal, starred review), a daring young wizard's apprentice, as he travels from his home in the Urwald to an unfamiliar desert land in search of ancient magic. He needs that magic badly—there are forces threatening the Urwald from all sides.

The more he learns, however, the clearer it becomes that this quest will require more than the magic of a solitary wizard's apprentice, and soon he'll have to call upon all of the Urwald—witches, werewolves, wizards, and trees—for help.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062129956
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Series:	Sage Blackwood's Jinx Series , #2
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Sage Blackwood lives at the edge of a large forest, with thousands of books and a very old dog, and enjoys carpentry, cooking, and walking in the woods of New York State.

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2013
Gr 4–8—The middle book of a trilogy must be the hardest to write: the thrill of the first book's creation of setting and characters is over and the satisfaction of tying every loose end together is yet to come. In this sequel to Jinx (HarperCollins, 2013), Blackwood succeeds in keeping readers' interests piqued without completely frustrating them. Jinx travels beyond the borders of his beloved Urwald and learns that it must be saved from the greedy depredations of invading foreigners from Keyland. He insinuates himself into the school at the Temple in Samara so he can explore the history of magic. As Blackwood extends Jinx's experiences to other lands, she adds layers of complexity that hint at future developments. Jinx's magical powers are strengthening, but he doesn't fully understand their source or their extent. He's still finding out how to use his gifts. The result of these uncertainties is that readers are left feeling as unsettled and unbalanced as he is. The next installment can't come along soon enough.—Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

School Library Journal

The unique setting, smart pace, likable characters, and sprightly voice hold the narrative together while keeping Jinx’s fans eager for more.

The Horn Book

This series deserves a permanent place in the children’s fantasy pantheon, with Narnia and Earthsea.

Booklist (starred review)

2013-10-09
It's hard not to like a fantasy that is set in an argumentative magical forest, but Blackwood squanders the promise of her debut (Jinx, 2013) with a sequel that just spins its wheels. Though he's repeatedly assured that he doesn't know who he is or what he's doing, 12-year-old wizard-in-training Jinx continues to explore the nebulous extent of his burgeoning magical powers. He does this both at a school in the city of Samara, where he discovers a new style of magic, and in the Urwald, where he can draw huge amounts of raw power from the trees--but his ability to hear and speak to them is a mixed blessing. Meanwhile, his crabby mentor, Simon Magus, is recaptured by the Bonemaster, an affable archnemesis who has also taken to exterminating the Urwald's scattered human communities, and Simon's scholarly wife, Sophie, has been imprisoned. Further complicating matters, Reven (aka Prince Raymond) has given the whole forest fantods by promoting a profitable lumbering operation on the way to reclaiming his throne. Blackwood drops hints of a larger conflict looming and continues to throw her protagonist into dangerous situations. At odds with this are tongue-in-cheek plot elements, such as Jinx's ability to see thoughts as pink puffy clouds or other shapes, cryptic remarks delivered at odd moments by elves and an oddly rational werewolf. Typical of middle volumes: much backing and forthing to not enough purpose. (Fantasy. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews