Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Superior Saturday by Garth Nix - ADVISABLE


Nix, Garth Superior Saturday, 278 p. Scholastic, 2008

EL, MS - ADVISABLE

Arthur is in trouble. The Lower House is about to be completely engulfed by Nothing and there doesn't seem to be a way out. He must do the impossible and find his way into an extremely well-guarded Upper House in order to find the next part of the Will and challenge Superior Saturday for possession of the 6th key.

You would think that 278 pages would be enough to create a deep, satisfying story, but I really felt that almost everything got short-shrift in #6 of The Keys to the Kingdom. Leaf was in grave danger on earth and her fantastic challenge was barely given any room. Arthur overcomes insurmountable obstacles, but his battle with Saturday in anti-climatic and disappointing. I know the books are geared towards younger readers, but even they deserve a bit more than this. Exciting? YES. Excellent plot structure? NO. But any fan of the series will be chomping at the bit in order to read this one, so you'd better have it on hand. I will be happy to wait longer for #7, if MR. Nix will do a better job of crafting it.

Cindy - Library-Teacher

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