A Cursed Delivery by P.G. Bell - ADVISABLE

A Cursed Delivery (The Train to Impossible Places #1) by P.G. Bell, 304 pages.  Feiwel and Friends, October 2018.  $17.  

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY:  EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Suzy may be excellent in math and physics, but when she sees green flashing lights and finds train tracks running through her kitchen and hallway in the middle of the night, she finds herself out of her element.  But her fact-loving brain won’t let go of the mystery, so she grabs ahold of the old steam engine and jumps aboard the Impossible Postal Express.  The young Postmaster Wilmot takes her on as a deputy postman – partly because he is afraid of their next customer – Lady Crepiscula at the Obsidian Tower.  Then Suzy messes up the delivery in a spectacular way, starting off a chase through the Impossible Places that will have far-reaching consequences.

Bell dumps you right into the action, which makes for an exciting read.  In terms of world-building, however, I wish I could have spent more time getting to know the Impossible Places before this earth-shattering piece.  I wish this had been book #2, not #1.  Will that affect children reading it? Of course not! 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian