Language: PG (4 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (magical violence, monsters, peril, falls, blood, etc - not graphic)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
12 yo Nic and her dad have moved around all her life. They are Remarkables - which means they have magical powers, but it's something that must be kept secret from regular people (Unremarkables). When she meets her favorite author at a book signing, and it turns out he was her dad's best friend, Nic's life starts to unravel. Her estranged mother finds her, her dad is accused of kidnapping and Nic discovers she has a twin brother she never knew about. The Remarkables think her dad stole a special tool that can be used to destroy their world; Nic doesn't believe it and goes on a quest with her brother and best friend to find it.
Thomas' world is fun - the kids have some cool magical gadgets they can use, and the monsters they deal with are both new and familiar - Haints, Ghosts, Vampires, the Devil's Daughter etc. There are also some great connections to African American history including the Underground Railroad. It has all the parts of popular fantasy middle-grade novels - 12yo discovers they are powerful, have a couple of friends along for the ride, fight their cultural gods and demons, and the adults leave them alone to do it. While Manifestor Prophecy cleanly wraps up, there's plenty of stories left to populate a series and I hope it doesn't take forever to get the next installment. Nic is Black.
Lisa Librarian
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