As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Sarah Watts.
Bogler's apprentice Ned Roach risks his life with each new case, luring a child-eating bogle so his mentor, Alfred Bunce, can dispatch it; that's only one of the dangers, for Alfred has drawn the attention of London's criminal underworld. Fans will appreciate this trilogy-ender's (How to Catch a Bogle; A Plague of Bogles) accessible prose; inventive, briskly paced plot; and quasi-Victorian setting. Glos.
Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2016
330 pp.
| Houghton
| January, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-0-544-08747-7$16.99
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Sarah Watts.
In this sequel to How to Catch a Bogle, street urchin Jem hopes to make a living catching child-eating bogles and to get revenge on Sarah Pickles, who betrayed him. Jem discovers that his aims are related: when he finds Sarah, he also finds the source of the bogle proliferation. With plenty of action and colorful Victorian street language, this is a speedy, characterful yarn. Glos.
Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2015
375 pp.
| Egmont
| July, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-1-60684-274-4$17.99
(4)
4-6
After Rufus, a piece of malware, convinces him to abandon his role in a swords-and-sorcery computer game, Noble the Slayer discovers freedom means computer chaos and leads an anti-virus rescue. Though frequent scene changes and lengthy descriptions slow the pace, characters and action are spot on as real and virtual events interplay in this quirky, part-metaphorical depiction of a computer crash from the inside.
313 pp.
| Houghton
| September, 2013
|
TradeISBN 978-0-544-08708-8$16.99
(2)
4-6
Illustrated by
Sarah Watts.
In this quasi-Victorian fantasy, apprentice Birdie uses her clear singing voice to lure child-eating bogles out of hiding so her master Alfred can destroy them. Then the worst happens: Birdie is captured by dreadful Dr. Morton, who thinks nothing of feeding children to bogles to further his megalomaniacal aims. Jinks is an assured storyteller: character, plot, and style develop with buoyant, pleasing momentum. Glos.
Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2013
344 pp.
| Egmont
| March, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-1-60684-273-7$16.99
(3)
4-6
On vacation at overcrowded Diamond Beach, Marcus and his new friend Edison discover an impossible cellar in Marcus's trailer leading to a choice of dream vacations--but once in, you can't leave. Their families join the peril before Marcus figures out how to escape. Fast-paced computer-game-type action will especially please boy readers.
409 pp.
| Harcourt
| April, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-206615-4$16.99
(3)
YA
Toby Vandevelde wakes up in a dingo pen following a full moon. He's informed he's a werewolf, and also that there's a kidnapping ring using werewolves for pit fights. Then the kidnapping ring kidnaps Toby. Fans of The Reformed Vampire Support Group will connect with Toby, especially when the book's slowish first half picks up serious pace and tension.
378 pp.
| Harcourt
| September, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-206619-2$17.00
(2)
YA
Cadel (Evil Genius, The Genius Squad) is just settling into normal teenage life when sociopath Prosper English returns; "accidents" soon put Cadel's friends in the hospital. Cadel's frustration over not being taken seriously, and his worries that his former mentor's stamp may be indelible, will command readers' attention until Jinks's final plot twists wind to a close.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2010
259 pp.
| Harcourt
| April, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-206193-7$17.00
(2)
YA
Seventeen-year-old Cheney has lived his entire life aboard the spaceship Plexus, which has been searching for a habitable planet for forty-six years. After the ship passes through an unidentified radiation wave, Cheney's serene existence becomes a desperate battle for survival. Deft character development and the inventive detailing of hard sci-fi flesh out this thought-provoking meditation on society and individuals caught in sudden change.
Reviewer: Claire E. Gross
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2010
362 pp.
| Harcourt
| April, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-206609-3$17.00
(2)
YA
Forever-fifteen-year-old Nina attends a support group for vampires committed to not "fanging" humans. A member of the group strays from its rules, getting himself staked and endangering them all. Jinks draws her characters and their unique challenges in great detail; there's also plenty of blood. Equal parts problem novel, comedy, and murder-mystery, this alternative vampire story is for outsiders of all kinds.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2009
436 pp.
| Harcourt
| May, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-205985-9$17.00
(2)
YA
In hiding from his evil mastermind father, fifteen-year-old Cadel (Evil Genius) is placed in a home that's actually a cover for an elite group of hackers; what follows is a keyed-up cat-and-mouse game. Jinks writes hacker lingo accessible to non-techies, imparting the edgy thrill of computer espionage. This installment roars to a finish, then circles back to establish Cadel's next challenge.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2008
387 pp.
| Candlewick
| November, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-3650-0$18.99
(2)
YA
In 1227 Langedoc, practical and impious Babylonne (daughter of Pagan Kidrouk from the Pagan Chronicles) decides to run away before being married off. A priest helps her escape, and eventually she overcomes her religious scruples to be able to trust him. The characters in this stirring medieval history will touch readers' sympathies while the faultless scholarship steeps them in the era.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2009
469 pp.
| Harcourt
| June, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-15-205988-0$17.00
(4)
YA
The son of a Bond-style supervillain, young genius Cadel Darkkon attends his father's despotic Axis Institute, taking classes such as Basic Lying, Infiltration, and Embezzlement. His worldview changes, though, when he discovers his dad's lies could hurt Cadel's pen pal, Kay-Lee. A slowish start with an uneven tone leads gradually to a heart-pounding, shifting-ground ending, employing thrilling feats of espionage and deception.
359 pp.
| Candlewick
| March, 2005
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2022-X$16.99
(2)
4-6
In this final volume in the series, Jinks once again marries finely researched medieval geopolitical history to outstanding characters and voice. Pagan is now a mature Archdeacon of Carcassonne, and narrative duties have passed to Isidore, a hyper-intelligent, unworldly fifteen-year-old scribe who suffers from epileptic seizures. Brimming with wit, this emotionally satisfying epic brings the Middle Ages to life.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2005
330 pp.
| Candlewick
| September, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2021-1$16.99
(2)
4-6
In the series's third book, Lord Roland and his squire, Pagan, seek asylum in the Abbey of St. Martin to devote their lives to God. Smart-mouthed Pagan uses his quick wits to defend the out-of-his-element Lord Roland and earns himself an enemy in the strict novice-master. Precise, fascinating historical details, snappy dialogue, and well-shaped action drive this fast-paced, humorous medieval tale.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2004
326 pp.
| Candlewick
| February, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2020-3$$15.99
(2)
YA
In this sequel to Pagan's Crusade, medieval geopolitics are accurately represented, but the research takes a back seat to vivid characterizations and stink-in-the-nose descriptions of bailey life. The sarcasm and irreverence of the first book have been muted by age and sorry experience, but the fierce bond between knight and squire has only grown stronger.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2004
246 pp.
| Candlewick
| October, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-7636-2019-X$$15.99
(2)
YA
In the time of the Crusades, sixteen-year-old Pagan, a smart-mouthed orphan, applies to the Templars, the order devoted to protecting travelers. Assigned as a squire to a paragon of knightly virtue, impious Pagan ducks his chores and tries to provoke Lord Roland into cracking a smile. With such lively and engaging characters as these, readers will be glad to see there are three books of their adventures yet to come.
Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2003
16 reviews
Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.
This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.