Synopsis: New Yorker Rory Hennessey just wants to keep his mom and sister safe, but when a magician opens Rory's eyes to the spirit city of Mannahatta, this becomes seemingly impossible. Mannahatta co-exists alongside present-day Manhattan and is ruled by New York's most famous inhabitants such as Alexander Hamilton, Babe Ruth and Peter Stuyvesant. Only Rory has the ability to see Mannahatta and reveal its magic to others, but as he is pursued in both the past and the present, he soon realizes that this gift could be more of a curse.
Review: This book has a beautiful package, talking roaches and rats, a papier-mache boy, tons of magic and a bit of New York history, and yet for all of these fabulous elements, I found the book to be a bit lacking in detail and boring. I never think it bodes well for an intermediate reader to need to have a cast of characters, especially one that doesn't really tell you anything. For instance under the Council of Twelve heading, historical names and their Mannahatta titles are listed, but would it not have been better to list these names at the end of the novel with a brief paragraph detailing their historical significance? Not a New Yorker by birth, I didn't know who Adriaen van der Donck was and still don't after reading the novel. Also, the cast of characters isn't complete. Willem Kieft isn't even listed, and he is the main villain of the story.
Also, I never felt any great fear for Rory's life, or any of the characters' lives for that matter. All of the scary scenes seem to be cut too short, whether they take place in current Manhattan or Mannahatta. For instance when Rory and his sister, Bridget, are looking for the magician in the Village, Rory gets bitten by a Stranger, and then the next time we see him, he is awake and totally fine. Or when Bridget wakes up and realizes she is made of paper. Wouldn't a nine-year-old show some sort of distress at this predicament, no matter how much she likes to kick butt? Given that this is the author's first novel for children, I fear he was a bit too conscience of his young audience. Books are only as scary as the readers' imaginations allow them to be. It's not like watching T.V. The author certainly could have stepped up the fright level a bit with no repercussions.
Finally, do we really need another long-lost father tale? I know there is a planned sequel for this novel, but a mention of the father would have been enough. He certainly wasn't relevant to this story at all, and having Rory see him on the deck of the Half Moon was a little too much foreshadowing for my taste. Guess what, not all parents are great. I don't understand why in the fantasy world there is such a need for all parents to be good and to have a greater reason for deserting the family. So his dad ditched the family. Rory still has plenty to do with his gift even without having to search and hope for his old man. It just seems like this was an unnecessary plot device.
So while not awful for a first novel, there are better tales out there right now for this age group. Tunnels and The True Meaning of Smekday are two that come to mind.
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