Goblin Secrets
William Alexander
Reading Measurement Programs:
Lexile Measure 710
ISBN: 9781442427266 (hardcover)
ISBN: 9781442427280 (ebook)
Reviewer: Leslie Worrell Christianson (Catholic Library World, September 2012 (Vol. 83, No. 1)).
Zombay is
not an easy place to live for an orphan boy named Rownie whose brother Rowan is
missing. Rowan disappeared after performing with a troop of Goblin actors. In order to
find his brother, Rownie has to run away from Graba, a menacing and cruel witch
with metal clockwork chicken legs, who takes in stray children. Performing and wearing
masks is against the law for citizens of Zombay. Goblins are people that have
been “changed” and are no longer citizens, so their performances are ignored by
the Lord Mayor’s guard. Rownie joins the troop of Goblins who are also looking
for Rowan because he holds
the key to the future of Zombay. Rownie begins to secretly perform and wear masks
while with the troop. His forbidden friendship with these castaways reveals that
the Goblin’s ancient craft of mask making is tied to the heart and soul of the city.
Rownie eventually finds his brother but their reunion only reveals a new purpose
and relationship for the pair. The visual imagery of this book swirls together, darkness,
clanking and grinding metal, gears, cogs and teeth, burning, and automatons with
adventure, humor, hope, transforming waters, and friendship. Like a folktale, this
book has a magical and dreamy atmosphere that juxtaposes the beauty and release
of myth with the gruesomeness of life in Zombay. 2012, Margaret K. McElderry/Simon
& Schuster, Ages 8 to 13, $16.99.
Reviewer: Kate Quealy-Gainer (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, April 2012 (Vol. 65,
No. 8)).
A tempestuous
river divides the city of Zombay into two parts: the wealthy, aristocratic Northside,
run by the Mayor and his gearworked Guard, and the Southside, whose impoverished
residents are under the control of Graba, a powerful, cruel witch who takes in orphans
to be her servants. Rownie and his older brother, Rowan, have been her charges since
their parents were taken by the River, but Rowan has recently gone missing after
performing in an illegal play. Rownie runs away to join a goblin theater troupe in the
hopes that the actors might have a clue to Rowan’s whereabouts, and he learns that
Rowan was to play an essential part in a ritual meant to save the town from an impending
flood—so his disappearance means certain doom for the citizens of Zombay. The appeal here lies in Alexander’s
careful construction of a distinctive world: touches of steampunk can be found in
Graba’s geared-up legs and the Mayor’s automaton guards while a more ancient, primal
magic seems to guide the goblins and their powerful brand of storytelling. The plot,
however, sputters at points, with action scenes often limping to uneventful conclusions
and the River’s villainy never quite crystallized beyond a vague threat. Rownie
is a sweet kid, however, and although he is a lifelong resident of Zombay, his innocence
and bewilderment at the seedier sides of his town provide a nice access point for younger readers. Rowan’s
savage ultimate fate may be a bit of a shock, but the bittersweet ending remains
true to the story’s overall dreamy, melancholic tone. 2012, McElderry/Simon &
Schuster, Grades 4 to 7, $16.99.
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