Which Way to Anywhere

July 17, 2023
Twelve-year-old twins K2 and Izzabird O’Hero know they come from a long line of magical explorers, and the mundane lineage of their new stepsiblings—12-year-old Theo and eight-year-old Mabel Smith—leads to friction between the sibling groups. Unknown to K2, who spends his time sketching maps of extraordinary alternate dimensions, he possesses the Atlas Gift, an ability that lets him create portals to other worlds through his mapmaking. One day, the family is visited by sinister professor Cyril Sidewinder, who’s seeking the wielder of the Atlas Gift in order to create “a collection of maps of imaginary and real places” called An Alternative Atlas. His arrival kicks off a series of incidents culminating in an interstellar adventure involving relentless robot assassins, a snarky extradimensional bounty hunter, and the mysterious fate of K2 and Izzabird’s long-missing father. The siblings’ banter, and their sweetly budding friendships, anchor the madcap happenings. Told through an idiosyncratic omniscient narrator called the Story Maker, this boisterous series launch by Cowell (the Wizards of Once series)—accompanied by sketchy, highly stylized b&w art—proves chaotically fun. Cover art portrays the O’Heroes with pale skin and the Smiths with brown skin. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2023
Stepsiblings run into world-hopping, magical trouble in this series opener from How To Train Your Dragon author Cowell. After an in medias res opening teasing dangers about an alien world, the narration flashes back to where it began for two sets of siblings in a blended family. K2 and Izzabird O'Hero only agree with Theo and Mabel Smith, their stepsiblings, on two things--their love for shared half sibling, baby Annipeck and their wish to unblend their blended family. Theo's convinced the O'Heros are witches; Izzabird wishes her relatives would hurry up and teach her their secret Magic. But secrecy is thrown out the window by the arrival of an Otherworlder in the family washing machine--bounty hunter Horizabel Delft. There's also a robot assassin and a dastardly pirate. They're searching for a child with the gift of making Alternative Atlases that show passages between worlds. The child in question? The least stereotypically heroic O'Hero, cautious bully-magnet K2, who has dyslexia and amblyopia. To protect their family, the kids end up venturing to a human-hating world where they must make amends for the O'Heros' mixed legacies and learn what it means to be a family. Cowell throws all sorts of fantastical obstacles in the kids' ways, using action to add tension to the humorous narration that is enhanced by her frequent illustrations. The Smiths are depicted with dark skin and curly hair, and the O'Hero children are pale and freckled. Wild worldbuilding and the colorful cast will delight. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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October 27, 2023

Gr 4-7-From the author of the popular "How to Tame Your Dragon" series comes a new magical tale that incorporates both magical fantasy and science fiction elements to shape a wholly unique universe. Five young children are at the center of a large, chaotic cast of human, alien, and robotic characters. K2 and Izzabird's mother (a witch) has married a "normal" human with two children of his own: Theo and Mabel. The stepchildren must learn to work together and appreciate each other's magical and benign strengths when their baby sister Annipeck gets kidnapped and taken through a magic portal to a far-off, dangerous planet. Slightly ridiculous characters and silliness abound alongside scary moments of danger or sadness for the group. Though older readers may be put off by the childish misspellings used by several characters (e.g. "Animashun Poshun" instead of "Animation Potion"), this is an excellent introduction for younger children to the world of darkly strange stories with a warped sense of humor. Children who enjoy this book will likely go on to enjoy Catherynne M. Valente's "Fairyland" series and Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. VERDICT A wonderful intermediate read for late elementary to early middle school readers interested in complex fantasy or science fiction stories.-Tammy Ivins

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