Annotation:
Lily has always wanted to go to Princeton so when she is offered the chance for automatic acceptance she jumps at it. All she has to do is find an ivy key somewhere on the campus. But Princeton is turning out to be a little more magical then she had thought. Recommended for ages 13+.
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| Cover from Goodreads.com |
Book Talk:
~ A family legacy at Princeton
~ A
quest for an ivy key
~ A
boy with tiger-striped hair
~ Gargoyles
that talk
~ A
magic gate that opens onto a whole different Princeton
~ Creatures
that feed on magic
~ And Lily has to find the key to saving both worlds
Book Review:
Durst makes no attempt at
transforming Princeton into Hogwarts which I found refreshing. Instead she weaves an engaging story about a
high school junior with a family legacy at Princeton who is offered the chance
for guaranteed acceptance if she can find an ivy key. Along the way Lily discovers that there is
more than one Princeton and that magic really does exist. I really wanted to like this book since the
jacket blurb seemed to offer a different spin on the idea of magic schools and
I did enjoy it for about the first half of the book. The second half of the book is crammed full
of magical action sequences that seem to go on forever and don’t seem to
further the plot. Durst does a good job
of developing Lily’s reaction to finding out about this alternate magic
Princeton and all of the fantasy creatures it contains but once Lily’s comes to
terms with this (again about the halfway through the book) all character growth
seems to stop.
While not my favorite fantasy book
of all time, Enchanted Ivy was an
entertaining enough read especially for anyone looking for something in a similar
vein to the Harry Potter series. The
action sequences do get a bit graphic so this book would be best for teens 13+.Awards and honors: none
Author site: http://sarahbethdurst.com/
Like Durst on facebook
Follow the author on TwitterAuthor Interviews:
May12, 2010 interview on Miss Print blog
Dec. 2010 interview on Between the Covers blog
Take
the Enchanted Ivy tour on Durst's blog:
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