Lost in Lexicon

Gr 5—8—Cousins Ivan and Daphne are spending the summer with their Aunt Adelaide, a former children's librarian who plies them with books and puzzles and frowns on television and video games. When these 13-year-old couch potatoes finally succumb to boredom, she locks them out of the house with an anagram to solve. This mystery leads them through the barn window into a world called Lexicon, ruled by an algebraic polarity and beset by strange grammatical problems all relating to mysterious pixel shows in the night sky. But the worst problem facing Lexicon is the disappearance of all the children, lured away to the city of Origin by these same lights, and the teens are charged with tracking them down. Their climactic encounters in Origin—where they discover that the children are being educated for the betterment of society with the most advanced technological methods—challenge them to "Look. Think. Ask." An engaging and original narrative is the main strength of this series opener. Math and grammar concepts are nicely integrated. Noyce keeps up the pace by limiting descriptive passages but offers little character introduction. Ivan and Daphne do grow over the course of their quest, finding strength in their ability to tackle subjects that once overwhelmed them and working as a team to solve each mathematical and linguistic puzzle. Well-imagined illustrations help bring the pair to life. A none-too-subtle critique of popular culture and a narrative riddled with challenging concepts will deter some readers, but Lexicon will have its following among advanced students. Persistent readers will be rewarded with a good adventure, affecting lyrical passages, and thought-provoking questions relevant to our own society.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI