Unlucky Charms

Gr 4–7—The crew introduced in Cold Cereal (HarperCollins, 2012) is back: a pixie named Merle; the wizard we know as Merlin; four human children; a rock star who has been knighted; an extremely tall librarian; a fire-breathing finch; a mechanical owl; a uni-horned cat; a leprechaun; and a man with a rabbit head. Their mission: stop the evil fairy queen Nimue, who has established the cereal company Goodco, which is putting Intellijuice in breakfast cereal for kids, abusing members of the Fey, and has had a hand in kidnapping the Queen of England and replacing her with two goblins. The plan: capture the goblins and expose the false queen, thus taking down Goodco. Will this motley crew of adventurers be able to rescue the Queen and save the two worlds of the British Isles? Readers will have to wait for the next installment to find out. Drawing on Arthurian legend and including every kind of fairy, brownie, ogre, and other mythical creature imaginable, Rex has once again struck a wonderful balance between adventure, fantasy, and absurdity. Readers will want to have read the first in this series since this sequel is a true continuation of events and characters without too much background. This series is well worth exploring since its wide range of characters and complex plot will keep readers engaged.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA