My Spiderwick-loving heart was delighted to discover that Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi had teamed up again for another small series set in the Spiderwick world. This trilogy begins with a new family, different from the Grace children in character and personality, but similar in messed up family dynamics. The third person narrator focuses on Nicholas's perspective. He and his older brother Jules and his father have dealt with the death of Nick's mom, but now Nick's dad is moving on; in fact, he has remarried, and Nick is not too happy about having a new stepmother and stepsister. Especially since Laurie, his sister, is his age and completely unlike him. Nick likes to play video games and Laurie is into fairies. He likes his old room and Laurie has taken it. Worst of all, she seems excited about the new marriage, and Nick just wishes that it had never happened. His dad wants Nick to play nice, though, so he has to join her on her fairy hunt through their new housing development that his dad is building. Laurie owns the Spiderwick Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, and is using information from the book to search for clues to any fairy presence. When Nick finds a four leaf clover (which Laurie told him will give him the Sight) he decides to keep it a secret. He skips out on Laurie because her antics become too far-fetched for him to handle, but later that night, when he sees a body on the lawn, he worries that Laurie may have been hurt in his absence. He dashes outside, only to discover that the body is not Laurie's, and is not even human. It's a water nixie. For help. he has to enlist the only person who has any knowledge about this crazy stuff: his stepsister. Suddenly they are bound together in their secret knowledge. After rescuing Taloa, the water nixie, she entreats them to find her missing sisters. Nick wants to refuse, but that becomes difficult when Taloa summons a wakened giant with her singing. Now Nick and Laurie have no choice but to agree to help Taloa, along with dealing the giant sitting in their backyard.Once again, Black does a fantastic job of melding together fairy adventures with family problems that are real issues for many children in today's society. The result is tension that impacts not only the plot of the novel, but the characters themselves. I was just as eager to see how Nick and Laurie would resolve some of the issues in their relationship as I was to see how they would fix their giant situation. Also, the family background makes the children more likable, because we can relate to them, we can see where their flaws are coming from, we know that they are good people dealing with some bad history, and we want them to grow past it. I like stories where people rebuild a family structure after life has shattered what they once had; I like the hope and the love that is integral to that process. Since this is the first in a trilogy, I know I'll have to wait until the conclusion of all three books to see significant changes in the family dynamics, but the story rightly starts with Nick and Laurie's relationship, as these two are at the core of the action. And the action is wonderful, too. The integration of fairy world into a new housing development in Florida is just fun. The author does a good job of making me believe that kids could really find these kind of creatures. The giant looks like a hill to anyone else, and the nixies hide in ponds and lakes and streams, and their songs sound like the chorus of outdoor animals. That is, to people without the sight. Once Nick and Laurie find the secret, their world is transformed. Lucky for the reader, we get the sight along with them, thanks to DiTerlizzi's beautiful drawings that liberally accompany the story. His artwork is fantastic. I am probably using too many positive superlatives, but they are indicators of how much I like this book, and all the Spiderwick entries. I saw on DiTerlizzi's website that he and Holly Black are too busy with other projects to consider any new collaborations, and that makes me sad, because I would be ecstatic to see more stories set in the Spiderwick world. Other children could buy the Field Guide and find fairies, all over the place. The possibilities for ideas are abundant! I hope some day the writers have just as much a desire to create more books as I have to read them.
I read the first five-book series of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and saw the movie when it was released a few years later, but until lately hadn't felt much interest for the follow-up series of three. It seemed like a opportunist spin-off, and it felt like the first one tied itself up pretty nicely. Besides, they didn't REALLY have that much of an effect on me, as books that I found to be, as a friend put it, Lemony Snicket Lite. Then when browsing at the library, I found all three just sitting there, nice and small and very attractive in design, so I decided to pick them up.This first in the series was pretty weak. The characters are flat and have very little personality (and when they do, it seems pretty forced), and Nick, the main protagonist, is unpleasant throughout. The story doesn't really go anywhere to speak of, and it all seemed a little bit like an excuse to just drop the series in the new, interesting locale of Florida during the muggy summertime (the original series was set in Maine) and introduce a bunch of new creatures that they didn't get to use last time. Then, the story REALLY took a bizarre turn when the authors actually inserted themselves in the book, as writers of the original series and the spin-off Field Guide who do a book signing in Orlando. This self-inclusion works great for Lemony Snicket, since he's actually a character in the story, and of course a pseudonym besides, but in Spiderwick it comes across as gimmicky and self-indulgent. Then, don't let's forget to mention the appearance of the twin boys from the other books, whose names were apparently changed prior to publishing to protect their identities... Jared "Grace" has become a very nasty bully, and seems like a totally unnecessary addition to the book. Then, they arbitrarily introduce a brand new character in the very last few pages. The whole affair just seems kind of rushed and not totally thought-out. It also just seems like the authors don't really know what kids think or talk like, and they come across as kind of too grown-up and cynical. What age group is this book aimed at anyway? There's some pretty inappropriate language, and some pretty heavy subject matter. (I understand that divorce and adjusting to step-siblings is a topic that can be handled in kidlit, it's just a matter of whether or not the authors know how to do it right, and I don't think these quite do.) Just because a book is written for kids doesn't mean it can't be well-written.I gave it a couple of stars, because the idea had potential, and the next two volumes might build on that. Also, the overall design is just beautiful. (Still, while I really do like the illustration style and a lot of the art, some of the drawings seemed sort of similarly self-indulgent, even to the point of including character portraits of the authors themselves. It just seemed sort of tacky.) I'll read the other two and see if this goes anywhere, but I'm not holding out much hope.
What do You think about The Nixie's Song (2007)?
I am a HUGE fan of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and I was totally thrilled when I found out the authors were writing more! In the newest installment in the Spiderwick saga, there is more action, fantasy, and lies than ever before.Nickolas Vargas has to share a room with his annoying brother, Jules, becuase his sister Laurie moved into his old one. Fuming mad, he ignors her when she begins blabbering about trolls, fairies, mermaids, and some kids by the name of Jared, Simon and Mallory Grace.But when he picks a fore-leaf clover that gives him the Sight, things change with a sudden, dramatic twist.Nick and Laurie saved a nixie named Taloa. She had been looking for her seven lost sisters, and in desparation had wiggled out of the lake. Without water, nixies can't survive.Stealing a whellbarrow, Nick and Laurie haul her into it and slide her back into the lake, where she is safe.For a while.A fire-breathing giant becomes tranfixed by Taloa's singing, and threathens to burn down all of Florida if she doesn't sing to him.In desparation, Nick and Laurie go to a book signing of the Spiderwick Chronicles, planning on asking the authors for help.But instead, they meet Simon and Jared Grace. They built a fragile friendship with each other over the span of a few mintues, and the Grace children agree to help the Vargases with thier giant problem. They go seeking out a giant expert, but instead they only find the shambles of his house. He is dead.Who are they going to turn to now?Read this short, funny book to find out.I thought this book was an awsome addition to the Spiderwick saga, and it was by far my favorite. In The Spiderwick Chronicles, it was hard for me to relate to anyone. I try not to argue, I don't go outside when my mom isn't home, I don't swear, and I've never experienced a divorce. I hope I never do. But The Nixie's Song was different. It was the BEST EVER! The plot was pefect; with a few twists and turns, it was funny, and I'm glad to say the real authors brought a character from the ealier books into this one.The characters in The Nixie's Song were great. I think the authors did a awsome job on character development; they made them seem so lifelike, it was amazing. I think I really related to Nick Vargas the most. His lifestye was not unlike mine, expect for the fact I don't swear or have a Game Boy. I thought this book was exellent, I finished it in ONE DAY! I simply can't contain my wonder. How can people write so incredibly well?
—Janeen-san
This book started with Nicholas Vargas getting a new step sister who is Laurie Varcas. She is very strange and seems to really believe in faeries. She has many books on them, and loves to hunt them. The family goes along with her "whims" because they think it is cute that she believes in faeries, but don't actually believe in them. Then when Laurie decides to go out and hunt for faeries, Nick is made to go with her so that she won't be alone. Laurie tells him to look out for a four leaf clover that Nick doesn't take very seriously until he actually finds one. He puts it in his pocket without telling Laurie about it. Later when they are both at home, he happens to look out the window to see a shape moving on the lawn. He gets a closer look and it looks like some weird kind of faerie. He tries to get Laurie to see, but she of course doen't have the Sight, so she doesn't see it and at first doesn't believe him. After he pulls out the clover and gives it to her, she then can see and goes to help the faerie which she identifies as a Nixie. They drag the unconcious Nixie to a nearby pond where she regains conciousnesss and swims off in the pond. They go back to their house. Nick finds that Laurie didn't really believe in Faeries, and only acted like she did because she wanted them to exist so bad that she thought if she just believed in them, they would be real. The next day, Laurie goes to the pond to find the Nixie. After Nicholas finds her, the Nixie gives them the Sight permanantly. She then asks them to find her sisters. After they agree to help her, they find that a giant is destroying the area, and that some of Taloa 's(the Nixie's name)sisters were killed by the giant. After escaping the giant, they look up the writters of the Spiderwick series, Jared and Simon Grace, to help them get rid of the giant. When they get back to their house, they find the giant still there, under a trance by the singing of Taloa. They go through some dangerous adventures including the burning of their house, not to mention the many houses their dad built in the area as part of his jobs being completely destroyed. The first book ends with another problem that is worse than their first problem were it continues in the second book.
—Alyssa
Every time I get to have a day at the beach, I keep a keen eye out for stones or shells with holes in them, so that I'd be able to look through it and see the creatures from the Spiderwick Chronicles. You can imagine my excitement when I found this book. This was a quick, fun read that transported me back into the beautiful, mysterious world of the Spiderwick Chronicles. I would kill for a copy of Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide.The detailed illustrations and descriptions really make this word of faeries, hobs, and other fantastical creatures come to life, and I love that the children are so relatable. I especially liked Laurie, who I totally sympathised with, because I am a huge sucker for stories and theories about creatures like mermaids and faerie folk, but I would be completely useless in their situation. I'm definitely going to read the rest of the books in this series, and I'll be keeping an eye out for withered nixies and earth-covered giants in the meantime.
—Ashley Choo
