By Jessica Day George
Wednesday at Castle Glower is an ordinary, ho-hum sort of
day. No new hallways, no extra turrets, no sudden changes. At least according
to Princess Celie, who knows the Castle better than anyone. So Celie is
surprised when, one Wednesday, she happens upon a new tower, with a new room,
and a giant orange egg hidden inside.
Celie doesn’t know what to do, and neither does her brother
bran, the new Royal Wizard. But the Castle knows. As staircases spring up and
doorways disappear, the Castle’s plan becomes clear: Celie is to care for the
egg and whatever creature is hatches! Of course, she hadn’t bargained for a
pet, and this one will prove tricky, once Celie and her siblings realize what
else the Castle is hiding…
It’s rather easy to know what creature hatches from the egg
in the book summary because it’s on the cover. I kinda wish that it hadn’t been
so prominent. I had such a fun time reading the first book and especially enjoy
Jessica Day George’s tone of warmth and quirky magic. This second book is
equally fun to read, Celie is a great protagonist, full of friendship and
belief and trust. She’s in for quite the ride when asked to raise a Gryphon, an
animal everyone assumed was a myth. As Celie tries to hid her new pet from her
family, she makes discoveries that may point to a larger plot at hand. Why has
a wizard come to stay with them when her brother is the royal wizard? What is
he looking for? And why does everyone feel like he’s big trouble?
I give this a 3 out of 5- it was average. Fun to read, but
not as good as the first.
