Common Sense Media Review
By Kate Pavao
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Need follow-up does captivate, but it's more violent.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When Zara and her friends imprisoned her pixie king father and his minions in a house deep in the woods, they created a power vacuum. Now pixies seem to be moving in from everywhere, trying to claim his territory. One is a pixie king named Astley, who claims that he is \"on the side of good\" -- and who wants to turn Zara into a pixie so she can be his queen. When Zara's boyfriend is killed during a battle, she begins to consider Astley's offer -- maybe by turning pixie she can find a way to bring Nick back to her world.
Is It Any Good?
This book does what a good sequel should: There is more of everything here. More violence and a higher body cody count, more romance (and a possible new romance with a cute pixie king), and definitely more of a backstory. The author introduces a much richer mythology here, too, including Norse legends like a winged Valkyrie who takes fallen warriors to fight "for good in the halls of Valhalla."
Readers will once again have fun prowling through Maine's snowy winter woods with spirited Zara, who is both impulsive and loyal, clumsy and determined, mouthy and sweet -- and as such, a very relatable heroine. Captivate ends with a smart development that will leave readers clawing for the third installment, scheduled for December 2010.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about book series like this one, which are very popular right now. What do you like about them? Will you read this entire series? What do you think would be challenging about trying to write one?
Captivate features a lot of fantasy violence -- Zara even murders some pixies she encounters in the woods. Is fantasy violence easier to handle than more realistic violence? What about violence in books versus violence in movies or video games? Do you notice a difference in how it makes you feel?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Bloomsbury USA
- Publication date : January 5, 2010
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 17
- Number of pages : 336
- Last updated : May 19, 2022
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