Seven Wonders Book 4: The Curse of the King
By Carrie R. Wheadon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Gifted kids infiltrate the enemy in action-focused fantasy.
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What's the Story?
Jack, Cass, and Aly all are alive and thinking of settling back into their lives in the United States when a horrible reminder of their genetic condition jolts them back to reality. Aly lies dying in a hospital bed in California, and Jack, Cass, and Jack's father rush to her side. Jack wonders why he and Cass are still healthy until he realizes the shard he carries around of a broken Loculus has magic healing properties. He saves Aly with it, but it's at a cost: The shard shrinks before his eyes and will soon be too small to keep them all healthy. So Jack does what he does best -- hatches a plan. And it's a daring one, to get captured by the enemy Massa while tracking down the next of seven Loculi and go back to the secret island they now rule to find the other shards of the healing Loculus -- then try to escape in one piece. It's a plan that will either save their lives or kill them.
Is It Any Good?
Readers who've already found three Loculi with Aly, Cass, Jack, and sometimes Marco should be satisfied enough with THE CURSE OF THE KING. We find out more about Jack's mystery Massa mom, get a reunion with Marco, and watch the main characters enact a pretty daring plan to save themselves. It all goes by pretty fast with plenty of action fight scenes. Perhaps too fast.
As usual, the series chooses action over careful character development. Sure, it's cool that Jack and friends are so talented -- that's clear -- but in all the foursome's life-threatening situations, you'd expect to see lots more friend bonding and personality on the page.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the seven wonders of the ancient world and what earned them that title. Which of these places still exists? Which one would you like to visit if it were still around?
How does the fourth installment in the Seven Wonders series measure up? Will you keep reading? What do you think will happen to the main characters?
Which Loculus would you like to have: strength, invisibility, flight, or healing? There are three left to find. What do you think they are?
Book Details
- Author: Peter Lerangis
- Illustrator: Torstein Norstrand
- Genre: Fantasy
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures, Friendship, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date: March 3, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 320
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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