Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Love, magic, adventure, ghosts in thrilling series finale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
It's 1955, and after the harrowing events in Book 2, 15-year-olds Janie Scott and Benjamin Burrows (who's living with the Scott family since his father's death left him an orphan) are trying to adjust to a normal Midwestern high school. It isn't going well, and their romance seems to be on hold, as Benjamin's always depressed and preoccupied. When he confesses to Janie that he's been using a potion to communicate with his late father, who seems to be in a between-the-worlds place called THE AFTER-ROOM, the 15-year-olds realize their adventures aren't over. Soon, thanks to a surprise offer of a screenwriting gig in Rome for the elder Scotts, they're all in Italy, trying to evade sinister forces who'd like to use Benjamin's brews for their own purposes. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, their chemist friend Jin Lo, who'd plunged into the sea when the potion that turned her into a bird wore off, washes up on an island occupied by a U.S. Navy officer who's watching the Chinese. From their different points on the globe, they all work to prevent the uranium stolen in Book 2 from falling into the wrong hands and to keep a grief-stricken man from nuking China to avenge his son's death.
Is It Any Good?
Author Maile Meloy's imaginative mix of magic, Cold War history, and teen romance comes to a satisfying close as two 15-year-olds and their adult allies face spies, gangsters, pirates, and the dead. Told from the perspectives of characters on opposite sites of the world, the plot moves along quickly as the heroes encounter colorful locals, dodge deadly perils, pursue magical knowledge, and learn a few life lessons while trying to avert nuclear destruction. Thanks to Meloy's skill as a writer, characters are intriguing individuals; normally implausible plot developments such as the Scotts' sudden writing job in Italy make perfect sense; and bits of incidental detail such as a song and a robin's-egg-blue dress conjure up the feeling of life in the '50s. Ian Schoenherr's plentiful illustrations bring the story to life with compelling detail and airborne adventure.
There's enough description of foregoing events that you won't be entirely lost if you start here, but you'll miss a lot. Start with Book 1. And, though the story arc wraps up nicely at the end, there's a glimmer of hope that we may not have seen the last of these characters.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories that mix history with magic. Which other ones do you know? Do you think that makes a more interesting story than pure fact or pure fantasy?
Do you think you'd have liked living in the '50s? What do you think would be better? What do you think might be better now?
What seems like magic to one generation often proves to be science for another. If someone from another era landed in our world, how would that person view technology we take for granted? What would seem magical, and what would make sense?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Ian Schoenherr
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Friendship , History , STEM
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : G.P. Putnam's Sons
- Publication date : November 3, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 18
- Number of pages : 432
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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