Common Sense Media Review
By Carrie R. Wheadon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fantastic fantasy world, cool gargoyles, but rushed story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE HIDDEN KNIFE, Vicky is trained by her mom in secret to wield a sword and produce magic wards. At age 12 she's become very skilled, but her mom, a former queen's guard, still doesn't want her to attend Corvus, a school for kids who will one day serve the queen as she did. When the queen asks, Kat refuses and knows that it puts her family in great danger. Algernon has no choice but to attend Corvus. His father is the queen's Chief Alchemist and he will take over one day -- the day he poisons his own father as part of his final exam. Algernon has one regular escape from his sad fate, however: trips to the Netherwhere, a world that gargoyles come from and a wise chimera resides. When tragedy strikes Vicky's household, she will need Algernon and his connection to the Netherwhere to save herself and the kingdom.
Is It Any Good?
This fantasy begins with such a delightful fairy tale feel but lacks careful, detailed storytelling to sustain it. When the gargoyle narrates at the beginning, explaining his entrance into a world of humans, it's poetic and intriguing. He decides to become the guardian of families and their offspring who are close to the queen and are in danger. We see danger coming as the reader and we meet some talented kids who will eventually face it together -- a stress on eventually. It takes Vicky and Algernon a long time to really meet and make it to school, and only after a tragedy that happens awkwardly and jarringly late in The Hidden Knife.
So many aspects of the second half of this story could have used the cushioning of careful details and slower scenes. It's hard to really see the school in your mind's eye with so few pages dedicated to describing it and how it's run. There's also no real buildup to meeting a teacher Vicky isn't supposed to trust, just "there he is, he's a bad dude, run for it." Trips to the Netherwhere also feel rushed, like you're seeing the world in a sketchbook with so many details missing. It cheats the reader out of a truly immersive experience. Once you meet the cool gargoyles, of course you want to know all about where they're from. They deserve a story as wise and careful as they are, and it's not this one.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the jarring deaths midway through The Hidden Knife. Were you expecting something that bad to happen? What makes it worse than having a loss at the beginning of the story?
Would you like to attend school with Vicky, Algernon, and Milan? How is Corvus very different from Hogwarts?
Would you read more about Vicky, Algernon, Merry, and Milan? What other stories do you think can be told from these worlds? Could the main character be a gargoyle next time?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , Animals ( Ocean Creatures )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Nancy Paulsen Books
- Publication date : June 1, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 12
- Number of pages : 272
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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