Starred review from January 4, 2021
It’s great to step into a magical wardrobe and be transported to a fantastic world, but what happens when you come back? Returning from a magical place called Aveinieu with a royal blue leaf in his hair, 12-year-old Aidan finds he’s been missing for six days, his inexplicable disappearance resulting in a massive, town-wide search as well as endless police questioning of his family and best friend. But joy over his safe return quickly turns to unease about his inability to account for the time—Aidan knows he won’t be believed, and his exhausted parents don’t know whether to be worried or furious. His brother, 11-year-old Lucas, previously duped by Aidan’s fanciful stories, tries to catch him in inconsistencies in a brotherly arc that moves toward emotional support. Via Lucas’s urgent narration, Levithan (19 Love Songs) validates both Lucas’s real-world experience and Aidan’s post-portal mourning, telling a well-paced story about the collision of realities in the vein of Laura E. Weymouth and Seanan McGuire. Ages 8–12. Agent: Bill Clegg, the Clegg Agency.
February 1, 2022
Gr 4-7-When 12-year-old Aidan disappears one day, his family, friends, and indeed the whole town are thrown into turmoil. Search parties, police interrogations, and family tensions ensue. Lucas, his 11-year-old brother, is particularly affected, and when he finds Aidan alive and well in their attic six days later (in a place that had been searched multiple times), the mystery of where Aidan had been intensifies. Aidan's claim that he entered a fantasy world called Aveinieu through a dresser in the attic is greeted with skepticism and disbelief. Only Lucas tends to believe his tale. Everette Plen narrates the audiobook in an expressive way from the perspective of Lucas in the first person. He captures Lucas's anxiety and confusion while Aidan is missing, reading in a clipped manner. There is little role differentiation; rather than performing unique voices for the characters, Plen treats the book as a read-aloud. Listeners waiting for action sequences or details of the fantasy world Aveinieu will be disappointed, as the audio focuses more on the believability of Aidan's tale and the relationship between the brothers. VERDICT This audio may appeal to more reflective listeners but in most cases should be treated as an additional purchase.-Julie Paladino
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