Grade 4–7—Lonely Josephine Russing, 12, is ignored by her father and is an outcast at school. One day she follows a strange mute boy into her toolshed and falls through a vortex into an orphan asylum near the medieval-like town of Gulm, where the boy, Fargus, and his brash friend Ida will soon be sacrificed to a boy-tyrant named the Master, who has ruled for decades with two minion beasts, the Brothers, who feed by siphoning energy from children. The plucky threesome escape, evade the Brothers, and are betrayed by a couple who send Ida and Fargus to the Master. Josephine is rescued by the son of a dimensional/time travel scholar, and they must rescue Ida and Fargus and get Josephine and the children of Gulm home. This ambitious fairy-tale adventure takes on time travel, immortality, the importance of family, and, ultimately, the power of love, with many funny foibles, tragic histories, twists, and family secrets revealed. Josephine and Ida are spunky, realistic heroines, but the pacing is slowed by frequent detours into backstory and too many secondary characters. The plot doesn't always hang together, and the fractured narrative sometimes requires a push to get through. The ending, including revelations about Josephine's father, doesn't add up. This is a possibility for nondiscriminating fantasy readers, but it isn't likely to be wholly satisfying.—Riva Pollard, Prospect Sierra Middle School, El Cerrito, CA
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Cô bé Josephine vô tình bị lạc vào một thế giới khác được gọi là Gulm cùng với Fargus, một cậu bạn mới quen. Josephine tìm mọi cách để tìm đường về nhà.
