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The Deavys
A decidedly non-Ordinary family (and their talking cat) must embark on a magical mission in this tale from New York Times– bestselling author Alan Dean Foster.
For any normal teenage boy, having two and a half younger sisters would be enough to deal with. But Simwan Deavy’s life isn’t normal. His family is non-Ord—short for “non-Ordinary”—which means that at school, he and his sisters learn hexing and enchanting along with history and math. It also means they have a ghost for an uncle and a cat who talks. Still, everything is going well for Simwan—until a bottle of Truth is stolen from the local pharmacy. Now the Deavys’ favorite woods are under threat from development; their mother, whose life depends on the Truth, is growing weaker; and the world as they know it might never be the same.
With the help of their cat, Pithfwid, the Deavys track the loathsome, horrible Crub to his lair in New York City. But the Crub has laid traps, turning a dangerous city into a deadly one. To succeed at their mission, the Deavys will have to stick together—or the Truth may be lost forever.
For any normal teenage boy, having two and a half younger sisters would be enough to deal with. But Simwan Deavy’s life isn’t normal. His family is non-Ord—short for “non-Ordinary”—which means that at school, he and his sisters learn hexing and enchanting along with history and math. It also means they have a ghost for an uncle and a cat who talks. Still, everything is going well for Simwan—until a bottle of Truth is stolen from the local pharmacy. Now the Deavys’ favorite woods are under threat from development; their mother, whose life depends on the Truth, is growing weaker; and the world as they know it might never be the same.
With the help of their cat, Pithfwid, the Deavys track the loathsome, horrible Crub to his lair in New York City. But the Crub has laid traps, turning a dangerous city into a deadly one. To succeed at their mission, the Deavys will have to stick together—or the Truth may be lost forever.
354 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 2, 2016
42 people are currently reading
490 people want to read
About the author
Alan Dean Foster
499 books2,038 followersBestselling science fiction writer Alan Dean Foster was born in New York City in 1946, but raised mainly in California. He received a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA in 1968, and a M.F.A. in 1969. Foster lives in Arizona with his wife, but he enjoys traveling because it gives him opportunities to meet new people and explore new places and cultures. This interest is carried over to his writing, but with a twist: the new places encountered in his books are likely to be on another planet, and the people may belong to an alien race.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
Foster began his career as an author when a letter he sent to Arkham Collection was purchased by the editor and published in the magazine in 1968. His first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang, introduced the Humanx Commonwealth, a galactic alliance between humans and an insectlike race called Thranx. Several other novels, including the Icerigger trilogy, are also set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Tar-Aiym Krang also marked the first appearance of Flinx, a young man with paranormal abilities, who reappears in other books, including Orphan Star, For Love of Mother-Not, and Flinx in Flux.
Foster has also written The Damned series and the Spellsinger series, which includes The Hour of the Gate, The Moment of the Magician, The Paths of the Perambulator, and Son of Spellsinger, among others. Other books include novelizations of science fiction movies and television shows such as Star Trek, The Black Hole, Starman, Star Wars, and the Alien movies. Splinter of the Mind's Eye, a bestselling novel based on the Star Wars movies, received the Galaxy Award in 1979. The book Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990. His novel Our Lady of the Machine won him the UPC Award (Spain) in 1993. He also won the Ignotus Award (Spain) in 1994 and the Stannik Award (Russia) in 2000.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 28, 2016
Firstly, I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. I am providing an honest review in response.
Secondly, I should say that this book is somewhat difficult for me to rate, as I don’t typically read books with magical plots and settings. I read three of the Harry Potter books before deciding that they weren’t for me. And The Deavys does remind me of HP in that there are a bunch of magical teens/tweens, talking creatures, and a quest to stop the Most Evil Thing Ever. (In this case, the King of the Rats.) I wanted to like it, because four (three and a half) feisty teens (and their powerful, talking cat!) taking on evil just sounded so fun. However, this book failed to delight me. Magic aside, is has some fundamental flaws.
In the end, I decided to make a list of pros and cons. This seems the best way to be both fair in presenting my feedback and to help other readers decide if they want to read.
PROS:
++Despite having a very special “world” with lots-o magickal stuffs and creatures, author Alan Dean Foster avoids the dreadful info-dump syndrome. Most things are explained as they come up. (Note- I noticed other reviewers complain that this made it hard to follow what was going on- things are not always well explained.) I was fine with that. And I found the plot easy to follow. We don’t need 50 pages of history about “The Truth,” we just need to know it’s uber important.
++The whole book is chock-full of magickal happenings. I can’t really rate how good they are, because that ain’t my thing. But creatures both evil and good abound, animals talk, pet cats change hues and patterns like a psychedelic dream—it’s colorful. This family includes zombies.
++I think middle grade readers would like the characters and sense of enchantment. It’s listed as ages 9-15, but I think many teens past 12 or 13 will find the characters a bit immature. Deavys are wicked smart- they throw around puns and big words like precocious little suburbanites- but they squabble and engage in juvenile behavior and conversations. The humor is more snark and wit then belly laughs.
CONS:
--Despite being full of spell fights, surprise attacks and fantastical things, this book felt tedious to me. It’s a quest story, and it seems to take forever. S-l-o-w.
--The author is a good (bad?) example of not following the “show, don’t tell” concept. The narrative is wordy, the author has an obsession with similes, and almost everything has multiple descriptors. This makes the slow pace feel even slower. There is just too much “stuff” in the background.
--Sadly, despite the overabundance of “stuff,” similes, adjectives, and adverbs, the story’s narrative and voice are flat. The story had no real heart or warmth. The characters never get beyond the necessary shell of minimum and what-they-need-to-be. Nothing made me cheer, hope, or hurt for them.
--The book tries too hard and misses. It’s full too many of the things that could make a great book but that just don’t quite work together here: the hip meta humor, a treasure stolen and a quest to recover it, coming of age and trying to find wisdom, tepid family bonds, absentee parents/authority figures easily written out for convenience, the underdog against The Big Bad, etc.
I like a light read, but this was fussy rather than fun. A bit of a mess. I prefer characters with more heart and and a plot that’s thoughtful and well structured.
Secondly, I should say that this book is somewhat difficult for me to rate, as I don’t typically read books with magical plots and settings. I read three of the Harry Potter books before deciding that they weren’t for me. And The Deavys does remind me of HP in that there are a bunch of magical teens/tweens, talking creatures, and a quest to stop the Most Evil Thing Ever. (In this case, the King of the Rats.) I wanted to like it, because four (three and a half) feisty teens (and their powerful, talking cat!) taking on evil just sounded so fun. However, this book failed to delight me. Magic aside, is has some fundamental flaws.
In the end, I decided to make a list of pros and cons. This seems the best way to be both fair in presenting my feedback and to help other readers decide if they want to read.
PROS:
++Despite having a very special “world” with lots-o magickal stuffs and creatures, author Alan Dean Foster avoids the dreadful info-dump syndrome. Most things are explained as they come up. (Note- I noticed other reviewers complain that this made it hard to follow what was going on- things are not always well explained.) I was fine with that. And I found the plot easy to follow. We don’t need 50 pages of history about “The Truth,” we just need to know it’s uber important.
++The whole book is chock-full of magickal happenings. I can’t really rate how good they are, because that ain’t my thing. But creatures both evil and good abound, animals talk, pet cats change hues and patterns like a psychedelic dream—it’s colorful. This family includes zombies.
++I think middle grade readers would like the characters and sense of enchantment. It’s listed as ages 9-15, but I think many teens past 12 or 13 will find the characters a bit immature. Deavys are wicked smart- they throw around puns and big words like precocious little suburbanites- but they squabble and engage in juvenile behavior and conversations. The humor is more snark and wit then belly laughs.
CONS:
--Despite being full of spell fights, surprise attacks and fantastical things, this book felt tedious to me. It’s a quest story, and it seems to take forever. S-l-o-w.
--The author is a good (bad?) example of not following the “show, don’t tell” concept. The narrative is wordy, the author has an obsession with similes, and almost everything has multiple descriptors. This makes the slow pace feel even slower. There is just too much “stuff” in the background.
--Sadly, despite the overabundance of “stuff,” similes, adjectives, and adverbs, the story’s narrative and voice are flat. The story had no real heart or warmth. The characters never get beyond the necessary shell of minimum and what-they-need-to-be. Nothing made me cheer, hope, or hurt for them.
--The book tries too hard and misses. It’s full too many of the things that could make a great book but that just don’t quite work together here: the hip meta humor, a treasure stolen and a quest to recover it, coming of age and trying to find wisdom, tepid family bonds, absentee parents/authority figures easily written out for convenience, the underdog against The Big Bad, etc.
I like a light read, but this was fussy rather than fun. A bit of a mess. I prefer characters with more heart and and a plot that’s thoughtful and well structured.
May 6, 2017
Schizo Fun
I read, like, and often admire a lot of urban fantasy, but sometimes those books, even the very best ones, just aren't that much fun to read. I'm not sure how you can put together spells, wild magic, faeries, sprites, other worlds, demons, and so on and come up with something grim and heavy, but there it is. Happily, that's not really a problem with this book.
Rather, we just sort of jump in to the deep end of the pool and paddle around. The Deavy siblings have different skills, abilities and attitudes. One of them isn't always entirely there. They kvetch and tease and joke and whine, but they are a team and they are on a quest. Their conversations about "what just happened", "what's going on", and "what should we do next", have a Hardy Boys or even Enid Blyton feel, which is what makes this an especially appealing middle grade early YA sort of book.
They are non-Ordinaries who have access to a magical world, and that frees the author to make up just about any coincidence, power, artifact, thingy, spell or creature that suits the plot, such as it is. And the plot is basic - The Truth has been stolen by a monstrous villain and the Deavys have to track him down in New York City and recover the magical object. They have to overcome obstacles, explore dangerous places, confront menacing creatures, and so on.
Here's the interesting schizo part. On the one hand the Deavys' magic is rather gentle and natural. Many of their allies are kind, crisply conceived, and charming, (forest floor denizens, water sprites). The Deavys themselves are pretty mellow and unconflicted, with a sort of "gee whiz" vibe. On the other hand the villains are monstrous and the confrontations are hyper-violent and extended. You get pages of worms, claws, teeth, blood, broken bones, chopping and slashing and tearing. The result is that sometimes you get "Alien v. Bambi" scenes. At first I was put off by these hot/cold shifts, but then I decided to just go with it, and to think more like a middle grader.
The upshot is that this book is stuffed full of action, creatures, derring-do, mellow magic, enough dei ex machina to power a dozen Greek plays, some good jokes, some strained jokes, and a bunch of stout-hearted engaging kids. And there's a deadpan funny magical cat. I'm good with that.
(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
I read, like, and often admire a lot of urban fantasy, but sometimes those books, even the very best ones, just aren't that much fun to read. I'm not sure how you can put together spells, wild magic, faeries, sprites, other worlds, demons, and so on and come up with something grim and heavy, but there it is. Happily, that's not really a problem with this book.
Rather, we just sort of jump in to the deep end of the pool and paddle around. The Deavy siblings have different skills, abilities and attitudes. One of them isn't always entirely there. They kvetch and tease and joke and whine, but they are a team and they are on a quest. Their conversations about "what just happened", "what's going on", and "what should we do next", have a Hardy Boys or even Enid Blyton feel, which is what makes this an especially appealing middle grade early YA sort of book.
They are non-Ordinaries who have access to a magical world, and that frees the author to make up just about any coincidence, power, artifact, thingy, spell or creature that suits the plot, such as it is. And the plot is basic - The Truth has been stolen by a monstrous villain and the Deavys have to track him down in New York City and recover the magical object. They have to overcome obstacles, explore dangerous places, confront menacing creatures, and so on.
Here's the interesting schizo part. On the one hand the Deavys' magic is rather gentle and natural. Many of their allies are kind, crisply conceived, and charming, (forest floor denizens, water sprites). The Deavys themselves are pretty mellow and unconflicted, with a sort of "gee whiz" vibe. On the other hand the villains are monstrous and the confrontations are hyper-violent and extended. You get pages of worms, claws, teeth, blood, broken bones, chopping and slashing and tearing. The result is that sometimes you get "Alien v. Bambi" scenes. At first I was put off by these hot/cold shifts, but then I decided to just go with it, and to think more like a middle grader.
The upshot is that this book is stuffed full of action, creatures, derring-do, mellow magic, enough dei ex machina to power a dozen Greek plays, some good jokes, some strained jokes, and a bunch of stout-hearted engaging kids. And there's a deadpan funny magical cat. I'm good with that.
(Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
December 31, 2015
The Deavy family is an extraordinary one - Simwan (interesting how he got that name), 16; his two and a half (or three) sisters, Amber, Rose and N/Ice, all 12; the talking, shape-shifting cat, Pithfwid; their Truth-dependent mother; and their Uncle Herkimer (the children hope he'll host them while they're in New York City on a mission to find and rescue a stolen bottle of Truth, even though he's long dead). But the Deavys surpass the Ords - or, ordinary people - in another way: They know, or are learning, magic. The Deavys' mission of finding the rat who stole the family's Truth is filled with interesting obstacles and characters. Who knew a sweet treat could defeat a Furk? Or that to find help to overcome one issue, the children face kissing more than just one frog? What would it be like to enjoy a snakezel instead of a pretzel? What would you do with a lion's head door knocker that bared its teeth and tried to bite you? Would you be prepared to do battle with a goblin after a tasty lunch in a butcher's shop?
The creativity and detail of the foods, creatures (both well-known and those that exist in secret), spells and magic, the living dead, and vision of the Ords compared with what the Deavys see, is all colorfully and wonderfully done.
The creativity and detail of the foods, creatures (both well-known and those that exist in secret), spells and magic, the living dead, and vision of the Ords compared with what the Deavys see, is all colorfully and wonderfully done.
December 7, 2017
Every time a fantasy book comes out that deals with magic, teen wizards and teen witches it often gets compared to J.K. Rowling’s, Harry Potter series, which is sometimes, all well and good, but sometimes distracting, because it doesn’t allow the book to fall and stand on its own merits. The Deavys is a fun romp in modern day New York, about a family of magic-users, older brother Simwan, and his three sisters,( Amber and Rose) two who are twins and a third(N/ICE) who is sometimes not all together in this reality. It’s a curious book that both entertains and is serious at the same time. The Deavys, are accompanied by the family cat that is both their chaperone and companion in arms. The cat has a power, but it’s a really cool power. The premise of the story is something of importance to Deavy’s family gets stolen and the “Courbet” plus the brother and cat have to trek to NYC to get it back. New York is the same, but it has magical side streets, a villainous villain, the Crub and BBDT…read the book to find out who these characters are. I loved this book, if I had to compare Alan Dean Foster work to anything; I would compare it to escape to Witch Mountain, Tamara Pierce’s Beka Cooper novels or Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain. All three have a well realized reality and world building which, incidentally, is the key to a good book. Give this book a read, you won’t regret it.
May 14, 2018
Normally I really enjoy Alan Dean Foster, but this book just fell like he decided to do one of those YA contemporary fantasy thing that's so popular these days, and ended up trying too hard. Lots if cutesy semi-pun names for things and name dropping made up words that were probably supposed to sound like world building, but since they never became relevant, ended up feeling like word-count padding. I guess I would have probably enjoyed this when I was 12, but nowadays there's just too much YA contemporary fantasy with better characters and plot for this one to stand out.
March 9, 2018
Classic ADF
Foster has returned to his roots with his last few books and I love it! Peculiar characters questing for out of the ordinary items is a hallmark of ADF and at his best, you feel like a member of the quest. So is the case with The Deavy’s. If you’re a fan of ADF, this is familiar and fun. If you’re new to his genius, it’s a solid place to start.
Foster has returned to his roots with his last few books and I love it! Peculiar characters questing for out of the ordinary items is a hallmark of ADF and at his best, you feel like a member of the quest. So is the case with The Deavy’s. If you’re a fan of ADF, this is familiar and fun. If you’re new to his genius, it’s a solid place to start.
March 6, 2023
The 'coubet' is one of the more original character concepts I've encountered, but their brother was bland, probably an artifact of his being the 3rd-person POV character. I know that I'm not the target audience for this, but I do love a good urban fantasy and while this one didn't really break new ground it was a fun diversion.
July 16, 2019
I liked it but YA might find all of the mythological beasts challenging. Favorite line. Crosswalk sign at 67 1/2 and Stark Ave in Manhatten. "Hurry or Die" I also like the reference to Irn-Bru, the national soda of Scotland. The ending seemed a bit hurried.
Read
June 5, 2018Obviously a YA novel, but I am a Foster fan, so I liked it
September 12, 2018
Really enjoyed. Clean, well written, typical Alan Dean Foster. Solid book, interesting characters and plot
September 13, 2023
Always entertaining
I have read Alan Dean Foster's books for years. He creates worlds that you would love. to visit and characters that you would like to know.
I have read Alan Dean Foster's books for years. He creates worlds that you would love. to visit and characters that you would like to know.
June 17, 2016
I received this as an e-book from Net Galley for an honest review.
I’ve always felt affection for Alan Dean Foster’s writings even though I’ve only read a couple of his books, and I was so excited to discover he had written a children’s novel recently involving magic. So first things first, I did like The Deavys for the most part, I think it would be a good recommendation for kids who have read the Bartimaeus trilogy or The Night Gardener. But The Deavys really feels kind of old-school from its descriptions of magic to even the language itself at times, that reminds me more of Edward Eager or E. Nesbit, and not always in a good way.
Because the Deavys are a family of non-Ords (short for non-Ordinary), their world makes sense to 16-year-old Simwan and his sisters, Rose, Amber and N/Ice, who is only truly real half of the time. I absolutely love the idea of two and a half sisters and how that affects their magical abilities and their familial relationships as not-twins-not-triplets. Simwan himself is a pretty generic guy, the dutiful older brother looking out for his sisters. But because the reader doesn’t really get to learn a lot about their school life or the ways and whys the Deavys can access magic – the story pretty much starts with the theft of the Truth, which causes the Deavy siblings’ mother’s health to fail for reasons not entirely explained – it felt odd at times that the kids would just know, or hit upon, the right spell at the right time, or in the nick of time, to get themselves out of danger. Once or twice is fine, but every time? On one hand, resourceful children being resourceful and remembering their studies. On the other, kinda playing close to dues ex machina for my comfort.
If you like magic characters and especially magical people hiding in plain sight and interacting with the real world, then definitely yes pick up this book. I finished The Deavys a week after I had come back from a weekend trip to NYC and I chuckled a lot over the descriptions of the city’s residents and locales. But despite all the dangerous threats inherent not only in the story of a group of underage teens/tweens out on their own in a metropolis they’ve never been to before but also the magical threats the Deavys face as they race to get back the Truth before their mother worsens, the book….never really feels that threatening? Like the monsters were kind of cool and sometimes gruesome, but Simwan and his sisters remained pretty undamaged by most of the threats around them. There's some interesting magical world-building that may make people compare this book to Harry Potter, but I feel like there are other books out there that are a better match in terms of tone and style. At times I was almost reminded of a Tim Burton-esque feel to the world but in a good way.
Stylistically there is a lot of cliff hangers. As in, almost every chapter ends on a cliff hanger of sorts. And some of the metaphors and similes used are a little reaching, like Foster wanted an original metaphor (okay) and instead overshot it so that it just becomes something would never really want to say, ever (not so okay). I ended up getting thrown out of the flow of the story at least three times.
That said, for a children’s book or a fantasy book to feature practically no romance (I think there were sometimes comments on dating, but no romantic interactions at all), interesting sibling dynamics and be a well-written, somewhat challenging book for middle grade readers? A+ for effort. The Deavys is a siblings day out with monsters, light-hearted in tone despite the violence (and there’s a fair bit of violence that again is almost jarring when paired with the Deavys themselves). I’m giving it three stars here but it really deserves a 3 ½, one star for each Deavy :)
I’ve always felt affection for Alan Dean Foster’s writings even though I’ve only read a couple of his books, and I was so excited to discover he had written a children’s novel recently involving magic. So first things first, I did like The Deavys for the most part, I think it would be a good recommendation for kids who have read the Bartimaeus trilogy or The Night Gardener. But The Deavys really feels kind of old-school from its descriptions of magic to even the language itself at times, that reminds me more of Edward Eager or E. Nesbit, and not always in a good way.
Because the Deavys are a family of non-Ords (short for non-Ordinary), their world makes sense to 16-year-old Simwan and his sisters, Rose, Amber and N/Ice, who is only truly real half of the time. I absolutely love the idea of two and a half sisters and how that affects their magical abilities and their familial relationships as not-twins-not-triplets. Simwan himself is a pretty generic guy, the dutiful older brother looking out for his sisters. But because the reader doesn’t really get to learn a lot about their school life or the ways and whys the Deavys can access magic – the story pretty much starts with the theft of the Truth, which causes the Deavy siblings’ mother’s health to fail for reasons not entirely explained – it felt odd at times that the kids would just know, or hit upon, the right spell at the right time, or in the nick of time, to get themselves out of danger. Once or twice is fine, but every time? On one hand, resourceful children being resourceful and remembering their studies. On the other, kinda playing close to dues ex machina for my comfort.
If you like magic characters and especially magical people hiding in plain sight and interacting with the real world, then definitely yes pick up this book. I finished The Deavys a week after I had come back from a weekend trip to NYC and I chuckled a lot over the descriptions of the city’s residents and locales. But despite all the dangerous threats inherent not only in the story of a group of underage teens/tweens out on their own in a metropolis they’ve never been to before but also the magical threats the Deavys face as they race to get back the Truth before their mother worsens, the book….never really feels that threatening? Like the monsters were kind of cool and sometimes gruesome, but Simwan and his sisters remained pretty undamaged by most of the threats around them. There's some interesting magical world-building that may make people compare this book to Harry Potter, but I feel like there are other books out there that are a better match in terms of tone and style. At times I was almost reminded of a Tim Burton-esque feel to the world but in a good way.
Stylistically there is a lot of cliff hangers. As in, almost every chapter ends on a cliff hanger of sorts. And some of the metaphors and similes used are a little reaching, like Foster wanted an original metaphor (okay) and instead overshot it so that it just becomes something would never really want to say, ever (not so okay). I ended up getting thrown out of the flow of the story at least three times.
That said, for a children’s book or a fantasy book to feature practically no romance (I think there were sometimes comments on dating, but no romantic interactions at all), interesting sibling dynamics and be a well-written, somewhat challenging book for middle grade readers? A+ for effort. The Deavys is a siblings day out with monsters, light-hearted in tone despite the violence (and there’s a fair bit of violence that again is almost jarring when paired with the Deavys themselves). I’m giving it three stars here but it really deserves a 3 ½, one star for each Deavy :)
March 27, 2016
Ugh GR lost my first review. In full disclosure I won this from Goodreads but that did not influence my review. Also in full disclosure one of those stars is because I've been an Alan Dean Foster fan for decades. This was a 2.5 read at best, for several reasons. One of which is while I'm sure it's meant as a YA, the language in it reads above the average teen's vocabulary (I don't mean that to be offensive but I teach so maybe I should say it's more adult than teens in my area). In fact, the whole novel depends on clever word play like Picscean predators and talking about the sublime nature of Mahler (I mean what teen thinks that way?).
the novel reads a lot like Piers Anthony's Xanth series with puns and word play driving the story forward. I don't remember that being annoying decades ago when I was a teen but it sure was in this. I felt like the story itself was lost in it's 'wink wink nudge nudge, did you see what I did there with my oh so clever word play?). Even the protagonist's name 'Simwan' is part of this clever word play.
It opens with Simwan and his two and half sisters learning the Truth has been stolen and as their mother's life force is tied up in that Truth she's in trouble. Without it, she'll die and the woods near their Pennsylvania home will be destroyed. Simwan, Amber, Rose and N/Ice along with their magical cat, Pithfwid, learn that it has been stolen by the rat king, The Crub, who has taken it to NYC. And they do the one thing that makes sense: tell no adult about this and decide they have to be the ones to rescue the Truth
And this is how you know it's a YA novel. There is criminal levels of neglect here when it comes to raising kids. With minimal persuasion Simwan, who is a very young sixteen, is allowed to take a train to NYC with his twelve year old sisters. Most parents would probably not be okay with that, especially when their only guardian there will be their long dead Uncle Herkimer's ghost. But that's how most YA's work, teens running around doing things that most couldn't do if they had parents looking out for them. (Of course that's part of that fantasy of YA works).
I should mention that Simwan and his sisters are non-Ords, I.e non-ordinary. They are magical as is Pithfwid. They are well versed in magic and martial arts so they do have some skills to let them go after the Truth. Also his sisters are only two and a half instead of triplets because N/Ice is half here and half in other dimensions at all times (and her name is also more word play because sometimes she's nice and other times she's ice cold). They are a coubet and often referred to as that. Foster informs us that this is an old French word meaning two and a half but if it is, I can't find it in a search.
I will say this in the book's favor, there is nothing but action in this. Every magical thing either aiding them is afraid of the Crub and everything allied with the Crub is out to kill the kids. Oddly even though Simwan is the main POV character (though the pov does slide into the sisters' povs and others) he doesn't do much other than provide exposition. His sisters do most of the fighting and he picks up the slack.
So yes, on the positive, lots of action, some kick butt girls and of course a happy ending. On the negative, the potentially interesting characters are very flat as is the world building. There seems to be no rules or limits on the magic. It just happens because it needs to for the plot. It felt like all the effort was put into that oh so clever word play instead of making Simwan and his sisters seem like real people. Honestly I think it would have been better if say Uncle Herkimer lived in the Bronx and Simwan's group in Brooklyn or something, would be more believable than twelve year olds on an interstate unescorted trip. Even Herkimer is barely a footnote until he shows up as a MacGuffin at the end. This was definitely not my favorite ADF story. I wanted more out of the siblings if nothing else. We know little about the girls other than they're sarcastic and Simwan feels picked on by them. Do they have likes, loves or fears? If they do, you won't find them here.
the novel reads a lot like Piers Anthony's Xanth series with puns and word play driving the story forward. I don't remember that being annoying decades ago when I was a teen but it sure was in this. I felt like the story itself was lost in it's 'wink wink nudge nudge, did you see what I did there with my oh so clever word play?). Even the protagonist's name 'Simwan' is part of this clever word play.
It opens with Simwan and his two and half sisters learning the Truth has been stolen and as their mother's life force is tied up in that Truth she's in trouble. Without it, she'll die and the woods near their Pennsylvania home will be destroyed. Simwan, Amber, Rose and N/Ice along with their magical cat, Pithfwid, learn that it has been stolen by the rat king, The Crub, who has taken it to NYC. And they do the one thing that makes sense: tell no adult about this and decide they have to be the ones to rescue the Truth
And this is how you know it's a YA novel. There is criminal levels of neglect here when it comes to raising kids. With minimal persuasion Simwan, who is a very young sixteen, is allowed to take a train to NYC with his twelve year old sisters. Most parents would probably not be okay with that, especially when their only guardian there will be their long dead Uncle Herkimer's ghost. But that's how most YA's work, teens running around doing things that most couldn't do if they had parents looking out for them. (Of course that's part of that fantasy of YA works).
I should mention that Simwan and his sisters are non-Ords, I.e non-ordinary. They are magical as is Pithfwid. They are well versed in magic and martial arts so they do have some skills to let them go after the Truth. Also his sisters are only two and a half instead of triplets because N/Ice is half here and half in other dimensions at all times (and her name is also more word play because sometimes she's nice and other times she's ice cold). They are a coubet and often referred to as that. Foster informs us that this is an old French word meaning two and a half but if it is, I can't find it in a search.
I will say this in the book's favor, there is nothing but action in this. Every magical thing either aiding them is afraid of the Crub and everything allied with the Crub is out to kill the kids. Oddly even though Simwan is the main POV character (though the pov does slide into the sisters' povs and others) he doesn't do much other than provide exposition. His sisters do most of the fighting and he picks up the slack.
So yes, on the positive, lots of action, some kick butt girls and of course a happy ending. On the negative, the potentially interesting characters are very flat as is the world building. There seems to be no rules or limits on the magic. It just happens because it needs to for the plot. It felt like all the effort was put into that oh so clever word play instead of making Simwan and his sisters seem like real people. Honestly I think it would have been better if say Uncle Herkimer lived in the Bronx and Simwan's group in Brooklyn or something, would be more believable than twelve year olds on an interstate unescorted trip. Even Herkimer is barely a footnote until he shows up as a MacGuffin at the end. This was definitely not my favorite ADF story. I wanted more out of the siblings if nothing else. We know little about the girls other than they're sarcastic and Simwan feels picked on by them. Do they have likes, loves or fears? If they do, you won't find them here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2016
What it's all about...
A family of non-Ords...not ordinary people...consisting of 2 1/2 sisters...yes...one has the ability to sort of fade in and out...Simwan...the older brother...Pithfwid...their talking cat...and a mother who is in trouble because an Evil Crub stole a bottle of Truth from the local pharmacy. Oh...they have a non-Ord dad, too. So...to save their mom and coincidentally the woods near them...the kids and cat must travel...weirdly...to NYC to get the bottle of Trouble back. I cannot even begin to recount the number of strange and scary and odd and weird events that happen with this quest including staying with their uncle in his lovely apartment. Did I mention that this uncle is slightly dead? Yes...dead...and when he makes his presence known...he loses body parts but they can be reattached.
Why I wanted to read it...
I don't think I have ever read anything by this author before and this book sounded really interesting.
What made me truly enjoy this book...
This book had humor but it was kind of scary, too. Just the idea of eating snakes that turn into pretzels? Not sure that I will be eating pretzels for a while with that image in my head. I felt that every time I turned a page...something wild and crazy as well as scary...happened. Vicious dust bunnies, pursuing harridans...and traps everywhere! The action in this book kept the pages turning!
What you should think about if you read this book, too...
I enjoyed this book...my fave characters were Simwan and of course Pithfwid the cat. This book is categorized as a children's book but some of the situations and some of the vocabulary seemed to me to be too overwhelming for a 9 to even 12 year old. As a read aloud...it could be ok. I truly don't know where to put this book and I am not familiar with his other works. So...again...scary, filled to the brim with imaginative situations and creepy characters but a very enjoyable reading experience. I hated the cover...not appealing at all. Nothing about this cover draws the reader into this book. Covers are soooo important!
March 4, 2016
The Deavys
By Allen Dean Foster
Age Range: 9 - 15 years
Paperback: 354 pages
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween (February 16, 2016)
Netgalley review, eBook free in exchange for honest review.
It came to my attention recently that my post about this fantastic new upper middle grade-young adult fantasy fiction book had not been received. To which I apologize! Both the head librarian and I agree that more books using great vocabulary, enchanting stories, and frankly a lack of romance need to be written. This marvelously imaginative tale written by a perennial favorite science fiction / fantasy author of mine showed up about two months ago on Netgalley. I was excited to read it, and I sat in our school chortling at clever turns of phrase, and fun action that managed to capture a fantastical quest but maintain a youthful exuberance I find lacking in a lot of this genre. I mean the kissing frog scene, or the snack cart where you tell the owner what you Wish to eat... Fantastic :-)
Our heroes are a group of siblings three 12 year old young ladies, N/ice, Rose, and Amber, who are mostly here, and one 16 year old brother Simwan who mostly wishes he wasn't. They have to use their Magic to recover the Truth that a malevolent Rat stole and took to New York. With them is their guardian/advisor, and overall funny mascot Pithfwid the cat, and assorted other non Ordinary creatures who help or hinder along the way. This is not a terribly deep or epic adventure, but it is a fun romp with a magical family with a backdrop of Ordinary people and Magic (non Ords) set in New England and New York.
I thought this was a wonderful short filled with funny characters with baffling to pronounce names. It isn't a hard read, but it is one that most of the target age is going to enjoy. The best part is it is not a gender specific tale. The three sisters do tend to run together in my mind (apart from the sometimes here N/Ice) but I loved Simwan' love hate relationship and fierce protective instinct for his sisters. In short I think our students would love this.
By Allen Dean Foster
Age Range: 9 - 15 years
Paperback: 354 pages
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween (February 16, 2016)
Netgalley review, eBook free in exchange for honest review.
It came to my attention recently that my post about this fantastic new upper middle grade-young adult fantasy fiction book had not been received. To which I apologize! Both the head librarian and I agree that more books using great vocabulary, enchanting stories, and frankly a lack of romance need to be written. This marvelously imaginative tale written by a perennial favorite science fiction / fantasy author of mine showed up about two months ago on Netgalley. I was excited to read it, and I sat in our school chortling at clever turns of phrase, and fun action that managed to capture a fantastical quest but maintain a youthful exuberance I find lacking in a lot of this genre. I mean the kissing frog scene, or the snack cart where you tell the owner what you Wish to eat... Fantastic :-)
Our heroes are a group of siblings three 12 year old young ladies, N/ice, Rose, and Amber, who are mostly here, and one 16 year old brother Simwan who mostly wishes he wasn't. They have to use their Magic to recover the Truth that a malevolent Rat stole and took to New York. With them is their guardian/advisor, and overall funny mascot Pithfwid the cat, and assorted other non Ordinary creatures who help or hinder along the way. This is not a terribly deep or epic adventure, but it is a fun romp with a magical family with a backdrop of Ordinary people and Magic (non Ords) set in New England and New York.
I thought this was a wonderful short filled with funny characters with baffling to pronounce names. It isn't a hard read, but it is one that most of the target age is going to enjoy. The best part is it is not a gender specific tale. The three sisters do tend to run together in my mind (apart from the sometimes here N/Ice) but I loved Simwan' love hate relationship and fierce protective instinct for his sisters. In short I think our students would love this.
December 1, 2015
I’ve always like Alan Dean Foster. I cut my teeth on him with Splinter of the Mind's Eye (the first Star Wars novel ever) and read the Spellsinger series in high school.
Here he presents a new story with a new world. Follow the Deavys – one brother and 2½ sisters as they discover the Truth. (Yes, with a capital “T”.)
This is one of those book that’s just a light, enjoyable read. It’s one of those stories where you’re sucked into a book, and are interested in the the characters and what they’re doing, but nothing jumps out at you to stop what you’re doing and take notice. That may sound bad – but it’s actually good. When the entire book is able to keep your interest and nothing pulls you out of the story.
I liked Foster’s use of magic and monsters. It’s not the same old urban fantasy. There’s enough different and creative.
And I liked the inclusion of gneeches!
Though things did seem a bit too easy – especially considering how dangerous it was supposed to be and how young these kids are.
But it was fun.
And I think this would make a great movie.
Recommended if you like light urban fantasy for ages middle grade through adult.
Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for a copy in return for an honest review.
Here he presents a new story with a new world. Follow the Deavys – one brother and 2½ sisters as they discover the Truth. (Yes, with a capital “T”.)
This is one of those book that’s just a light, enjoyable read. It’s one of those stories where you’re sucked into a book, and are interested in the the characters and what they’re doing, but nothing jumps out at you to stop what you’re doing and take notice. That may sound bad – but it’s actually good. When the entire book is able to keep your interest and nothing pulls you out of the story.
I liked Foster’s use of magic and monsters. It’s not the same old urban fantasy. There’s enough different and creative.
And I liked the inclusion of gneeches!
Though things did seem a bit too easy – especially considering how dangerous it was supposed to be and how young these kids are.
But it was fun.
And I think this would make a great movie.
Recommended if you like light urban fantasy for ages middle grade through adult.
Thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for a copy in return for an honest review.
March 12, 2016
I knew going in that this was a children's book, but I didn't realize how young it would skew. The main characters are a 16 year old, his 12 year old sisters, and their talking cat, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone older than a bookish 9 year old. That being said, the style is somewhat old-fashioned and almost picaresque, which would not necessarily appeal to a 9 year old. So I'm not sure who the audience is.
There are a few fun details -- the back of the pharmacist's shop in the Deavy hometown, Uncle Herkimer's apartment building in NYC, the enchanted snack cart in Central Park, one of the sisters being multidimensional! -- nearly all of which slot neatly in the modern storybook tradition of locating the magical in plain sight, and there are some cute plays on language. But overall, I found this book boring and strangely lacking in any narrative tension or characters worth caring about. The magic system is never explained beyond "It's Magic!", and apart from the sisters' rather twee magical abilities and the equally twee talking animals, nobody seems to have a real personality, and the quest to find the stolen "Truth" (an actual physical object never really given much further explanation), the ostensible plot of the whole book, was uninteresting. Perhaps it was left intentionally underdeveloped, to give younger readers the chance to apply their own interpretations, but I'm being generous here.
** I received a Review Copy of this book via NetGalley **
There are a few fun details -- the back of the pharmacist's shop in the Deavy hometown, Uncle Herkimer's apartment building in NYC, the enchanted snack cart in Central Park, one of the sisters being multidimensional! -- nearly all of which slot neatly in the modern storybook tradition of locating the magical in plain sight, and there are some cute plays on language. But overall, I found this book boring and strangely lacking in any narrative tension or characters worth caring about. The magic system is never explained beyond "It's Magic!", and apart from the sisters' rather twee magical abilities and the equally twee talking animals, nobody seems to have a real personality, and the quest to find the stolen "Truth" (an actual physical object never really given much further explanation), the ostensible plot of the whole book, was uninteresting. Perhaps it was left intentionally underdeveloped, to give younger readers the chance to apply their own interpretations, but I'm being generous here.
** I received a Review Copy of this book via NetGalley **
March 4, 2016
I was so excited to see this book.. I was raised reading Alan Dean Foster and am so happy to share this and some of his other works with my kids. My daughter, who is 15 and loves Harry Potter, was thrilled to read this story. She said it was as good as her favorites and reminded her of a cross between Potter and The Unwanteds.
Now for my review... This story is one that will keep for years to come. Filled with lots of magic. but with a 'real' location, kids will find it a wonderful escape from school and reality. The Deavys are your typical family with siblings, pets. and teenage problems. Also among those are the issues of being not normal or Non oridinary. With a theme filled with magic and characters that tear off the page and grip your inner child, this book is perfect for a night in or to remind us that magic still has a part to play. Turn off the TV and grab hold of this enchanting book.
Now for my review... This story is one that will keep for years to come. Filled with lots of magic. but with a 'real' location, kids will find it a wonderful escape from school and reality. The Deavys are your typical family with siblings, pets. and teenage problems. Also among those are the issues of being not normal or Non oridinary. With a theme filled with magic and characters that tear off the page and grip your inner child, this book is perfect for a night in or to remind us that magic still has a part to play. Turn off the TV and grab hold of this enchanting book.
March 2, 2016
Fun book about a 16 year old boy Simwan and his 2.5 sisters who go to New York to track down the bottle of 'truth' that has been stolen from their town. The kids are n-ord (not ordinary) vs regular people who are ord (ordinary) The kids have powers and their cat to guide and help them as they must track down a rat to get the truth back. Well written, fun took that I know my kids will enjoy reading too.
January 30, 2016
This one is a real snoozer!
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