This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. Gradually-too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic-it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. 10-14)Ĭhainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.Įvery four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Sporadic black-and-white illustrations by a new, edgy illustrator underscore Inky’s haunting dark side and bring life to the tale’s fantastical creatures. However, Clemency also becomes tangled up in a nasty situation with the Scrivener Bees, challenging her with the monstrous decision of saving her parents or Make Believe, a choice that could be unfathomable and disturbing for some young readers. Determined to save Make Believe, Clemency is enlisted by its creatures to stop Inky. However, before Inky can harness the Forgetting Book, he must learn the name of the Book’s fairy-a secret to be revealed by the deadly Scrivener Bees, who respond to questions by painfully tattooing their answers on the questioner’s flesh. This third adventure continues the story of the devilish changeling Inky, who now seeks control of Make Believe through the power of the Forgetting Book, an ancient tome containing each magical creature’s true name, a resource that ultimately allows Inky to command them.
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