Lady Friday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 5) [Paperback]

Garth Nix (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Keys to the Kingdom

Friday is here! The race is on to find the secret of the Middle House. The fifth eagerly awaited installment in Garth Nix's best selling fantasy series,The Keys to the Kingdom. Arthur Penhaligon's adventures in the House get ever more perilous as the week unfolds. On the fifth day, there was fear! Four of the seven Trustees have been defeated and their Keys taken, but for Arthur, the week is still getting worse. Suzy Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold have been captured by the Piper, and his New Nithling army still controls most of the Great Maze. Superior Saturday is causing trouble wherever she can, including turning off all the elevators in the House and blocking the Front Door. Arthur can't even find out what is happening back home. All he knows is that Leaf isn't on earth any more. She's missing and so are hundreds of other people who were transferred from regular hospitals to a private institution run by a 'Doctor Friday'. From there they have been taken somewhere else in the Secondary Realms, for Lady Friday's own horrible purposes. Amid all this trouble, Arthur's mother is also missing, and he must weigh up an offer from Lady Friday that is either a cunning trap for the Rightful Heir or a golden opportunity he must seize -- before Superior Saturday or the Piper beats him to it.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—Arthur Penhaligon is having a bad week. Of course he is now "Lord Arthur, Rightful Heir to the Architect, Commander of the Army of the Architect, and a whole lot of other stuff" since defeating Sir Thursday, but his job certainly isn't any easier. Lady Friday has supposedly abandoned her claim to the Middle House, and she has challenged Arthur, the Piper, and Superior Saturday to find the Fifth Key and gain control of the Middle. Meanwhile, Arthur's friend Leaf has been captured by Lady Friday and is being used to lure Arthur into her trap. She has become obsessed with "Experiencing" mortal memories and is bent on taking as many humans as she can. As with other books in the series, this story is replete with characters that are good, bad, and ambiguous. The plot is complex, and readers need to read the four previous books to have any sense of what is going on in this one. As always, Nix's writing is witty and the plays on words are entertaining. The author gives just enough new information to keep the series' fans coming back for more, but he doesn't answer many questions.—Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[Garth Nix is] the coolest read in the playground." Amanda Craig

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books; First Edition edition (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007175094
• ISBN-13: 978-1741145892
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,288,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Garth Nix has worked as a bookseller, book sales representative, publicist, editor, marketing consultant and literary agent. He also spent five years as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. A full-time writer since 2001, more than five million copies of his books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into 38 languages. Garth's books have appeared on the bestseller lists of The New York Times, Publishers Weekly (US), The Bookseller(UK), The Australian and The Sunday Times (UK). He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and two children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The mirror of their dreams, March 10, 2007

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lady Friday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 5) (Hardcover)

Don't even try to start this book
Without reading the rest
Friday's very near the end
With so much to digest

Monday ruled the Lower House
Tuesday, the Far Reaches
Wednesday had the Border Sea
With its expanding beaches

Thursday moved around the Maze
And in this one we see
Friday's left the Middle House
And given up her key

The Fifth Key is now up for grabs
And so the race is on
Arthur, Piper, Saturday,
The battle lines are drawn

At once they learn the shiny prize
Won't fall into their laps
Cunning Friday's paved the way
With lots of booby traps

Though not as gripping as book four
Book five is still a must
You'll read how Friday satisfies
Her deadly sin of lust

With Suzy Blue and Fred and Leaf
The Mariner and Will
This fighting, flying adventure
Is certainly a thrill

With only two more books to go
The tension level's rising
If they don't make a film of this
It'll be very surprising



Amanda Richards, March 10, 2007


Mister Monday (The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 1)

Grim Tuesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 2)

Drowned Wednesday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 3)

Sir Thursday (The Keys To The Kingdom, Book 4)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another wicked read, February 26, 2007

By 

Melanie Edwards "book worm" (Commerce, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Friday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 5) (Hardcover)

its been a long week for Arthur Penhaligan and unfortunatly for him, its not getting easier. only a few days after the defeat of Sir Thursday and Arthur gets a message from Lady Friday, ruler of the Middle House. it appears that she has left her domain and is seemingly handing it over, her domain, the key, and the Will. but Arthur is not alone, Superior Saturday and the Piper have received the same message and now it is a fight to the finish. meanwhile, Leaf has problems of her own. taken by Lady Friday, she must now escape from the Denizen's evil intentions and find her way back to Arthur before its to late. once again, Nix provides another enjoyable read. the characters are originall and the settings are as exotic as ever. i just hate that i'll have to wait another year for the next installment in the series. so if you love the Keys to the Kingdom series, Lady Friday will not dissapoint.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it!, February 12, 2007

By 

Monan "Paige Turner" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lady Friday (Keys to the Kingdom, Book 5) (Hardcover)

This book is quiet different from the others of this series so far. For example, Arthur is not totally helpless for he has the Fourth Key and some useful allies at his side to protect him. I'm very impressed by this book and personally thinks it's the best of the series so far. This wonderful novel is full of suspenseful action and a brilliant ending. I am, however, furious that I have to wait at least another year for the next book and terribly sorrowful that there are probably only two more books to read from this and outstanding series.

(I think there was several mistakes in the book too.)