Now You See It . . . (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [Library Binding]

Vivian Vande Velde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 - A delightful excursion into a world of elves, witches, and sock-eating spreenies. When Wendy, 15, finds sunglasses that fit her prescription perfectly, she begins to see little blue men and realizes that a popular girl in her class is actually a 90-year-old crone, and that the new kid has rather long pointy ears. Wendy is convinced that these strange visions will go away, until she stumbles into Kazaran Dahaani. There she finds out that the boy with the ears is actually an elven prince and that she inadvertently allowed him to be captured. Wendy is inwardly terrified but outwardly uncaring about the prince and demands to go home immediately. Unfortunately, a wayward thought transports her back 50 years before she was born, and she meets her grandmother as a young girl. Eleni is a caring, empathic person who instantly agrees to go to Kazaran to save the prince, and through her influence, Wendy begins to overcome her fears and become the person she's always wanted to be. She also comes to know her grandmother as a young woman, rather than as the bedridden Alzheimer's patient she is today. Vande Velde's sly humor and snappy dialogue make this story a joy to read. Wendy's disbelief and caution are understandable as are the underlying anger and sorrow about her grandmother. However, this is not a heart wrenching novel about loss, but rather a celebration of life. - Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ
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.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. When resentfully myopic teenager Wendy breaks her glasses en route to school, she replaces them with a pair of scavenged prescription sunglasses. Suddenly, blue imps emerge from a classmate's book bag, the most popular girl in school becomes a saggy crone, and formerly geeky Julian York develops both decent looks and pointy ears. As it turns out, Wendy's new glasses filter magic rather than sunlight, and the imps, the crone, and Julian are really visitors from a fantasy world--an elven kingdom with magical portals that provide instant transport anywhere, and any time, on Earth. One of these, located behind the nursing home of Wendy's grandmother, who is stricken with Alzheimer's, plunges Wendy on a wild journey through space and time and puts her face-to-face with her grandmother's pert, pretty, 18-year-old self. Their subsequent struggles against evil in Darwani Kalazar help Wendy come to terms with the sadness of their present-day lives together. Though the main characters are teenagers, the slapstick humor suggests middle-graders may be Vande Velde's most appreciative audience. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 275 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417731370
• ISBN-13: 978-1417731374
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Younger target audience, June 19, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now You See It . . . (Hardcover)

What would you think if the sunglasses you found on your lawn not only matched your prescription perfectly, but were also enchanted--allowing you to glimpse magic at work? This is the imaginative premise of Now You See It...

Wendy, the 15-year-old main character, suffers from typical teenage worries and woes such as family, popularity, and fitting in. While wearing the sunglasses she finds on her front lawn, she realizes that she can see things that are obviously not of this world...a popular cheerleader in her class resembles an ancient hag, the new boy suddenly sprouts pointy ears, and a little blue man is on the loose who wreaks havoc wherever he goes.

During a visit to her grandmother (who suffers from Alzheimer's), Wendy stumbles through a gateway into another world where she learns that an Elvin prince is in danger and only she can save him. Through a mix-up, she then travels back through time and meets her lively and kind 18-year-old grandmother who she enlists in her attempt to save the prince.

Dragons, witches and evil elves ensue, and Wendy learns a valuable lesson in appearances, bravery and loyalty.

Overall, Now You See It... is a Young Adult book that seems a bit confused over who its target audience actually is. Although the story features a 15-year-old heroine with older teen issues, it appears to be written for a much younger target audience, perhaps in the 10-12 year range. The humor is mostly of the slapstick variety--little blue men called Spreenies who enjoy eating socks seem more the type of character that a pre-teen would find engaging.

Armchair Interviews says: Young adult book that seems to be written for youngest in that age range.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll be sorry when it's over, January 3, 2005

By 

J. Fields "Kids Bookaphile" (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Now You See It . . . (Hardcover)

There are some books I read like medicine -- because they're good for me. And there are some that take me on such a wonderful ride that I'm sad to see it end. Now You See It is a fast, funny ride that leaves you longing for more. Wendy is a perfectly normal teen thrown into totally bizarre circumstances and her reactions ring true every time. We believe she sees dead people and we believe she slips into a magical land that completely freaks her out. The humor, the voice, and the story work together to catch you up and sweep you along with Wendy. You too will believe you finally know where those disappearing socks really go! I only wish I could read it for the first time again and again.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Now you see it . . . Fantasy in disguise . . ., August 22, 2005

By 

P. Hardy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Now You See It . . . (Hardcover)

If anything, "Now you see it . . ." is a good-time adventure focused on a girl named Wendy, who doesn't have the best life in the world. Her grandmother suffers from the mental disorder Alzheimer, while she visits every day in hopes that maybe she will remember her, Wendy's life with her family isn't all that it's cracked up to be either. She has a sister she barely communicates with, and a mother who doesn't seem to notice her troubles (though I cannot remember if the mother chose favorites or not). Life at school isn't wonderful either; Wendy has just lost her glasses and doesn't want to wear goggles as a substitute. Isn't she lucky that she happens to stumble across a pair of sunglasses that are exactly her prescription (though she isn't thrilled about wearing them at first). Wendy is on her way to school one day, the bus is stopped because of an accident. The entire student body proceeds to school on foot and that's when Wendy notices something she never noticed before; She could two of the deceased that were involved in the accident. Even worse she starts to see the popular school cheerleader as a decrepit looking hag trying pass off as a teenager, the school nerd appears to have pointed ears (like an elf) and Imp like creatures climbing out of a girl's bag hiding her lucky pen. From t here Wendy's so called bad luck only gets worse. "Now you see it . . ." is a book that I really got into from start to finish, thus completing it in 3-days. The character Wendy's adventures are just the kind of thing I look forward to in a book for teens, the characters she meets are quite interesting (especially the sock-eating Spreenie) and have diverse personalities, if not quirks. I loved the way the author incorporated the subplot concerning the glasses that Wendy found and the strange supernatural powers it possesses. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read out of an unlikely source. [a 5 out of 5]