Troubletwisters Book 2: The Monster [Hardcover]

Garth Nix (Author), Sean Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2012 | Age Range: 8 and up | Series: Troubletwisters (Book 2) | Lexile Measure: 790L (What's this?)

The spectacular new middle-grade fantasy series from bestselling authors Garth Nix and Sean Williams.

Since moving to the town of Portland, many bizarre things have happened to Jaide and Jack Shield. The twins have discovered their own magical powers--and have seen how they can go horribly wrong. They have met cats who talk and humans who keep silent about deep, dark secrets. And they have begun their fight against a deadly force known only as The Evil.

Still, Jaide and Jack have yet to meet the strangest resident of Portland. It’s a creature that only comes out at night, a beast that defies human description. Jaide and Jack have never seen it . . . but they’re about to. And when they do, destruction and disaster won’t be too far away.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Troubletwisters

"[An] enjoyable romp." — Publishers Weekly

"Troubletwisters is an exciting beginning to what promises to be a fast-paced series... [this is] a story that can be enjoyed by anyone." — Bookpage

"Full of adventure and the unexpected, the first book in Nix and William's new series is delightfully twisted. The pacing is perfect, the setting is eerily dark, the faceless Evil rings true, and the resolution is satisfying." — Booklist

About the Author

Garth Nix is the New York Times best-selling author of the Seventh Tower series, as well as the acclaimed novels SABRIEL, LIRAEL, and ABHORSEN. He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and children.

New York Times-bestselling author Sean Williams lives in Adelaide, South Australia. He is the author of over sixty published short stories and twenty-two novels, and has written several novels in the Star Wars universe.

Product Details

• Age Range: 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (June 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545258987
• ISBN-13: 978-0545258982
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Moving in the Right Direction June 10, 2012

By Pop Bop TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Be aware. As of the date of this review there are two Kindle versions of this book listed, and they don't appear to be connected yet. This one is from Scholastic and costs $9.99. The other is from Egmont and costs $5.98. I don't know how this happened, but just fyi. I posted the following review on both sites:

I like Garth Nix's work. The "Keys to the Kingdom" series is remarkably creative and well done, with an engaging hero and a complicated but comprehensible alternate world. The "Seventh Tower" series is action packed, and based in a coherent, complex and imaginatively created world. The problem with both series is that they were awfully padded out in the middle, and could easily have been, at most, trilogies. When I read the first Troubletwisters book I thought we were in for another good start-slow middle-strong finish opus.

Well, the very good news is that this book two is, if anything, better than book one. In book one the twins were awfully dense about their developing powers and the adults were miserly with explanations, so that you were frustrated by how slowly the story was being set up. This book two takes off like a rocket, with a lot more action, character development and advancement of the story. (Although, chapter one has a lot of narrative explanation of the back story from book one. I like that because, since I read a lot of similar books, it reminds me of where we are, what happened before, and who the major characters are. Some authors try to weave that info into the story and dialogue, but I prefer a straight intro that gets that out of the way.)

The twins remain appealing characters, and the sibling rivalry angle has been mostly abandoned. The introduction of a new character, Tara, adds some nice variety. Like everyone else I'd like a villain a little more developed than "the Evil", but actually that works better than a complicated and lame villain backstory. I'm always surprised and pleased by how advanced the vocabulary is in Nix's books, and how much regard he has for the sophistication of his fans' reading ability, and that holds true here. The books aren't "overwritten" or flowery, they just seem to read at a slightly higher level than you might expect. There is no talking down to the readers in these books.

So, while we aren't breaking any new ground here, this is a nice addition to the Troubletwisters universe, and a perfectly fine, indeed better than average, fantasy/action/adventure.

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good March 4, 2013

By Austin

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Though I must say, the first Troubletwisters was my favorite; this was a pretty good book. At some points, the plot got a little slow and it was hard to understand, but if you keep going its good. It's one of those books that you don't really enjoy until you have finished reading it.

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book ever February 10, 2013

By Tanya mckee

Format:Kindle Edition

Secret Secrets, you never know the truth till the end and it takes forever I LOVE this book so much!! Good reads you rarely find one this Is one of those times