Rook

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Author(s)

William Ritter

Publisher

Algonquin Young Readers

Genre(s)

Age Range

12+

Release Date

August 22, 2023

ISBN

1643752405

This standalone adventure set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series brims with humor, heart, and—of course—a hefty dose of supernatural mayhem.

Abigail Rook never intended to be the mortal bridge between the human and supernatural world. But now, the power of the Sight--and all the chaos that comes with seeing the essential truth of everything, every human, fairy, werewolf, enchanted slip of paper, and municipal building, at all times--is hers alone. With this overwhelming new gift, she should be able to solve crimes and help New Fiddleham, New England find calm in its supernatural chaos.

The only problem? She has no idea what she’s doing.

And New Fiddleham isn't waiting for Abigail to be ready. Local witches and other magical beings are going missing, as tensions between human and supernatural residents curdle into a hatred that could tear the city apart. Abigail's fiance, Charlie, works alongside her to unravel the magical disappearances, but as a shapeshifter, he's under threat as well. Then Abigail's parents appear, ready to take her back to England and marry her off to someone she's never met. Abigail has no choice but to follow her Sight, her instincts, and any clues she can find to track a culprit who is trying destroy everything she holds dear.

Editor review

1 review

Jackaby is Back!

August 05, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

Jackaby is back baby!

Rook by William Ritter is a continuation of the Jackaby series by William Ritter, with a focus on our lovely Abigail Rook. Abigail never wanted to be the bridge between the mortal realm and the supernatural one. But being the only with the sight -the ability to any members of the supernatural kind- make things a little more complicated for her. Especially when local witches and other magical beings are suddenly going missing. Joined by her shapeshifter fiancé Charlie, Abigail must fix the ties between humanity and the supernatural. All while avoiding her parents wanting to drag her back to England and marry her off to a man she doesn't know.

I loved the original Jackaby series, and I'm so glad the series is being resurfaced with this title. Even if it is only just a standalone. It made me realize just how much I missed these characters and setting.

What I liked most about this particular novel, as opposed to the rest of the previous series, was that this one had a lighter tone. It has more charm and wit, while still keeping to the original material. It also helped develop Abigail's character, as opposed to keeping her in the shadow of Jackaby. But, as it is a standalone, is serves best as a soft epilogue to the series I love.

The only thing I wish we would have seen, was more of the original characters. I feel like we had less time to dwell on the past, and where the series previously was. Which caused my poor nostalgic heart to go back and re-read the whole series over again. Yet, I still liked how we got a new breath of fresh air into this series. I think it was well done, and will help new readers find this series in all it's amazingness.