Furthermore (Furthermore #1)

Alice Alexis Queensmeadow does her best not to make waves, but she can't help it: she's almost entirely devoid of color in a world defined by it, and her "Surrender" is coming up, along with her 12th birthday. Everyone in Ferenwood "was born with a bit of magical talent," and the Surrender is the time to show them off, receiving an important task in return. When Oliver Newbanks, a boy who once teased her because of her appearance, approaches her for help completing his task, she reluctantly agrees, but only because he says he knows where her missing father is. Oliver and Alice set off for Furthermore, where nothing is as it seems. Mafi's (the Shatter Me trilogy) first middle grade novel is a lush, enchanting fantasy full of magic and mayhem, including paper foxes, people who live in eggshells, and magical maps. While Oliver and Alice start off at odds, their friendship, forged in adversity, is the best part of a fast-paced, funny, and richly imaginative story that embraces and celebrates individuality. Ages 9-12. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (Aug.)

Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Gr 5-7--Twelve-year-old Alice of Ferenwood is swept up in an adventure when she sets out to find her three-years-lost father after her demonstration of magical talent fails to impress her village. In her world, color is intimately connected with magical ability. Everyone around her has brightly colored skin and hair. Alice, however, was born without any color--she has ultra-pale skin and light hair. She gains a companion on her journey to locate her father, a boy named Oliver who has the deceitful gift of persuasion and who provides a gateway into the neighboring fantasy land of Furthermore. In the vein of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, this title, with its colorful world-building, is sure to delight, the prose so saturated with the fantastic that the described reality becomes difficult to differentiate from metaphor. The tongue-in-cheek section headings are delightful (e.g., "Turn the page for more chapters" and "This might be my favorite part") but sporadic and mostly for fun, since the chapters are unnumbered and unnamed. Filled with danger and arbitrary rules, the realm of Furthermore is so set against interlopers like Alice and Oliver that their eventual success relies on happenstance. The fast-paced narrative, with a focus on action and adventure, comes to an unexpected halt when the story is expeditiously resolved. The book attempts to depict characters with a rich variety of hair and skin tones, but the plot features a protagonist who reflects the typical whiteness that besets most fantasy. VERDICT An unusually imaginative, entertaining fantasy with mostly minor deficiencies that prevent it from becoming pure magic.--Erin Reilly-Sanders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"[Mafi's] prose is as fresh and fragrant as the flowers her characters eat, the descriptions so vibrant that at times one can practically smell the words on the page." —New York Times Book Review

★ "A fast-paced, funny, and richly imaginative story that embraces and celebrates individuality." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Rich, luscious, clever prose." —Kirkus, starred review