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Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | J FICTION NIX | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Are you a troubletwister?Jaide and Jack Shield's lives are changing in a very, very strange way. The weather is turning against them. Magical disasters occur when they're around. And a mysterious explosion has just destroyed their house...from the inside.Without knowing why, the twins are stolen away to live with Grandma X--a relative they've never, ever met. At Grandma X's house, things are even stranger. Weather vanes point in the opposite direction of the wind. Doors appear and disappear. Cats talk.Jaide and Jack don't know the reason behind all this strangeness. They don't know that they're troubletwisters, and that they must defend the world against a dark, evil force. The time has come for them to discover the truth--and the powers that come with the truth.Are they ready?
Author Notes
Garth Nix was born in Melbourne, Australia on July 19, 1963. He graduated from the University of Canberra in 1986 and worked various jobs within the publishing industry until 1994. After a stint in public relations, he returned to books and took up writing as a career. He is the author of Blood Ties, Clariel, Newt's Emerald, the Old Kingdom series, The Seventh Tower series, and The Keys to the Kingdom series. In 1999, he received a Golden Duck Award for Australian Contribution to Children's Science Fiction. To Hold the Bridge was named Best Collection by the 2015 Aurealis Awards. His novella, By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers, was named Best Science Fiction Novella by the 2015 Aurealis Awards. In 2018, he won the 2017 Aurealis Award for the Best science-fiction short story.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Twelve-year-old twins Jade and Jack's world turns upside down when a bizarre "storm" blows their home apart and nearly takes them with it. Following the strange event, their father disappears from their lives and they are taken to live with their mysterious Grandma X. From the moment they arrive, the twins' lives become ever more shocking with talking cats, a door that appears and disappears, a grandmother who can control the elements, and more. The twins are unaware that they are "troubletwisters" and must defend the world against evil. They soon realize that they have powers of their own that can, at times, be wild and dangerous. Garth Nix and Sean Williams's fun fantasy (Scholastic, 2011) is read by Miriam Margolyes who does a nice job of providing voices for all the characters and pacing her delivery perfectly for the non-stop action. A fun listen for fantasy lovers.-Deanna Romriell, Salt Lake City Public Library, UT (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In this enjoyable romp, first in a planned series, 12-year-old twins Jaide and Jack Shield, who have just had their house blown up under mysterious and possibly magical circumstances, are unceremoniously shipped off to spend time with their eccentric Grandma X. There, they soon discover that they are "trouble-twisters," apprentice magicians just coming into their powers and, thus, wildly dangerous. Grandma X's job is to train them and to keep them safe both from themselves and from "The Evil," a monstrous force from another universe that is trying to conquer our world by telepathically taking over individual creatures, melding them into what looks like "a giant worm... made up of rats and cockroaches and red ants and other nameless insects, all with white eyes and all stuck together, crawling and writhing like a single creature." When "The Evil" proves stronger than expected, the twins are left to defeat the monster unaided. Although not a particularly original offering in the "magical children destined to take on powerful foes" genre, it should still prove satisfying to a wide range of middle school readers. Ages 8-12. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Twelve-year-old twins Jack and Jaide move in with Grandma X after their house is mysteriously destroyed. The kids learn they're "troubletwisters," whose "Gifts" will help defeat "The Evil." Viewpoint switches between the twins (seemingly randomly) as the story moves along. Readers will have to look to a sequel for answers about the magical world Nix and Williams are building. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Twelve-year-old twins Jaide and Jack are nothing short of astonished when their mysterious father's reappearance blows up their house, and their mother quickly spirits them away to stay with Grandma X, whom they have never even met, while their house is rebuilt. Strange things begin to happen with both twins Jack can see in the dark and nearly disappear, while Jaide feels that she is almost able to fly and they can't help but wonder if Grandma X is responsible. But when foreboding voices try to convince the twins to join their ranks, they realize that Grandma X may be their only hope in resisting the Evil. 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. Especially suitable for reluctant readers, this title would be a great choice for Percy Jackson fans, who will clamor for the next installment.--Moore, Melissa Copyright 2010 Booklist
Excerpts
Excerpts
From Troubletwisters ++Come to us. Troubletwisters, join us... welcome, most welcom!++ The twins sup around and tried to head for the door, though now it was only a tiny rectangle at the end of a distorted tunnel of walls. Their feet still moved, but it was no use--the rod was fixed in place above the bed and they couldn't let go. ++We see you! We see you!++ crowed the voice triuphantly. ++So close, so close!++ As the voice spoke, the watercolor animals on the walls twisted and writhed out of their frams, morphing into hideous, three-dimensional shapes with bulging eyes like monstrous goldfish, eyes that rotated and shifted to peer intently at the twins. Even worse than their attention was the fact the eyes were entirely white, without iris or pupil, and the whiteness was buzzing and blurry, like the worst kid of fluorescent light. ++We see you! We see you!++ Jaide almost yanked her arms out of her shoulder sockets as she tried to free herself from the rod. She kept her head down as she struggled, trying not to meet the gaze of those terrible eyes, the eyes that she felt were drawing them in, sucking them into some other place, some other dimension Excerpted from Troubletwisters by Garth Nix, Sean Williams All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
