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Summary
Summary
Goldie Roth is a trained thief and a skilled liar. Along with her friend Toadspit, she's supposed to be one of the Keepers of the mysterious Museum of Dunt. But although she desperately wants to be a Keeper, she will not leave her sick parents to do so.
But when Toadspit's sister Bonnie is stolen, he and Goldie are forced to follow the child-stealers to the neighboring city of Spoke. Along the way, Toadspit too is captured, and Goldie is caught up in the Festival of Lies, where every word she says means something else and no one can be trusted. There, Goldie discovers some dangerous secrets--secrets that the child-stealers will kill to protect. She will need all her skills as a thief and a liar if she is to survive and save her friends.
Author Notes
LIAN TANNER is a playwright and a captivating storyteller. She lives in Australia.
Reviews (4)
Horn Book Review
As the second volume in the Keepers trilogy opens, it's been six months since the climactic events of Museum of Thieves (rev. 11/10). Goldie Roth is hesitant to accept the position she desperately wants -- the Fifth Keeper of the Museum of Dunt -- because of her ailing parents, but when Bonnie, the younger sister of her friend Toadspit, is kidnapped, Goldie and Toadspit follow her trail to the neighboring city of Spoke. Toadspit, too, is captured, and Goldie must navigate the strange city during the Festival of Lies, when everything is topsy-turvy -- especially the truth. While the first volume had a complete narrative arc, the second lacks resolution, ending with a cliffhanger. The storytelling remains just as accomplished, and the tantalizing mysteries deepen, but be aware that this book serves primarily as a bridge to the third and concluding volume. jonathan hunt (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
The second book in the Keepers Trilogy finds intrepid Goldie Roth, having helped bring down the Flugelman and his Blessed Guardians, home caring for her parents instead of becoming the Fifth Keeper as she has been called to do. When her pal Toadspit and sister Bonnie are spirited away by snottie stealers, Goldie must leave her parents to find her friends. The backstory is neatly delivered, and the adventure and its new locale are exhilarating. Still, this seems mostly an interesting interlude until Goldie and crew return home to Jewel to fight for the fate of their city.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-In this fast-paced and lively sequel to Museum of Thieves (Delacorte, 2010), Goldie Roth struggles to accept her destiny as Keeper of the Museum of Dunt even as she becomes embroiled in another adventure. Mysterious villains snatch her friends Toadspit and Bonnie, shipping them to Spoke. Goldie follows their trail and faces the labyrinthine challenges of the city's annual Festival of Lies. The festival demands citizens speak only untruths, with a lucky few winning a "Big Lie," a prize that allows magic to make the falsehood true. Searching for the criminal who kidnapped her friends, she meets some new comrades, including a mute boy whose pet mice tell frighteningly accurate fortunes and a large cat with uncanny instincts. When Goldie locates her friends, she must try to tap into a big, time-traveling lie to save them from a sticky situation. The "Big Lie" transforms the characters into legends from the past and explains Goldie's unique abilities. The novel ends with Goldie and company heading off to face the evil Fugleman once again. Goldie's puzzle solving, the prescient mice and enormous cat, and the tricky dialogue will appeal to children who like memorable characters and a twisting and untwisting plot. Libraries that own the first book will want to purchase this installment.-Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The second title in Tanner's Keepers Trilogy delivers a fantasy as thickly plotted as but less successful than Museum of Thieves (2010).When Goldie and Toadspit witness the kidnapping of Toadspit's sister Bonnie, the two stow away in pursuit on a boat bound for the city of Spoke. When Toadspit is likewise captured, it's up to Goldie to find the siblings and bring them safely back to the city of Jewel. At times aided by two street urchins, Pounce and mute Mouse (whose dozen white mice play supporting roles), and accompanied by a mysterious cat and the Museum's slaughterbird, Morg, Goldie tracks elusive villains during Spoke's Festival of Lies. Everything's back to front and upside down, and masked people talk in opposites. When Goldie captures one of the Big Liesa maelstrom-like force in which one's spoken question is enacted like a wild dreamshe connects with her mythical warrior alter-ego, Princess Frisia. By leveraging the Museum's power and through their own wits, the children thwart their captors. Goldie vows to fight anew for Jewel, where a war fomented by the duplicitous Fugleman is about to begin. The chapters depicting powerful activity in the Big Lie and at the Museum aren't fully integrated into the main plotand the clunky Festival of Lies can't hold a candle to the alluring tumult of the magical Museum.Muddy, if often riveting. (Fantasy. 9-12)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
A Message from the Museum The scream woke Goldie Roth from a deep sleep. She sat bolt upright, thinking for a moment that she was back in the terrible events of six months ago, with the city of Jewel on the brink of invasion and her friend Toadspit about to be murdered in front of her eyes. Then she heard Ma's quiet voice in the next room, and she knew that Pa had had another nightmare. She slipped out of bed, threw a dressing gown over her shoulders and hurried into her parents' room. "Pa?" she said. "Are you all right?" Pa smiled weakly up at her from a knot of bedclothes. "Sorry to wake you, sweeting," he mumbled. "Your father had a bad dream," said Ma. "But it's gone now." And she too smiled, though her knuckles were white and her fingers trembled. It pierced Goldie to the heart to see them trying to pretend that nothing was wrong. She unknotted the bedclothes and tucked them around Pa's shoulders, wishing there were something more she could do. "Were you dreaming about the House of Repentance again?" she said. Pa flinched. He and Ma glanced at each other, and a world of pain and sorrow passed between them. It was a little more than ten months since the two of them had been thrown into the dungeons of the House of Repentance. They had never told Goldie what had happened to them there, but she could see the scars that were left behind. Pa had dreadful nightmares. Ma had a cough that sounded as if it would tear her lungs out. They were both too thin, and even now, long after their release, they had an exhausted look about them, as if something was gnawing at them from the inside. Goldie wished that they would talk to her about it. But they never did. Instead, they sighed and changed the subject. "A--a message came for you today, sweeting," said Pa, struggling to sit up. "Where did I put it? It was from the Museum of Dunt." This time it was Goldie who flinched, although she hid it so well that her father didn't notice. Memories flooded through her. Toadspit--his whole body plastered in mud--turned toward her and laughed. A warm canine tongue swept across her face, and a deep voice rumbled, "You are as brave as a brizzlehound--" With an effort, she dragged herself back to the present. Pa was fumbling for a scrap of paper that lay on the table beside the bed. "Here it is." His forehead creased. "It's from Herro Dan and Olga Ciavolga. It seems that they want you to be the museum's Fifth Keeper!" Fifth Keeper of the Museum of Dunt . . . The familiar longing welled up inside Goldie so suddenly and so strongly that she could hardly breathe. She said nothing, but Pa must have seen some echo of it on her face. "Do you--do you want to be Fifth Keeper, sweeting? Because--" "Because if you do," interrupted Ma, "we wouldn't stop you." "We wouldn't dream of stopping you!" "It's just--" "It's just that it's such a big responsibility," said Pa. "We're worried that it might be too much for you." "And--" Ma gripped Goldie's hand. "And you'd have to be away from home such a lot." She began to cough. Goldie patted her gently on the back and tried not to think about the Museum of Dunt, and how much--how very much--she wanted to be Fifth Keeper. "Of course," said Pa, chewing his lip, "it's possible that Herro Dan and Olga Ciavolga really need your help. If they do--" "If they need you, then you mustn't hesitate," said Ma. She tried to let go of Goldie's hand but didn't quite manage. "Your father and I talked about this earlier." "We did," said Pa. "And we both agreed. If they need you, you must go!" Goldie could hardly bear it. They were doing their best to be fair, but she could see how much they hated the thought of her being away from home for even a little while. And so she forced every scrap of longing out of her voice and said, "They don't really need me. They've got Sinew and Toadspit to help them." Pa frowned, wanting to believe her. "Are you sure?" "You're not staying home because of us, are you?" said Ma, still clutching her hand. "You mustn't do that. We want you to be happy." A warm canine tongue swept across her face-- Goldie smiled. "I am happy," she said. And because she was a trained liar, she sounded as if she meant it. Excerpted from City of Lies by Lian Tanner 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.
