Series Review: The House at the Edge of Magic, The Tower at the End of Time and The Bookshop at the Back of Beyond
By Amy Sparkes
Difficulty rating ***
Star rating *****
Scariness rating ****
What it’s about
The House at the Edge of Magic is about Nine, who is a thief and discovers the house when she robs a woman who is secretly a witch. She meets Flabbagast, the Wizard; Dr Spoon, the Warrior and a Scientist; and Eric, who makes terrible pancakes (it’s not his fault - entirely). The House is under a curse which was created by a witch because Flabbagast and the Witch had an argument in the letterbox. Can Nine break the curse?
The Tower at the End of Time is about a Tower which holds an amazing prize if you complete the Hopscotch tournament (which is much harder than it sounds). Can Flabbagast get an answer to how to create the House’s hiccups from the Tower, if he gets that far in the competition….?
The Bookshop at the Back of Beyond is about a land of Beyond where you have to buy something from every single shop in Beyond (it’s a real land, in the book). If you don’t, your house sticks to the land for 3 months and you have to clean the disgusting car park every week (bleurgh!) Doctor Spoon wants to look for his partner to help him make gold, so can they find Professor Dish and make their shopping experience successful? But I have a feeling that trouble will arrive….
Why I liked them
I liked the House at the Edge of Magic because it starts at the exciting bit near the beginning, page 28! It is full of mystery but actually the answer to solve the curse is actually the silliest answer of all and quite obvious, so when you find out you will kick yourself!
I liked The Tower at the End of Time because I liked the idea that a Tower could answer all your questions, but not everything is as simple as it seems. The hopscotch tournament reveals that Flabbagast is not called Flabbagast the Magnificent but Flabbagast the Unworthy because he has no powers but surprisingly I liked it that it’s a bit funny and he makes it through by using physical actions that you’re not allowed to do in school e.g. kicking and pushing. The Tower traps Flabbagast and his friends but can they get out and answer the questions? I like how much mysteriousness there is and suspense.
I liked The Bookshop at the Back of Beyond because I liked the idea that you have to shop in every single shop in Beyond. That’s a lot of stuff and a lot of shops! When they shop in the final shop, I like how there is a big big fight and lots of secrets are revealed. I also like the feeling that another book is going to come out soon to reveal what happens next….dun dun dun!
A few words from Mum
Grace really enjoyed these books and the premise sounds really exciting. She did say that they were at the limit of the scariness factor that she would read, so bear that in mind if you have a little one who doesn’t like scary books!