Barbara Else

I really wanted to like The Queen and the Nobody Boy -- the cover is great and the premise intriguing. And, for the most part, I did enjoy it. But I also found it unusually slow, for a children's book, for me to get through, and I often felt as though I were missing something, like background information or other explanations. The Queen and the Nobody Boy is described as a stand-alone companion to [b:The Traveling Restaurant: Jasper's Voyage in Three Parts|13131931|The Traveling Restaurant Jasper's Voyage in Three Parts (A Tale of Fontania #1)|Barbara Else|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348960358s/13131931.jpg|15799731], but I do wonder if perhaps reading The Traveling Restaurant first, which I did not, would help with understanding The Queen and the Nobody Boy.

Although the book is technically a fantasy, I would recommend it more to children who are interested in adventures or mysteries. The concept of magic is a central plot point, but the actual action of the book doesn't involve all that much magic or other fantasy elements. It does, however, involve quite a lot of adventure (flying through the air on a train, escaping from an enemy city, distracting giant poisonous toads) and mystery (Where are Hodie's parents? Will the Queen develop magical abilities? Where are the missing treasures?).

Note: I received a digital copy of this book through NetGalley.… (mehr)

Jasper is turning twelve, but for some reason his parents won’t tell anyone his real age. They keep him inside most of the time and won’t let him go to school. But when he tells them that he spotted Lady Gall, the Provisional Monarch of Fontania, try to poison his little sister Sibilla, they gather up the family and bolt. What do they know that they’re not telling him?

When he gets left behind, Jasper ends up boarding a strange boat called The Traveling Restaurant, whose crew consists of an eclectic duo, Polly and Dr. Rocket. The longer Jasper travels with these two, the more secrets he uncovers about who they are, who his family is, and who really ought to be ruling over Fontania. He also discovers why Lady Gall has outlawed magic – and where it went when it became illegal.

Brave the storms and the pirates, the monkeys and the downright rude orphan girls, with Jasper as he journeys on the ship that’s known in every town as the Traveling Restaurant…and find out why it’s much more than what it seems.… (mehr)