![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
The Blurb On The Back:
Dear Sir or Madam,
The minions of Castle Hangnail seek a new master to overtake all dark and evil duties and responsibilities. Magical abilities are absolutely required*, as is a knack for smiting, blighting, and general malevolent behaviour. An intimidating appearance is a plus!
If interested, please send word via raven to the guardian of Castle Hangnail.
*Except in the case of Mad Scientists
Sincerely
The Minions of Castle Hangnail
When Molly shows up at Castle Hangnail’s doorstep to fill the vacancy for a Wicked Witch, the castle’s minions are suspicious. After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite … polite. It’s not exactly what they had in mind for wicked. But the castle desperately needs a Master or else the Board of Magic will decommission it, leaving the minions without the home they love.
Molly may not be as spectacularly cruel and devilishly demanding as the castle’s previous Masters, but when she produces some rather impressive magic, the minions feel hopeful she’ll be approved by the Board of Magic. They even start to like her. It turns out, though, that Molly is hiding quite a few secrets, including one that could mean the end of Castle Hangnail.
The Minions of Castle Hangnail have a problem: they’ve been without a Master since the “death” of Vampire Lord Voltan and having filed 11 extensions already with the Board of Magic, they’re under pressure to find a new Master now or Castle Hangnail will be decommissioned, sold to property developers and the Minions distributed to new Masters. Desperate, the guardian wrote to evil sorceresses, wicked witches, mad scientists inviting them to the Castle but it’s not an attractive proposition – the Castle isn’t very big and doesn’t have a lot of money.
So it’s a relief when 12-year-old Molly arrives to take up the role as Wicked Witch. She’s much younger than the Castle’s previous Masters and the guardian isn’t sure just how Wicked she really is, but provided she passes the 4 tests set by the Board of Magic to prove that she can serve as the new Master, he’s prepared to accept her. The problem is that Molly is hiding a secret – one that could bring the whole weight of the Board of Magic down on Castle Hangnail’s inhabitants for good …
Ursula Vernon’s self-illustrated humorous fantasy novel for children aged 9+ is an absolute delight from start to finish with a fine cast of characters, sharp humour, a lot of warmth and wonderful illustrations. I absolutely adored the relationship that Molly develops with the guardian (who she names Majordomo) – each of them unsure of the other, each of them with secrets but each devoted to the Castle and the other inhabitants. My favourite scenes are those where Molly takes on a property developer who’s bullying people in a nearby village and has designs on Castle Hangnail but I also loved her interactions with the Minions (Pins and Lord Edward were my favourites, but I also loved the Minotaur cook who tolerates no balderdash and has an aversion to the letter Q) and a scene where she transforms a downtrodden donkey into a dragon had me laughing out loud. Vernon keeps tight control of her plot and the final quarter (where Molly’s deceptions are revealed and a genuine Evil Sorceress challenges her for the Castle) is excellent and I liked the way she draws a distinction between being evil and being wicked and ultimately shows the importance of friendship, loyalty and kindness. I don’t have a bad thing to say about this book and urge you to read it.
The Verdict:
Ursula Vernon’s self-illustrated humorous fantasy novel for children aged 9+ is an absolute delight from start to finish with a fine cast of characters, sharp humour, a lot of warmth and wonderful illustrations. I absolutely adored the relationship that Molly develops with the guardian (who she names Majordomo) – each of them unsure of the other, each of them with secrets but each devoted to the Castle and the other inhabitants. My favourite scenes are those where Molly takes on a property developer who’s bullying people in a nearby village and has designs on Castle Hangnail but I also loved her interactions with the Minions (Pins and Lord Edward were my favourites, but I also loved the Minotaur cook who tolerates no balderdash and has an aversion to the letter Q) and a scene where she transforms a downtrodden donkey into a dragon had me laughing out loud. Vernon keeps tight control of her plot and the final quarter (where Molly’s deceptions are revealed and a genuine Evil Sorceress challenges her for the Castle) is excellent and I liked the way she draws a distinction between being evil and being wicked and ultimately shows the importance of friendship, loyalty and kindness. I don’t have a bad thing to say about this book and urge you to read it.
The minions of Castle Hangnail seek a new master to overtake all dark and evil duties and responsibilities. Magical abilities are absolutely required*, as is a knack for smiting, blighting, and general malevolent behaviour. An intimidating appearance is a plus!
If interested, please send word via raven to the guardian of Castle Hangnail.
*Except in the case of Mad Scientists
Sincerely
The Minions of Castle Hangnail
When Molly shows up at Castle Hangnail’s doorstep to fill the vacancy for a Wicked Witch, the castle’s minions are suspicious. After all, she is twelve years old, barely five feet tall, and quite … polite. It’s not exactly what they had in mind for wicked. But the castle desperately needs a Master or else the Board of Magic will decommission it, leaving the minions without the home they love.
Molly may not be as spectacularly cruel and devilishly demanding as the castle’s previous Masters, but when she produces some rather impressive magic, the minions feel hopeful she’ll be approved by the Board of Magic. They even start to like her. It turns out, though, that Molly is hiding quite a few secrets, including one that could mean the end of Castle Hangnail.
The Minions of Castle Hangnail have a problem: they’ve been without a Master since the “death” of Vampire Lord Voltan and having filed 11 extensions already with the Board of Magic, they’re under pressure to find a new Master now or Castle Hangnail will be decommissioned, sold to property developers and the Minions distributed to new Masters. Desperate, the guardian wrote to evil sorceresses, wicked witches, mad scientists inviting them to the Castle but it’s not an attractive proposition – the Castle isn’t very big and doesn’t have a lot of money.
So it’s a relief when 12-year-old Molly arrives to take up the role as Wicked Witch. She’s much younger than the Castle’s previous Masters and the guardian isn’t sure just how Wicked she really is, but provided she passes the 4 tests set by the Board of Magic to prove that she can serve as the new Master, he’s prepared to accept her. The problem is that Molly is hiding a secret – one that could bring the whole weight of the Board of Magic down on Castle Hangnail’s inhabitants for good …
Ursula Vernon’s self-illustrated humorous fantasy novel for children aged 9+ is an absolute delight from start to finish with a fine cast of characters, sharp humour, a lot of warmth and wonderful illustrations. I absolutely adored the relationship that Molly develops with the guardian (who she names Majordomo) – each of them unsure of the other, each of them with secrets but each devoted to the Castle and the other inhabitants. My favourite scenes are those where Molly takes on a property developer who’s bullying people in a nearby village and has designs on Castle Hangnail but I also loved her interactions with the Minions (Pins and Lord Edward were my favourites, but I also loved the Minotaur cook who tolerates no balderdash and has an aversion to the letter Q) and a scene where she transforms a downtrodden donkey into a dragon had me laughing out loud. Vernon keeps tight control of her plot and the final quarter (where Molly’s deceptions are revealed and a genuine Evil Sorceress challenges her for the Castle) is excellent and I liked the way she draws a distinction between being evil and being wicked and ultimately shows the importance of friendship, loyalty and kindness. I don’t have a bad thing to say about this book and urge you to read it.
The Verdict:
Ursula Vernon’s self-illustrated humorous fantasy novel for children aged 9+ is an absolute delight from start to finish with a fine cast of characters, sharp humour, a lot of warmth and wonderful illustrations. I absolutely adored the relationship that Molly develops with the guardian (who she names Majordomo) – each of them unsure of the other, each of them with secrets but each devoted to the Castle and the other inhabitants. My favourite scenes are those where Molly takes on a property developer who’s bullying people in a nearby village and has designs on Castle Hangnail but I also loved her interactions with the Minions (Pins and Lord Edward were my favourites, but I also loved the Minotaur cook who tolerates no balderdash and has an aversion to the letter Q) and a scene where she transforms a downtrodden donkey into a dragon had me laughing out loud. Vernon keeps tight control of her plot and the final quarter (where Molly’s deceptions are revealed and a genuine Evil Sorceress challenges her for the Castle) is excellent and I liked the way she draws a distinction between being evil and being wicked and ultimately shows the importance of friendship, loyalty and kindness. I don’t have a bad thing to say about this book and urge you to read it.