If you’re a fan of the old-world style of fairytales; the kind that are a not only magical, but also a bit dark and dangerous, you may be familiar with contemporary storyteller Jonathan Auxier. If you’re not familiar with his work, than Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard, his newest adventure for older middle grade readers, is a great place to start.
Sophie is “a twelve-year-old girl with chewed fingernails, pigeon-toes, and a disturbingly intelligent gaze.” She lives with her father, her mother having died in Sophie’s infancy, above their bookshop in the little town of Bustleburgh. The town seems perfect—quaint, picturesque; the stuff of fairytales. And once upon a time, it was the stuff of fairytales, complete with magic. But those days are over. For twelve years now, the Inquisitor has been collecting all nonsense in Bustleburgh. And now, finally, he’s gotten around to the ultimate source of nonsense: books.
It’s just a few days before Pyre Day, when all the books in Bustleburgh that contain any sort of fantasy, whimsy, or stories will be burned to ashes in a giant fire. Sophie, being the daughter of a bookseller, a bookmender herself, and a lover of stories, feels pain over the loss of all the town’s books. But she’s only a young girl, and powerless to stop it. Nevertheless, on this morning, she sneaks just two books off the pyre, determined to save what she can. She’s done it before. But this time she’s caught, chased down and captured by Prigg and his guards. Just as she’s about to be arrested, a new hero arrives on the scene, a boy who swings from rooftops, leaping across enormous spaces and moving faster than Sophie can blink, all while completely blindfolded. Readers of Auxier’s prior work will cheer, as they recognize the boy for who he is, the amazing Peter Nimble.
Isn’t it the best feeling when characters you love return in a new adventure? And an adventure is what Jonathan Auxier has spun here, in the most heartstopping, edge-of-your-seat kind of way. Shortly after meeting, Sophie, Peter, and Peter’s sidekick, a man-horse-cat named Sir Tode, find themselves bound together on a mission to secure four books. The Book of Who, The Book of What, The Book of When, and the Book of Why contain the keys to unlocking the world of magic and all its secrets: the world Inquisitor Prigg is trying to destroy. But the books, each once protected by a Storyguard, are spread far and wide. One by one, those Storyguards have disappeared; either killed or missing. Sophie, now in possession of the Book of Who, now has the job of finding the other three books and bringing them all together.
The task is hard enough. But every good story has a villain or two. There’s Inquisitor Prigg and his second-in-command, Torvald Knucklemeat. But there’s also the mysterious sorceress Madame Eldritch and her mandrake, Taro. Madame Eldritch has her own reasons for wanting the books, but more than that, she knows the answers to questions about Sophie’s mother. Answers that Sophie is desperate to find. Then there are the mythical beasts; creatures Sophie thought existed only in stories, but are in fact real, and more terrifying than she could have ever imagined.
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard is an adventure story of the best possible kind. I’m fairly certain I held my breath frequently during the entire last 100 pages of the book. But it’s also something more. Auxier’s characters are multi-layered, more than just good vs. evil. Just when you think you have a character figured out, Auxier adds a new dimension. Good is tainted by greed. Evil comes out of hurt and old wounds. Very little is as black and white as it first seems. Even the stories themselves, words printed on paper, are something more. With the right reader, under the right circumstances, those words hold power. The power to both create and destroy. This is a book not just for adventure seekers (though there’s plenty of adventure) but for those who understand the power of words, the power of story, and the impact of these stories on our every day lives.
Bravo, Mr. Auxier. I can’t wait to meet these characters again.
Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard is on shelves now.