Jessica (HDB)

In the vein of a Lemony Snicket novel, The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons opens with tragedy. Lucy's family is taken from her quite suddenly and her evil Uncle Victor comes to live with her as her legal guardian. His plan is to take over her family home. What is a young girl to do to fight back? Although the book opens with a rather sad note, I can tell you without a doubt that once it takes off it's hard to stop reading.

Lucy is quite a protagonist. Brilliant beyond her years, she is an easy character to fall in love with. Full of courage, and willing to take on whatever comes her way. In fact, one of Lucy's biggest draws is her ability to accept the unexplained. It allows magic to flow into her life and makes for an even more enchanting read. I see young readers being drawn in by the magical elements. The message here is clear and simple:“Courage is not about being unafraid... Courage has to do with moving forward in the face of fear.”

I was simply disappointed by the lack of answers upon ending Lucy's story. The magic in this story is dazzling, but never really explained. We meet some wonderful characters during our romp through Lucy's life, but we never really see into their pasts. I'm hoping that this means this is the first of a series that will eventually wrap things up. I for one will be happy to follow Lucy to wherever she ends up next!