(The 100 Cupboards trilogy, Book 2)
N. D. Wilson
Yearling
Fiction, YA Fantasy
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: In the short time he's lived with his aunt and uncle in rural Kansas, Henry York has changed in more ways than he could possibly have imagined, and learned secrets that perhaps should have been left unlearned. Thanks to the magical cupboards in his attic room and his late grandfather's diaries, Henry and his cousin Henrietta have walked on other worlds... and unwittingly released the undead witch Nimiane from her exile in Endor. He also discovered that he is not who he always thought he was. Like his uncle Frank before him, Henry was born in another place - but, with his parents (or the people he always called his parents) home from South America, he's due to be shipped back to Boston, where he'll be smothered by nannies and boarding schools again. He can't go back to being the sheltered boy he used to be, and he can't let go of the lure of the cupboards and the mystery of his origins, but his decision to search for his home world may lead to dire consequences. For Nimiane's power is returning, and she remembers well who bound her in the tomb of Endor... just as she recognizes that man's son, and the untapped power waiting to be awakened in him.
REVIEW: Just like the first book, Dandelion Fire moves fast and builds to a breakneck climax. Henry's powers, wakened by the titular weed, add a new dimension to his character, especially since magic in Wilson's universe doesn't come as easily as it does to some young mages. Its waking can be lethal, and learning to use it is a painful, slow process, known to drive some would-be mages mad. A few characters don't seem to have purposes yet, most notably the boy Richard (who followed Henry home from one of his first cupboard explorations, and has been little more than a tagalong since), but there's one more book to go, so maybe they'll come into their own then. I don't know if I'll be able to wait for the paperback edition to find out how the story ends.
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