Product Description

The Spiderwick Chronicles leave the old-fashioned charm of New England far behind and head south for some fiendish faerie fun in the hot Florida sun. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his life has been turned upside down after his developer father remarries and moves his new wife and daughter into the soon-to-be completed Mangrove Hollow.

But an "expedition" to a nearby lake turns up a little nixie with a giant problem - the huge, lumbering, fire-breathing variety - and it's up to Nick; his stepsister, Laurie; and his big brother, Julian (plus a familiar face from the original Spiderwick Chronicles) to figure out the best way to stop a host of rampaging giants before all of Florida goes up in smoke.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116054 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-18
• Released on: 2007-09-18
• Format: Deckle Edge
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689871313
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Holly Black spent her early years in a decaying Victorian mansion where her mother fed her a steady diet of ghost stories and books about faeries. Her first book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale, was an ALA Top Ten Book for Teens, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and has been translated into twelve languages. Her second teen novel, Valiant, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a Locus Magazine Recommended Read, and a recipient of the Andre Norton Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts. Visit Holly at www.blackholly.com.

Tony DiTerlizzi is co-creator and illustrator of the bestselling Spiderwick Chronicles, the author and illustrator of Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World MoonPie Adventure, as well as the Zena Sutherland Award winning Ted. His brilliantly cinematic version of Mary Howitt's classic The Spider and The Fly earned Tony his second Zena Sutherland Award, and recieved a Caldecott Honor. Tony's art has also graced the covers of such well-known fantasy writers as Peter S. Beagle, J. R. R. Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, and Greg Bear. He has also made significant contributions to Dungeons and Dragons and Wizards of the Coast's Magic; The Gathering. His first chapter book, Kenny & the Dragon debuted as a New York Times Best Seller. He lives with his wife, Angela and their daughter in Amherst, MA and Jupiter, FL. Visit Tony on the web at diterlizzi.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

In Which There Are Many Different Sorts of Developments

After his mother died, Nicholas Vargas stopped bothering. His Aunt Armena had told him to be good and not to bother his father, but he decided that her advice could extend to everyone and everything. It seemed that Nick's brother had the same idea -- Jules never hung around long enough to bother anyone anymore. So the whole family kept on not bothering each other right up until Nick and Jules's dad suddenly decided to get married again.

Leading his new stepsister up the carpeted stairs, Nick had to keep his jaw clenched to stop himself from shouting. He hated that he had to give up his room and move in with Jules, who snored all night and woke up at the crack of dawn to go surfing. If his father hadn't married his stepmother after only six months of dating, Nick would still have his own room. And he wouldn't be stuck with a bedroom-stealing stepsister. Laurie was almost exactly his age and the biggest, weirdest loser he'd ever met. She bothered everyone.

Nick thought he was being fair about it, too, because he'd been called a loser and a nerd and a spaz himself. He was eleven, kind of fat, and bad at sports, while Julian shredded waves and made it to state in track. The only thing Nick thought he was really good at was school, and that was mostly about being quiet and following directions. So, okay, he knew he wasn't cool. At least he knew better than to advertise everything lame about himself. Laurie seemed to be proud to be the lamest person alive.

"What are you thinking about?" Laurie asked him, hugging a box to her chest. Her skirt brushed the floor, making the little bells along the hem jingle.

Nick cringed and set down another box of her crap on the canopy bed. All the boxes seemed to be labeled unicorns, fairies, or books about unicorns and fairies. A few of them had even bled glitter onto the hall rug.

"Things I hate," said Nick.

"Like what?" Laurie tucked a tangle of blond hair behind her ear. Bracelets clattered at her wrists.

He was tempted to tell her. "Clowns," he said instead. "They creep me out."

"I hate my name," she told him, like he'd just given her the green light to overshare. "I wish I was called Lauranathana."

"That's stupid," said Nick. "Everyone would make fun of you."

"I don't care what people think," Laurie said simply, like she meant it.

He wanted to snap at her, to tell her that everyone cared what people thought about them, but his dad had told him to be "civil" on moving day. He sighed. "Okay, so what stuff do you like?"

He looked out of her window at the empty concrete shells of houses going up all around theirs. When it had been his window, he'd liked to watch as workers poured and smoothed foundations and cut planks and nailed them in place. He liked to smell the sawdust and see that his dad's development was finally, really happening. Even though there was still some swampy forest left, soon it would all be cut back and turned into golf courses, swimming pools, and lots of other cool things. Stuff he liked.

He'd imagined playing out there with other kids, but the construction was behind schedule. Nothing was done. His dad kept complaining about the weather -- it was the hottest summer he could remember. And that, along with the brushfires and water rationing, had everyone on edge. The sun had turned the grass on the front lawn crunchy and brown, and Nicholas's dad hadn't filled the pool in the backyard, even though he usually filled the pools as soon as they were built. Now, with the rainy season about to start, Nick's whole summer was turning out to be as lame as his stepsister.

"I like all this stuff, I guess." Laurie stacked books onto her white beadboard shelves. They were mostly fantasy and fairy tales, but she'd set aside a big tome that had gold letters and what looked like a hawk on the cover.

"What's that?" he asked.

"A field guide. So you can tell which kind of faeries are which. I bet there are a lot around here, since there's so much nature."

"You don't really believe in that stuff, do you?" He took the book from her and flipped through it. It was filled with paintings and sketches of things that made the hair along his arms stand up. They didn't look like faeries. He flipped to the back. "This isn't some kind of ancient magical text. It's fake. It was published in 2005 in New York."

"It's a reprint," Laurie told him.

"Look," he said, turning the book toward her. "It says 'fiction' inside. Explain that."

"They had to put that there," Laurie said, taking it out of his hands. "So they don't get in trouble or sued. And if you don't believe me, you can ask the authors yourself, since they're signing -- "

"Hey, kids," Nick's father called from downstairs in that new, cheerful voice he used around Laurie and Charlene. "Lunch!"

After Nick and Julian's mom died and before their dad decided he needed to impress Charlene and her wacko daughter, lunch had been cold slices of leftover pizza from the night before or, on at least one occasion, a piece of apple pie with cheese melted on it. Now, apparently, it was alphabet soup and bologna sandwiches. With the crusts cut off. Nick wanted to hurl.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Julian was already sitting at the granite island. Earbud cords hung from his head, and his thumbs jabbed at the game console cradled in his hands. His hair was stiff with salt. He didn't even look up when Nick sat down next to him.

Laurie still had the stupid book tucked under one arm. "After lunch, I'm going to go look for faeries," she told her mother.

Charlene smiled mildly. "Maybe Nick can go with you. Show you around the neighborhood."

Nick scowled at his soup. Charlene was okay, but he wished she wasn't around all the time. And he wished she would stop trying to make him be friends with her daughter. Although Charlene hadn't seemed to figure it out yet, he was willing to ignore them if they'd just ignore him back.

Laurie took a bowl and crumbled a handful of Goldfish crackers into it, making a mess. It never seemed to matter what Laurie did or how bothersome she was. No one was going to tell her to stop.

"Faeries," Nick's dad said with a grin, tucking a paper napkin into his collar. "I thought they were only in England. Down here, the palmetto bugs'll get them if the lizards don't."

Nick snickered.

"They're not all small, you know," said Laurie. She clearly didn't think his dad's joke was funny, which, in Nick's opinion, only made it funnier.

"It's too hot to look for anything," Nick said, smiling down at his reflection in the granite. "Especially things that don't exist."

Nick's dad frowned and then rubbed the bridge of his nose. Maybe he was upset his joke hadn't gone over all that well. "Go help her look. Keep her from getting lost."

Nick pushed the noodle letters in his soup so they spelled l-a-m-e. Lame. Like his summer. Like his stepsister. Like how he felt as he slurped his soup down and, without saying a thing, followed Laurie out into the yard.Copyright © 2007 by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black

Customer Reviews

An outstanding return to the world of Spiderwick!
Over the course of a few months, the Grace family - twins Simon and Jared, and their older sister, Mallory - spent much of their time discovering creatures of a netherworld, after they moved into a dilapidated old house that had been in their family for years. Given the sight when they were lucky enough to meet a goblin who spit in their eyes, the three children worked side-by-side day and night, researching mythical creatures in their relative - Arthur Spiderwick's - notes and field guides. It was by doing this that the children were able to locate their missing father, and bring their family back together. Since then, their adventures have been limited. However, they did appear in a series of books known as THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, which have quickly gained popularity among the masses, looking to believe in something out-of-this-world. Which is how, with the assistance of Arthur Spiderwick's Field, a new generation of believers have entered the picture.

Nicholas "Nick" Vargas is devastated when his father marries Charlene, quickly moving her and her completely off-the-wall daughter, Laurie into their sunny Florida home in Mangrove Hollow. Suddenly, Nick feels more displaced than he ever thought imaginable. Quickly relegated to give up the privacy of his own bedroom, and share the same living space with his older brother Julian "Jules" who does nothing but listen to his iPod, read surfing magazines, and talk about surfing on the phone with his girlfriend, Cindy. Nick is shocked by how quickly his life has been flipped upside down. Each and every box Laurie moves into her new "room," is labeled unicorns, fairies, or books about unicorns and/or fairies. And, to make matters worse, she carries around something titled Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide everywhere she goes. Nick knows that there's no such thing as mermaids, or other mythical creatures. To him, they're all part of a fairytale world that exists only in books. But everything changes for him when he discovers a four-leaf clover. Suddenly, he's able to see things that aren't there for others, even Laurie; and he's convinced that maybe, just maybe, Laurie isn't as whacked out as he originally thought. When Laurie has the chance to develop the Sight, as well; and the two meet a nixie who needs their help, they know that they have to assist her, or risk being tortured forever. But with a giant on the loose, helping one little nixie is proving to be quite a bit harder than they originally thought, and they begin to wonder if they'll be able to muster up the same courage as the Grace children, and accept their newfound duty.

I fell in love with Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi's SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES back when they were first released, and was disheartened when the series came to an end. So you can imagine the surprise and joy I was overcome with when I learned of the release of THE NIXIE'S SONG. Laurie and Nick are wonderful new characters who, while not the Grace children, are just as interesting and fun-loving. Laurie's free-spirit like nature makes her come off like a modern-day fairy herself - what with her lithe limbs, long, flowing skirts, and hippie-esque hair. Her ability to lie her way out of just about anything is unexpected, yet humorous; while her determination to discover something out-of-this-world is admirable. Nick is also quite appealing. His reluctance to accept both Charlene and Laurie is understandable; however, he maintains a fairly diplomatic nature. While he primarily enjoys spending hours at a time working on model boats and playing video games, the fact that he is willing to humor Laurie by accompanying her on various misadventures shows displays a kind side to his nature. The bickering stepbrother/stepsister relationship they share with one another is humorous, and never overshadows the story; and an unexpected appearance by both Jared and Simon presents a tiny bit of nostalgia for the old stars of the show. However, probably the most enjoyable thing about THE NIXIE'S SONG would have to be how Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi introduced themselves as characters in the book, and actually came off as a fraudulent author and illustrator, just out to make a quick buck. This revelation was quite humorous, and added a strange dimension to the storyline, which will certainly give readers a chuckle. An outstanding return to the world of Spiderwick!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

Stay with the original series
I agree with the Matthew Carpenter review regarding the language but I am even more disappointed regarding it. I personally have over 15,000 - yes 15 THOUSAND pieces of children's literature with an age range from pre-K to high school. Therefore I understand and appreciate the differences in story line and language used. I have been in education at the elementary and college level (for children's literature)for 37 years so I am considered a resource of information among those who know me. The first five books of the Spiderwick Chronicles were suggested to me by students and we all enjoyed them together and couldn't wait to get our hands on the next book.
After reading Nixie's Song, I realized caution was the keyword - due to the language. I wondered if my reaction was due to age - talked to different age groups of adults and the opinion was overwhelmingly a negative for the use of the words. Those with young children - BEWARE. By the way... I didn't feel this book was up to par with the original stories.

Not as good as original series; Bad language unnecessary
We enjoyed the original series immensely. We were very disappointed, however, with this book. The characters were not particularly engaging. The bad language was unnecessary. We were disappointed with the changes in Jared's character (quite snotty, now). It almost seems that the book was written in a hurry while the authors were somewhat depressed.