The Keepers: The Box and the Dragonfly by Ted Sanders (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Keepers: The Box and the Dragonfly by Ted Sanders April Spisak Sanders, Ted The Keepers: The Box and the Dragonfly; illus. by Iacopo Bruno. Harper/HarperCollins, 2015 534p ISBN 978-0-06-227582-0 $16.99 R Gr. 5-7 Horace is a quiet kid, a patient boy who loves his parents and generally observes life from the sidelines. He surprises himself, then, when he wanders into a strange building because he believes it had his name on it; he then gets roped into an ancient battle between two secret groups, the Makers and the Keepers, who have never agreed on how to handle mystical artifacts. Horace turns out to have some latent powers of his own, and once he receives the Box of Promises, a device possibly fated to be his, he is ready to do his part to help the good guys—though maybe the division here is more complicated than merely good vs. evil. Horace makes a true friend in Chloe, a lonely, headstrong girl who has been dealing in magic since she was much younger, and their initially tentative then fierce alliance is one of the book’s most memorable elements. Horace’s dedicated parents are a plus—it is a relief to see a child character who is clearly formed by love and effective guidance, and the fact that the mother might be hiding some magical awareness of her own is an effective twist. Patient readers who are not daunted by hefty page count or a slow-building pace will find this well worth the investment, and they’ll likely relish the idea of further adventures to come. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois