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Summary
Summary
"A first-rate fantasy for middle-grade readers," declares Booklist in a starred review, comparing Gabriel Finley to Harry Potter, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, and The Mysterious Benedict Society.
A tangle of ingenious riddles, a malevolent necklace called a torc, and flocks of menacing birds- these are just some of the obstacles that stand between Gabriel and his father, Adam Finley, who has vanished from their Brooklyn brownstone. When Gabriel rescues an orphaned baby raven named Paladin, he discovers a family secret- Finleys can bond with ravens in extraordinary ways. Along with Paladin and three valiant friends, Gabriel sets out to bring his father home. They soon discover that Adam is being held captive by the evil demon Corax-half man, half raven, and Adam's very own disgraced brother-in a foreboding netherworld of birds called Aviopolis. With help from his army of ghoulish minions, the valravens, Corax is plotting to take over the land above, and now only Gabriel stands in his way.
"A vivid, compelling fantasy that sends you off to a world you will not soon forget." - Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth
"A great read for fantasy lovers who have worn out their copies of Harry Potter ." - School Library Journal , Starred
"Brimful of antic energy and inventive flair, like the best middle-grade fantasies ; readers, like baby birds, will devour it and clamor for future installments." - Kirkus Reviews
Author Notes
George Hagen is the author of two novels for adults. The Laments -a Washington Post bestseller and recipient of the William Saroyan International Prize for writing-has been compared to the work of John Irving and Ann Tyler and described by Publishers Weekly as "a funny, touching novel about the meaning of family." Tom Bedlam was called "a Victorian three-decker novel that shines with contemporary clarity and moves at the speed of 'The Sopranos'" by the Los Angeles Times. Hagen had lived on three continents by the time he was twelve. The father of three children, he now lives in Brooklyn. This is his first book for kids. To learn more, visit gabrielfinley.com and follow gabriel-finley on Tumblr.
Reviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Starred Review. Gr 5-8-Gabriel Finley loves riddles. His father taught him one every day; every day, that is, until he disappeared. For three years Gabriel's father has been missing and his father's somewhat dotty but loving sister is taking care of Gabriel. Ravens also love riddles. They use riddles to distinguish themselves from valravens-evil birds who never laugh, who eat human flesh, and who turned humankind away from friendship with ravens. On Gabriel's 12th birthday, his aunt gives him his father's diary and he discovers that his father was an amicus, someone who could merge with a raven and fly through the sky. He also discovers that his father's older brother, Corax, was also an amicus who turned evil and disappeared. Soon after, Gabriel rescues a baby raven and discovers that he, too, is an amicus. The raven, Paladin, tells Gabriel that they must find an object called a torc, which can grant any wish, before Gabriel's Uncle Corax does. The titular character, along with Paladin; Septimus, a former inmate who knows his father; and three school friends, sets out to rescue of his father and, in essence, save the world. Hagen has crafted a tale that contains riddles, magic, courage, loyalty, and compassion in a way that is sure to engage readers. Gabriel inhabits a dark world where friendship is the guiding light and differences are respected and valued. This is a great read for fantasy lovers who have worn out their copies of "Harry Potter." The ending suggests that more is to come, and more will be welcome.- Kathy Kirchoefer, Henderson County Public Library, NC (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Adult author Hagen (The Laments) makes his children's debut with a fantasy adventure touched with whimsy, satire, and the quirky love of urban fauna that characterizes New Yorkers. Gabriel Finley's parents are absent, having disappeared in separate mysterious incidents that his guardian, Aunt Jaz, refuses to discuss. But she does pass along his father's diary, which outlines how Adam Finley became the amicus, or human interlocutor, of a raven named Baldasarre. There's also the matter of Adam's creepy brother, Gabriel's uncle Corax, who likewise disappeared, leaving behind a portrait to loom over Gabriel as he seeks to solve the riddles, literal and figurative, set by ravens, uncle, and missing parents. With an unlikely crew of mismatched Brooklyn schoolmates, Gabriel takes up the mantle of the ancient, bittersweet relationship between humans and ravens in order to untangle the even more twisted relationships between human and human. Though familiar tropes abound, Hagen's sensibility is unique-the desk-wrangling scene is not to be missed. There's a hint of sequels to come, but this quest is more than satisfying on its own. Ages 9-12. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Gabriel Finley's early training in solving riddles becomes vital when he meets Paladin, the young raven who will become his companion. With Paladin and three human friends, Gabriel begins to investigate his father's disappearance. He also learns the legend of the Torc, an evil enchanted necklace that grants wishes for a price. Goldstrom narrates with an easy and believably boyish approach, assuming a sneering tone when voicing the villainous Corax and reading the girls' parts without unnecessary falsetto. Audio is a good medium for riddles: it allows listeners room to ponder the riddle before the answer is revealed. And since the Torc can only be gotten and kept with unanswerable riddles, listeners will have plenty of chances to puzzle their brains before story's end. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Aunt Jaz has always evaded Gabriel's questions about his father's disappearance and won't discuss Uncle Corax (whose unpleasant, bird-of-prey visage hangs among the family portraits in their Brooklyn mansion); then shortly before Gabriel's 12th birthday, she gives him his father's childhood notebook, which reveals the magical bond between humans and ravens. Simultaneously, Paladin, a raven chick being raised by his mother nearby, learns that Gabriel's family, like his own, possesses the rare ability to communicate across species and that when a human and raven form a close amicus bond, the two can join together in one body, human or raven. Paladin's mother explains how riddlesfunny ones, especiallywhich ravens love, protect them from their ancient enemies, valravens, avian ghouls whose inability to appreciate riddles gives them away. The first valraven, Huginn, born a raven like his brother, Muninn, sought immortality from a cursed, magical torc that promised him eternal life if he consumed the flesh of his dead amicus. Now Valravens seek the torc again while Gabriel and Paladinsupported and hindered by a cast of quirky characters, male and female, human and avianvow to stop them and rescue Gabriel's father from the underground city of Aviopolis. Hagen's first children's book, flavored with Norse mythology, is brimful of antic energy and inventive flair, like the best middle-grade fantasies; readers, like baby birds, will devour it and clamor for future installments. (Fantasy. 9-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Gabriel Finley has lived in his Brooklyn brownstone with his aunt since his father disappeared several years earlier. His mother has been gone since he was a baby. The thing he enjoys most is solving riddles, unaware that this skill will be essential when it comes to finding his father. Adult novelist Hagen offers a first-rate fantasy for middle-grade readers that pulls elements from other great stories. Like Harry Potter, Gabriel must use all his wits to secure two magical objects from a dark lord, his evil uncle Corax, who is part human, part raven. Like Lyra in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, Gabriel has a daemon, the young raven Paladin, with whom his life is intertwined. And like Reynie in Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society books, Gabriel surrounds himself with a group of offbeat friends who each have their own problems to solve. Yet this story, told from several points of view, is fresh: full of ravens, riddles, and the ongoing urge to make things right in a world where much has gone wrong. Though the narrative is a bit choppy in places, the characters carry the day, with their humor and strength. Humor is, in fact, one of the book's selling points, often in the form of the characters' witty repartee. Middle-graders looking for a soaring fantasy that's not too hard, not too easy, will find this just right.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2014 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
I AM a dark urban fairy tale with strangely behaving birds and even more strangely behaving furniture. I am also the middle-grade debut for an author of two previous books for adults. What is my title? If you answered "Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle" or "Heap House," congratulations: You are remarkably well versed in this fall's children's books. If not, just laugh; you'll pass the test anyway. In "Gabriel Finley," one raven always greets another with a riddle, but - wonderfully - the riddle is a test of humor, not acumen. If a raven fails to laugh, it is a sign that she is not a real raven but rather a monstrous valraven who has eaten her human soul mate, her amicus, in exchange for a taste of immortality. If, on the other wing, as it were, a raven laughs, then she is a member in good standing of her clever species. By extension, we poor readers need not answer the riddle either, only get the joke. A generous policy for a book positively riddled with riddles, some difficult even for a dedicated adult. When we meet him, Gabriel has few companions, human, raven or otherwise. His father disappeared two years ago, his mother shortly after his birth. Now 12, Gabriel lives in Brooklyn with an aunt who is haunted by a past she will only hint at. He entertains himself by solving riddles - an old hobby of his father's. Unbeknown to Gabriel, his family history is intimately connected to the secret world of ravens; and soon he is flying off on an adventure with his new amicus, the young Paladin. With the help of three kids, an adult thief and a walking desk (yes, you read that correctly), Gabriel traces his missing father to a hellish underworld. Before he can rescue his father he will have to face a fierce feathered foe, and of course, solve a multitude of riddles. Occasionally, Hagen's plot feels a bit forced. (For all his wariness, Gabriel spills his secrets rather freely.) Yet his story is never less than engaging. At times, it is enchanting. I give this fantastical book a hearty cackle. At first glance, you might mistake Edward Carey's "Heap House" for a new edition of Dickens illustrated by Edward Gorey. In fact, the novel's delightfully dour, hand-painted portraits are the work of Carey himself; and its setting is not just 19th-century England but an odd alternate universe seemingly sprung from the detritus of the Industrial Revolution. Our young orphan hero is Clod Iremonger. Like all Iremongers, he lives in Heap House, a crumbling mansion that sits upon an enormous ocean of trash known as the heaps. As miserable as they are eccentric, the Iremongers are weighed down not just by their woes, but literally: Each has a birth object, a personal albatross from which he may never part. Clod's object is a bath plug that he wears on a chain like a pocket watch. He calls it James Henry, because that's what it calls itself. For as long as he can remember, Clod has heard the objects talking, each repeating its name. It's driving him mad. To make matters worse, Clod is about to be married off to his mean cousin Pinalippy. Birth object: a doily. From this awful fate Clod is saved by a nosy servant, Lucy Pennant, another orphan. (We children's book authors are ruthless when it comes to knocking off parents.) The novel alternates between the perspectives of Clod and Lucy. As these two awkward characters fall in love, or at least in like, objects in the house start taking on lives of their own. Eventually, even the surrounding seabirds are in a frenzy (see riddle at top). And the sinister history of the Iremongers bubbles up to the surface of the heaps. A satisfying turn of events perhaps, but let me assure you this garbage-strewn book is not happily wrapped up with a sustainable recycling program. Carey remains true to his dark, skewed vision all the way to the perverse but perfect end. "Heap House" is weird, yes. Spectacularly so. The book implicitly protests the dehumanizing effects of mass production. It's not much of a stretch to apply its themes to a publishing industry beholden to marketplace demands for more and more of the same. "Gabriel Finley" and "Heap House" both seem likely to be the first books in series. Here's hoping these two talented and original authors stay strange. PSEUDONYMOUS BOSCH is the author of the Secret Series middle-grade novels. His new novel, "Bad Magic," has just been published.