School Library Journal Review
Gr 7-10-In Chris Wooding's horror/fantasy novel (Orchard Books, 2005), Poison is a teenage girl with striking violet eyes who lives in a dank, miserable swamp world and constantly quarrels with her mother. When Poison's baby sister is stolen by phaeries and a sinister changeling is left in her place, Poison sets out to rescue her. The teen must leave her secure but stifling environment and enter the Realm of Phaerie in her quest to rescue Azalea. Once there, he meets spider queen, bone witch, and other terrible creatures. She is helped by a worldly-wise storyteller who outfits her for the trip. Some of Poison's adventures mimic familiar sounding fairy tales. Poison's love of reading and books creates an interesting focal point as it contributes to her ability to succeed in the frightening and dangerous world she has entered to pursue an end that offers some startling revelations. Narrator Virginia Leishman has a British-accented voice and uses inflection and tone to convincingly assume the roles of a multitude of characters. Horrifying characters and tension-filled events make this a good listen for those who enjoy very scary tales and dark and dangerous fantasy scenarios.-Jane P. Fenn, Corning-Painted Post West High School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Smart and sassy Poison, the eponymous 16-year-old heroine of Wooding's (The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray) dark fantasy is told, "Some of us are born in the right place, and some of us have to go look for it." The erstwhile Foxglove (she renamed herself to spite her stepmother) does not fit among the complacently miserable people of the Black Marshes, a fetid swamp where daily existence is dicey. When her baby sister is swapped for a changeling on Soulswatch Eve, Poison is unwilling to accept fate, and heads out to find the Phaerie Lord to demand her sister's return. Like Dorothy, she picks up a retinue on her journey: a kindly merchant, a dimwitted but sunny witch's maid and the novel's most likeable character, Andersen the cat. This unhappy band narrowly escapes one scary scrape after another, including a creepy brush with very big spiders. Readers who have made note of the many allusions to the tropes and archetypes of fantasy laced throughout the narrative will be on sound footing when, late in the story, Poison literally meets her maker, a human ruler of the Realms whose power lies in the written word. The abrupt turn from the familiar quest story to a more meditative discourse on authorship, free will and destiny is awkward, but the ultimate resolution satisfies. Unlike Dorothy, Poison finds she doesn't need to go home to find a place for herself. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Middle School, High School) Wooding's first novel, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray (rev. 11/04), was electrifying and deeply atmospheric; his second is even more so. When the self-named Poison's little sister is stolen by a ghoulish monster called the Scarecrow, she sets out to confront the Phaerie Lord to demand her sister's return. On her way she encounters the dangerous rotting man, Lamprey; the terrifying and cannibalistic Bone Witch, who guards the entrance to the fairy realm; and other antagonists including the malevolent part-spider, part-woman Lady Asinastra and the devious Scriddle. Such charismatic and well-imagined foes might have upstaged a lesser hero, but Poison's force of character -- courageous, self-reliant to the point of loneliness, and stubborn -- keeps her in the foreground and makes her ingenious ploys seem entirely credible. A plot thread in which Poison discovers that they are all only characters in a story bogs down in metafiction for a while, but Wooding pulls out of it and redeems the conceit by the end. In a novel almost unparalleled for density and invention, each scene of danger sings with tension. Lovers of adventure, horror, and suspense should keep an eye on this talented author. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6-9. Although Wooding's second stand-alone youth fantasy has its share of violent deaths and other terrifying episodes, the title refers not to a deadly toxin but to its eponymous violet-eyed heroine. Quick-witted, fierce, and fed up with living in a community where residents view misfortune as inevitable, Poison fights back when her baby sister is spirited away by "phaeries." She faces obstacles both physical and mental. In one pivotal scene, she meets her own creator, an all-powerful storyteller whose revelations prompt ruminations about self-determination and the nature of reality. Some readers won't appreciate the shift from familiar quest-story action to quiet, more metaphysical upheavals, and Poison doesn't emerge triumphant in the way that many will expect. Still, Wooding's serpentine plotting and lush, imaginative writing have something to offer to both the more mature audience of The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray0 (2004) as well as slightly younger genre fans. Try this on readers who enjoyed Angie Sage's Magyk 0 (2005) . --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2005 Booklist
