Jinx (Blackwood novel)
Jinx is the first novel in a middle-grades children's fantasy trilogy by Sage Blackwood, published by Harper Collins in 2013. Set in a sentient primeval forest called The Urwald, the novel follows the adventures of a boy named Jinx who is abandoned in the forest and rescued by the wizard Simon Magus. Jinx grows up in Simon's house. After the wizard does a spell on Jinx that causes him to lose his ability to see others' emotions, Jinx runs away to seek help from the evil Bonemaster.[1]
The second and third books in the trilogy are Jinx's Magic (2014) and Jinx's Fire (2015).
A separate Blackwood fantasy for middle-grade readers, Miss Ellicott's School for the Magically Minded, was published by HarperCollins in 2017.[2]
Reception
According to The New York Times, Jinx is magical and brilliant, a world wonderfully imagined, with "scenes that delight, enchant and thrill.".[3] The book was selected as a Best Book of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews,[4] School Library Journal,[5] Booklist,[6] the Chicago Public Library,[7] and Amazon.[8]
The Guardian[9] reviewer, ChristopherW wrote of Jinx's Magic, "I hate starting a series part way through, but the author did a good job of filling me in with the story so far. I'm going to read the first book in the series very soon. I'd recommend this to fans of anything magical!"
Of Jinx's Fire, Kirkus Review said, "A solid conclusion to a trilogy ... threaded with proper amounts of heroism, humor and ingenious twists of character."[10]
Jinx was among the purchases made by President Obama for his daughters, at a D.C. area independent bookstore on the 2013 Thanksgiving weekend Small Business Saturday.[11]
References
- "Kirkus Review". Kirkus Reviews. October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
- http://www.sageblackwood.com/
- Ridley Pearson (January 11, 2013). "A Wizard in Training". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- "Kirkus Reviews". Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
- "School Library Journal". Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
- "Booklist". Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- "Chicago Public Library". Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
- "Amazon Best Kids' Books of 2013". Retrieved August 4, 2014.
- https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/may/14/review-sage-blackwood-jinx-s-magic
- https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sage-blackwood/jinxs-fire/
- Brad Knickerbocker (November 30, 2013). "Like millions of holiday shoppers, President Obama does his bit for the economy (+video)". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved May 24, 2016.