Northward to the Moon: 01/25/11

I saw Northward to the Moon by Polly Horvath on the newly acquired shelf at my library. Before even realizing that it was the sequel to My One Hundred Adventures I realized I wanted to read it.

The book begins with the family being forced to move from Saskatchewan when the school Ned's teaching at figures out he doesn't know a word of French. They had moved the summer before when Jane's mother had married Ned but Jane isn't happy with her new life and is thrilled to be hopefully on the way back to Massachusetts.

Instead of heading to her home, Ned takes the family on a search to find his magician brother. The trip takes them to a First Nation's village in western Canada and then to the family homestead near Las Vegas.

The only annoying part of the book (and not so bad to warrant dropping a star from the rating) is Maya's on going know-it-all attitude. What's revealed in the trip is just how little Maya actually knows and some hints as to why she always wants to be right. While it's nice to see character development beyond that of the main character at times the approach felt heavy handed.

The book has the similar episodic chapters of the first book but they are more closely knit together. Throughout Northward to the Moon there is the goal of finding Ned's brother. Although the book ends on a cliffhanger, I felt that more was accomplished in this one than in the first. I hope the ending means there is another book in the works.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Wednesday, January, 26, 2011 at 11:51:18

Jeane

I laughed when you describe Maya's character. My kid is only six and already she thinks she ought to know how to do everything, instantly! It gets rather tiresome.

Comment #2: Monday, January 31, 2011 at 20:37:15

Pussreboots

Thankfully neither of my children have fallen into a know-it-all stage yet. Maya's attitude is explained but I did wish at a few points that it had been toned down.