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A review by trashlie
The Cracks in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty
5.0
Where A Corner of White is a slow, world-driven story, heavily entailing world building, introduction of characters and situations without performing an infodump, The Cracks in the Kingdom picks up from the very beginning. All the events unfolded in the end of A Corner of White are the foundation for The Cracks in the Kingdom. Princess Ko is struggling to keep the kingdom of Cello from figuring out her entire family has disappeared, likely into the World, Elliot is still far more concerned with finding his father, who he's told is being held in a Hostile Camp. Despite this, Princess Ko has enlisted him in the Royal Youth Alliance, a cover of the brightest minds in Cello to help uncover her father - and even in the World, Madeline finds herself largely involved, specifically in trying to locate the missing Royal Family, who remember nothing of their lives in Cello as well as trying to figure out how to jump from world to world.
A Corner of White was a leisurely read and The Cracks in the Kingdom maintains this, but with a new sense of urgency, a more pressing plot. No longer necessary to expand upon the world of Cello that we have come to learn, we now get to see parts of Cello through the RYA, from the comfortable, small town of Bonfire to the wonders and awe and intrigue of Jagged Edge to the curious and vaguely imposing Old Quainte.
As with A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom are populated with a curious cast of delightfully quirky characters, all memorable in some fashion, old and new alike. The members of the RYA might not have sought out each other on their own, and they may not be friends, but each has a talent well-suited to assisting Princess Ko, some more eager to assist than others.
Elliot and Madeleine's friendship continues, deepening through their shared experiences, nights sat out near the crack in their worlds, sometimes trying to contemplate how to go from one world to the other, sometime talking about their absent fathers, sometimes simply the random mundane musings of their days. But growing friendship is also growing feelings and emotions, and Elliot has bigger things on his plate to worry about, sometimes, than Madeleine, who feels the shift stronger than Elliot and begins to feel more like a useful tool than a friend.
Like with A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom reads with a whimsical and fanciful prose, utterly fantasy even with its scientific roots. What's especially clever about it is the way quantum physics is drawn upon, even when not fully understood by the characters themselves, and becomes a blend of science and fantasy, magical whims and rational logic that help to crack the mysteries of their worlds.
Desperate and emotional, The Cracks in the Kingdom delivers what it's predecessor did not, and while often trilogies suffer second-book-syndrome, we are not let down. This story stays fresh and earnest as Madeleine becomes a more sympathetic narrator, as Elliot's strife and yearning becomes palpable, as the growing tension and friendship envelopes two people separated by entire universes. With the additional tension spurred heavier and heavier by Princess Ko, desperate to find her family, The Cracks in the Kingdom becomes more pressing, but no less a leisurely lead, no less whimsical, no less fantastical. And, carefully woven in, in the fashion of all great fantasies, are the poignant passages, the understanding reflection of the soul of a young 14-year-old who feels so lost of a desperate boy whose world has turned upside down of the yearning of people who reflect each other without seeing each other. It is sweet and lovely, it aches a little bit, and it shares its hope and melancholy and surprise.
The abrupt ending cuts off sharply, having yet again unfolded further events for the final book of the trilogy, sure to deliver in Jaclyn Moriarty's signature fashion, although not without leaving readers craving more
I remain in love with The Colours of Madeleine, with all the characters, with their strife, hopeful for their dreams to come true, anticipatory for the budding relationship of Elliot and Madeleine and the navigation of their friendship. There's a lot at stake, without becoming so overwhelming the story is lost, but instead carrying it along, and there's something dreamy about it, sweet and wistful and sometimes a little bittersweet, best read in the gray light of dawn, when everything feels so still, and also so possible. The Colours of Madeleine have a sense of conviction, that as silly as the Kingdom of Cello might seem, it's easy to believe in it. It's clever and for it's genre, it stands out as unique and delightful. Certainly not for those who aren't keen on matters of whimsy, it has all the makings of a fairytale. It is as much about loneliness and desperation as it is about hope and fervor, and there's something very subtle in its handling, almost delicate, that until I'd ended, I hadn't realized how deeply I'd sunk into it.
A Corner of White was a leisurely read and The Cracks in the Kingdom maintains this, but with a new sense of urgency, a more pressing plot. No longer necessary to expand upon the world of Cello that we have come to learn, we now get to see parts of Cello through the RYA, from the comfortable, small town of Bonfire to the wonders and awe and intrigue of Jagged Edge to the curious and vaguely imposing Old Quainte.
As with A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom are populated with a curious cast of delightfully quirky characters, all memorable in some fashion, old and new alike. The members of the RYA might not have sought out each other on their own, and they may not be friends, but each has a talent well-suited to assisting Princess Ko, some more eager to assist than others.
Elliot and Madeleine's friendship continues, deepening through their shared experiences, nights sat out near the crack in their worlds, sometimes trying to contemplate how to go from one world to the other, sometime talking about their absent fathers, sometimes simply the random mundane musings of their days. But growing friendship is also growing feelings and emotions, and Elliot has bigger things on his plate to worry about, sometimes, than Madeleine, who feels the shift stronger than Elliot and begins to feel more like a useful tool than a friend.
Like with A Corner of White, The Cracks in the Kingdom reads with a whimsical and fanciful prose, utterly fantasy even with its scientific roots. What's especially clever about it is the way quantum physics is drawn upon, even when not fully understood by the characters themselves, and becomes a blend of science and fantasy, magical whims and rational logic that help to crack the mysteries of their worlds.
Desperate and emotional, The Cracks in the Kingdom delivers what it's predecessor did not, and while often trilogies suffer second-book-syndrome, we are not let down. This story stays fresh and earnest as Madeleine becomes a more sympathetic narrator, as Elliot's strife and yearning becomes palpable, as the growing tension and friendship envelopes two people separated by entire universes. With the additional tension spurred heavier and heavier by Princess Ko, desperate to find her family, The Cracks in the Kingdom becomes more pressing, but no less a leisurely lead, no less whimsical, no less fantastical. And, carefully woven in, in the fashion of all great fantasies, are the poignant passages, the understanding reflection of the soul of a young 14-year-old who feels so lost of a desperate boy whose world has turned upside down of the yearning of people who reflect each other without seeing each other. It is sweet and lovely, it aches a little bit, and it shares its hope and melancholy and surprise.
The abrupt ending cuts off sharply, having yet again unfolded further events for the final book of the trilogy, sure to deliver in Jaclyn Moriarty's signature fashion, although not without leaving readers craving more
I remain in love with The Colours of Madeleine, with all the characters, with their strife, hopeful for their dreams to come true, anticipatory for the budding relationship of Elliot and Madeleine and the navigation of their friendship. There's a lot at stake, without becoming so overwhelming the story is lost, but instead carrying it along, and there's something dreamy about it, sweet and wistful and sometimes a little bittersweet, best read in the gray light of dawn, when everything feels so still, and also so possible. The Colours of Madeleine have a sense of conviction, that as silly as the Kingdom of Cello might seem, it's easy to believe in it. It's clever and for it's genre, it stands out as unique and delightful. Certainly not for those who aren't keen on matters of whimsy, it has all the makings of a fairytale. It is as much about loneliness and desperation as it is about hope and fervor, and there's something very subtle in its handling, almost delicate, that until I'd ended, I hadn't realized how deeply I'd sunk into it.