Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Celestial Globe Marie Rutkoski

The Celestial Globe: The Kronos Chronicles: Book II by Marie Rutkoski
This sequel to Cabinet of Wonders was worth the wait. Petra and her mechanial tin spider Astrophil are back home after getting Petra's father's eyes back from Prince Rodolfo.

When the Prince comes after Petra again, she is forced to flee to London, where she meets up with John Dee again. I loved the relationship between Petra and John Dee. Petra is a very strong independent, speak her mind protagonist. John Dee is an accomplished spy who is very crafty when it comes to words and deals. It was alot of fun watching the give and take between these two characters. Petra's relationship with Astrophil is lovely as well. Astrophil does his best to comfort Petra and make sure she doesn't do anything too foolish.

All of the main characters from the first book return as well, including Neel, a Gypsy and Petra's best friend Tomik. Neel's people are in search of the Celestial Globe. With the Globe someone could locate invisible threads and travel quickly to other countries. All Tomik wants to do is find Petra.

There are many things happening in this novel. Petra's is trying to outsmart John Dee, Neel and Tomik are unknowingly getting to know each other, Prince Rodolfo is still after Petra and of course there's the search for the Celestial Globe. Rutkoski does a wonderful job of blending all that happens. My one but is when Neel, Tomik and Petra meet up again it seems kind of rushed. However, there is an amazing (had to read it twice ) moment soon after. The Celestial Globe is a great page turner, there's action, cringe worthy fright, and a mystery to solve. I would suggest reading Cabinet of Wonders first, which is out in paperback now. Both books would make a great choice for a boy/girl book club. ages 10up

1 comment:

Charlotte said...

I still haven't decided just what I think about Dee--and that's one reason I enjoy Rutkoski's writing. She doesn't make it too easy for the reader!