Word Spelunking

Last year, Christopher Healy charmed and delighted readers (especially this reader!) with his spectacular and hilarious middle-grade debut The Hero's Guide To Saving Your Kingdom...well, Healy has done it again with the equally hilarious sequel The Hero's Guide To Storming The Castle. In Storming The Castle, the League of Princes--Princes Liam, Fredric, Duncan, and Gustav--the Princes Charming who saved the day in the first book and finally got some decent credit for it, are back! A year after their first adventure, the four princes have found that their very brief fame is gone and they've scattered to different kingdoms. But when the mean and annoying Briar Rose forces the League to steal a dangerous and powerful object from Deeb Rauber, the four princes, along with Cinderella, Snow White, Briar Rose, Lila (Liam's sister), set out to storm the castle and save the day.Everything I loved about book one (the humor, charming characters, superb storytelling, dazzling world-building) is not only present in Storming The Castle, but is even better! Healy has concocted and weaved a wildly funny fractured fairytale world, where the stakes are high, the characters are irresistible, and the storytelling simply shines. Like book one, Storming The Castle is a wonderful mix of clever humor, fantastical whimsy, and addicting adventure.Healy writes with a pitch-perfect middle-grade voice that never stops being captivating and riveting. One of the things I always look for in middle-grade is that special spark that sets incredible middle-grade books apart from good middle-grade books, and this book (and series) sparks like fireworks! I love the magical, medieval, twisted fairytale world Healy has created. Evil witches, grumpy dwarves (never dwarfs), sociable trolls, kiddie thieves, bladejaw eels...this book as it all and then some! And the humor is the best! We're talking giggle inducing silly, snarky, smart funnies.And you can't have a League of Princes without the princes...those sweet, silly, brave, bumbling, unforgettable princes. I adore this group of princes and they way they interact. They're heroic enough to be exciting, but bumbling enough to be endearing. But don't worry, the female characters are just as awesome! I especially love fearless, snarktastic Lila. And the villains are perfectly, cleverly, stupendously villainous.The story is all fun twists and turns, but like any good fairytale, Storming The Castle ends with a pretty happy (but open for more adventures) ending.MY FINAL THOUGHTS: This is a laugh-out-loud, unputdownable, epically entertaining sequel that will enchant readers of all ages. I'm very much in love with this series and cannot wait until the next book. If you have a middle-grade reader in your life, or if you're a middle-grade lover, then this is the perfect book and series for you!