Troubletwisters, Book 1 [Paperback]

I read the book in two days, which tells you how good I think it is. I was lucky enough to see the authors speak at the Hay Festival last weekend - they summed up their book up as "Twins use Gifts to fight THE EVIL!"

That's exactly right. I wont' give any spoilers away here - simply to say that this is wonderful story of a pair of twins, on the cusp becoming teenagers, who find new abilities "Gifts", awakening in themselves, which they must learn to master in order to quell the evil force that threatens their town. And because the twins are just learning how to use their powers, they don't always get the results they want. They are helped along the way by their intriguing Grandma X (who knows a lot more than she's letting on) and also by two cats - Kleo and Ari (some enjoyable shades of Mogget from the Abhorsen trilogy here).

I loved the twins powers, which all come from nature and the environment around them and young readers will particularly love some of their gruesome battles with ants, cockroaches and rats!

The second book in the series has been finished so should be published soon and a third book is in the planning stage. That said, this story stands on its own and at the end I found myself looking forward to reading new stories about the twins.

Enjoy!

My daughter, who has just turned 10, eagerly awaited this book, and I equally eagerly awaited my turn with it. We have both read our way through all Garth Nix's books. Here is a writer who never lacks for imagination and writes some superb stories. My dauhter finished the book in a couple fo days and then it was my turn.

Imagine two ordinary suburban twins, in an ordinary suburban house - until their father returns home one day and accidentally blows up the house. A mysterious grandmother sends the twins a card saying the cats are restless, so she expects to see her trobletwisters soon, and indeed before you know it, the pair are swept up into an adventure of good versus evil, and discovery of their own mystical and magical powers.

This book has all the elements of a perfect story for children, young adults and all older oladults who have not forgotten how to enjoy a good story.

it is perhaps not that original (strangely for Garth Nix, whose orginality is usually his defining characteristic). Maybe this is the influence of Sean Williams - but that is impossible to know. The lack of orginality is not a huge problem. It is just this is one book in a strong field that has such classics as "The Dark is Rising" sequence, all the way through to the less memorable, but still fun, "Wind Tamer".

I cannot in good conscience give the book five stars. I love Garth Nix's work, but this one was not one of my favourites of his. Again, maybe the collaboration affected it. I have not read any Sean Williams books before, but this one just did not captivate me. I liked it well enough, I just cannot say it was one of my best reads of the year.

My daughter also loved it, but again it was not a book that had her buzzing like some of Nix's other works did. If you like Garth Nix, I think you will enjoy this book. If you have read nothing of his, I would suggest younger readers start with Mister Monday, and older ones with Sabriel instead.

If kids with special powers fighting evil is your kind of book though, this is an enjoyable one.

TroubleTwisters is an exciting fantasy adventure.

Jaide and Jack are twins. At the beginning of the story they are waiting for their dad to return home. He is late and they are worried. When he does finally arrive, the trouble begins because the twins accidently drop his suitcase and what they find inside sets in motion a chain reaction. They are about to have a most bizarre experience which literally bends walls. In the chaos of the magic, their father accidently destroys their house and so Jaide and Jack have to go and live with their unfamiliar Grandma. She is mysteriously known as Grandma X.

Jaide and Jack are not happy about the move. They think their Grandma is mighty strange and her house is equally unusual. Grandma X lives in the small town of Portland. But it isn't any Portland, you've ever seen before. The fantastical element of this story is the nature of what it means to be a TroubleTwister. It is a path fraught with danger and an otherworldly dark side.

This novel will definitely appeal to the tween market. In fact the concept may appeal to big kids everywhere. Who doesn't want to discover they have a secret heritage and a magical power? It is a universal theme about discovering your true identity and as a consequence having a huge responsibility upon your shoulders.

There is a lot of action in this story. Jack and Jaide must overcome obstacle after obstacle and they must also empower themselves with knowledge. I really liked the fact that they were unlocking the truth on their journey. They were not easily gifted it by other knowing characters.

Having said that, I do feel that this novel was weighted down by description. I felt particularly at the beginning the story didn't get moving quickly enough. There was description when I thought there needn't have been. I also wanted a bit more magic from the twins. I wanted them to find some joy in their powers but the novel lacked this element for me. If we all want magic powers, then when we find out we have them, wouldn't we be just a little bit thrilled? Perhaps the authors wished to dispel this notion that being "special" was a good thing. Certainly if it takes you away from your parents, it would seem like a heavy burden.

Overall, TroubleTwisters is an action-packed tale of two twins battling the dark side and learning about their magical identities. The ending was my favourite aspect of the novel. The authors leave us with a sense of foreboding for the next book in the series. You really get the feeling that there is a huge twist about to come. An adventurous read for young fantasy fans.

Recommended for 9+