Thursday, 5 June 2014

The Quirks in Circus Quirkus by Erin Soderberg & Kelly Light (Children's, 7 years +, 10E/10E)



February 2014, Bloomsbury Children's, 176 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Themes: special powers, keeping secrets, spies, mysterious goings on, cute monster creature, sibling loyalty, pesky brother, pranks,
 
Content: Lots of laughter, some tense moments

Summary from Bloomsbury
The Quirks are a rather special family with rather magical powers and, sometimes, when the Quirks are involved, things don’t quite go to plan!

Just as the Quirks are settling in to Normal, the circus comes to town! At school, Molly, Penelope and Finn are all learning how to juggle, tightrope walk and fly the trapeze! Meanwhile, at home they are putting similar skills to good use . . . It takes fancy footwork to keep their nosy neighbour, Mrs DeVille, from snooping around and uncovering the Quirk family secrets – not to mention their family’s pet monster, Nibblet! One thing’s for sure: life in Normal is a high-flying adventure! - See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-quirks-in-circus-quirkus-9781408842935/#sthash.7eYAA24h.dpuf
The Quirks are a rather special family with rather magical powers and, sometimes, when the Quirks are involved, things don’t quite go to plan!

Just as the Quirks are settling in to Normal, the circus comes to town! At school, Molly, Penelope and Finn are all learning how to juggle, tightrope walk and fly the trapeze! Meanwhile, at home they are putting similar skills to good use . . . It takes fancy footwork to keep their nosy neighbour, Mrs DeVille, from snooping around and uncovering the Quirk family secrets – not to mention their family’s pet monster, Nibblet! One thing’s for sure: life in Normal is a high-flying adventure!

Nayuleska's thoughts

This is the first book which I've read about the Quirks and is the second in the series. It is crazy!  I loved the powers the entire family have. Being invisible is nothing new, but Finn can only be visible if he chews gum. I loved Molly because despite having no powers she isn't resentful and seems to enjoy being normal. Her twin sister Penelope has the coolest power ever! Whatever she imagines she can make real. She struggles a lot in the book when she has strong emotions because her mind wants to make things happen. She has near misses and successes with her power which were a joy to read about. 

Their grandfather's ability to rewind time is handy but does have its limits, and their tiny sized grandmother is quite a character and what happens to her at the end made me cry. I liked how their mother's special ability was absent when the needed it the most, and how the children manage (or not manage) at school provided lots of laughs. Definitely a series to read when you need a pick me up!

Find out more on Erin's website and Kelly's website.

Suggested read
For another normal teen who deals with people with unusual powers check out So You Think You Babysit Monsters? by Leslie A. Susskind (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E)

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