Troubletwisters

by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

Reviewed by Richard Niu

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams

ISBN#: 0545259033

 

THE STORY:

The story Troubletwisters is a tale of magic at its best, where wielders of it must fight off abusers of it. Jack and Jaide Shield, twins, are leading normal lives until a mysterious explosion of their house and the evacuation of their father leads to displacement and eventually living with their grandmother, which they do not know much about. To the twins, the whole thing reeks of magic, and the blank white eyes that they saw in the room when the house exploded only confirms their suspicions.


They are now living in the quaint town of Portland (not the Portland in Oregon), which seems harmless at first. They attend school, but when one night they witness their grandmother talking to thousands of white-eyed rats that have the same kind of eyes that they saw back in their original home, they uncover something that is far bigger than a bunch of rats: The Evil.

Through several encounters with The Evil, including a harrowing underwater escape from milky-eyed sea creatures, a nearly life-threatening run-in with thousands of fire ants, and a chase through underground tubes that was forced by a “squid” with thousands of rats, crickets, and flies attached to it, Jack and Jaide Shield slowly realize what is happening around them. Grandma X refuses to divulge information, although she does tell the twins that they are “troubletwisters” and they must fight The Evil. The story culminates at its peak when The Evil, in the form of a controlled handywoman with hundreds of creatures attached to her body, has its final encounter with the twins. What will happen next will not only change the course of the events between The Evil and the troubletwisters’ group, but also the world. (287)

MY OPINION:

When I first started to read this book, I found that I was not very interested in it, as I do not prefer fantasy that much (besides Harry Potter, of course). As I forged ahead, I discovered that I was liking this book more and more, and unable to put it down. The author uses engaging and interesting vocabulary in this book, as well as a wide variety of imagery and symbolism. One outstanding example of symbolism is in the fact that when The Evil controls animals or creatures, their eyes turn white. White symbolizes innocence, and the fact that the author made their eyes white could be hinting to their innocence, and they cannot help what they are doing. The story was also quite scary to me, as when The Evil was talking to the twins the author used a large, bold font and made it very apparent. I loved reading about the harrowing challenges that the twins faced when they were pitted against The Evil, and the ending was exciting to say the least. My heart jumped with every word. I would recommend this book for children ages ten to sixteen, since it contains a lot of graphic details about the fighting, but the attention-engaging events are well worth it. My rating for this book out of ten stars would be nine, and that means this is a high quality, attention grabbing book that I would not hesitate to pick up again someday. (245)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. Who sent the letter to Jack and Jaide’s house?

1a. Jack and Jaide’s grandmother, known only as Grandma X, sends the letter to Jack and Jaide’s house. (17)

2. What do the twins see that Susan, their mother, don’t?

2a. The twins see the strange blue door in their grandmother’s house that Susan, their mother, doesn’t. (39)

3. What does Grandma X give the twins that makes them lose recent memories?

3a. Grandma X gives them her special hot chocolate that makes them lose recent memories. (52)

4. What is the name of the twins’ school that they are made to go to?

4a. The name of the twins’ school that they are made to go to is the Stormhaven Innovative School of Portland. (69)

5. What does Jaide, after seeing Grandma X do mysterious things, suspect her of being?

5a. Jaide, after seeing Grandma X do mysterious things, suspects her of being a witch. (95)

sentry (1)

askew (18)

contemplation (37)

spittoon (57)

dredger (80)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. What do the twins find on Grandma X’s house’s walls?

6a. The twins find strange masks of different people that they don’t know with varied expressions on Grandma X’s walls. (109)

7. Why doesn’t the Grandma X want the twins to go to school after the storm?

7a. Grandma X doesn’t want the twins to go to school after the storm because she wants to keep an eye on them. (119)

8. How did Jaide escape from the ants that were possessed by The Evil?

8a. Jaide escaped from the possessed ants by gliding onto the bridge. (134)

9. What does The Evil tell Jack as he is attempting to swim away from it?

9a. The Evil tells Jack that if Grandma X cannot have the twins’ will, she will kill them. (177)

10. What method of communication does Jaide suggest to the shadow version of Jack?

10a. Jaide suggests to Shadow Jack that they can communicate in their heads, mind to mind. (193)

eddies (105)

swathe (134)

inanimate (161)

waterlogged (178)

iota (188)

                               

LAST SECTION

11. What is the rhyme that every Warden knows?

11a. The rhyme that every Warden knows is “Something growing, something read, something living, someone dead.” (207)

12. What object does Jaide take when she prepares to fly to the ward?

12a. The object that Jaide takes as she is preparing to fly to the ward is a glass flower, which she takes from Jack. (226)

13. Who is the person that The Evil takes control of to try and control the twins?

13a. The person that The Evil takes control of to control the twins is Rennie, a handywoman. (245)

14. What does Jaide not succeed in fixing in her conflict with The Evil?

14a. Jaide, in her conflict with The Evil, does not succeed in fixing the East Ward. (226)

15. What does Grandma X show the twins in the mysterious blue room?

15a. Grandma X shows the twins The Compendium of The Evil, a collection of documents that are on The Evil. (289)

lidded (207)

ebbed (220)

petulantly (250)

inexorable (268)

Oracular (288)