A Little Taste of Poison

Written by R. J. Anderson

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

978-1-481437714

352 pp.

Ages 10+

September 2016

Move over Harry Potter (well, J. K. Rowling has sort of taken care of that now) because there's a new magic in town and Isaveth Breck, a Moshite girl from a commoner's family, is its champion.  If you've read Book 1 in this new middle-grade series by R. J. Anderson (and you should have!), A Pocket Full of Murder (Atheneum, 2015), you already know about this young girl whose father, a stonemason, was arrested for the murder by Common Magic, not by Sagery the magic of the nobles, of the head of Tarreton College, Governor Orien.  Only with the help of a street-boy named Quiz, who turns out to be the ruling Sagelord's youngest son, Esmond Lilord, and her own proficiency in Common Magic, does Isaveth discover the true culprits and gets her father freed.  Ah, it should be the end of the story, but it's only the beginning of a twisted conspiracy with Esmond's older brother, Eryx Lording, at its center.

Though her family continues to face the challenges of being practising Moshites, considered lawless and radical by much of society, and of Papa finding limited work and of the family struggling with finances, Isaveth has benefitted from her friendship with Esmond.  He introduced her to the charming president of Glow-Mor Light and Fire Company, J. J. Wregget, who purchased her magic-resistant paper and has offered her a scholarship to attend the excusive Tarreton College for nobility and the wealthy, which offers general and magical (i.e., Sagery) education.

It would appear that things are on the upswing for Isaveth and her family, but her attendance at Tarreton brings new incidents of discrimination and bullying against the thirteen-year-old girl.  Though Esmond, who is a year ahead of her, continues to communicate secretly with Isaveth in the hopes of a kiss (!) and of exposing the evil deeds of his cunning brother, the two try to keep their relationship a secret.  But Isaveth does make the acquaintance of the friendly and supportive, though still secretive, Eulalie Fairpont, daughter of the new Deputy Justice.

While Esmond searches for evidence of Eryx’s guilt, amidst party planning for his sister Civilla’s coming-of-age ball (depicted on the cover of A Little Taste of Poison), concern grows for the health of his bombastic father, Lord Arvis, the Sagelord.  But, the masked ball, to which Esmond arranges for Isaveth to attend, brings more mysterious circumstances, including a murder worthy of an Agatha Christie story.

A Little Taste of Poison, and its predecessor A Pocket Full of Murder, are no ordinary mysteries however.  R. J. Anderson creates a time and place of magic like no other.  The worlds in which these mysteries take place are complex and otherworldly, filled with spell-tablets and magic cookery, political and educational institutions ruled by sagelords, masters and mistresses, imperials for money, contraptions like crystal-sets, and a society of Arcans, Uniting folk and Moshites.   And all of it adds to the richness of the story, the characters and the messages against discrimination and greed and for equality, determination, and courage.  That’s an astounding accomplishment for a fantasy novel for middle-grade readers.  But, just as Dr. Seuss penned cheerful rhyming children’s books disguised as parables, R. J. Anderson writes extraordinary fantasies steeped in magic that have much to teach us about society.

“…just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean you’ve got no worth” (pg. 153)

By inviting us into Tarreton and environs, and a time of both a familiar past and unfamiliar age,  R. J. Anderson easily entertains, teaches and pleases the reader with her words and story.

Come and hear R. J. Anderson read, and perhaps get a book or two signed, at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival this September 18, 2016. Details here at CanLit for LittleCanadians.

A Pocket Full of Murder

by R. J. Anderson

Atheneum Books For Young Readers

978-1-4814-3771-4

352 pp.

Ages 9-12

September 2015

R. J. Anderson, best known for her complex young adult fantasy novels involving faeries and magic   (e.g., Arrow, Nomad, etc.) and science fiction (e.g., Ultraviolet and Quicksilver) with romantic entanglements, delves into a very different fantasy with A Pocket Full of Murder.  But, R. J. Anderson is just as skilful in writing the middle-grade fiction immersed in magic and mystery that is A Pocket Full of Murder. 

Life for twelve-year-old Isaveth Breck and her sisters Annagail, Mimmi and Lilet is anything but easy since their Mama, a talented spell maker, has passed and Papa, a stonemason, has been without steady work.  Moreover, because of their Moshite ancestry and beliefs, the Brecks experience discrimination and limited opportunities.  But they keep on keeping on.  Though she had her schooling for becoming a healer interrupted, Annagail works at the shirt factory.  Papa looks for any small jobs, though resentful of a cancelled job for building the new charmery for Tarreton College.  And Isaveth is determined to learn to make Common Magic–different from Sagery, the magic of the Sages and the nobles–and sell her spell-tablets, for light, heat, etc.  just as her mother had once.

While poverty and discrimination may be their greatest concerns, the arrest of Papa for the murder of the governor of Tarreton College, Master Orien, the man who’d initially cancelled his commission for the charm house,  changes everything.  Luckily, Isaveth makes the acquaintance of an eye-patched street-boy named Quiz, who not only defends her from a local bully and also likes to listen to the talkie-play about justice seeker Auradia Champion but is convinced her father is innocent.  And Quiz is determined to help prove it.  Together, Isaveth and Quiz collaborate to infiltrate Tarreton College and the Workers’ Club to whom her father belonged to attempt to solve the of mystery of Master Orien’s death.  

But, R. J. Anderson makes the story more than just a murder mystery by infusing her tale with magic elements and embedding it in a society of unique hierarchy, beliefs, money and transportation.  Everything is fresh and thought-provoking, providing layers of newness to the concept of a whodunit for young readers.  And yet readers will recognize the issues of friendship, trust, independence, sadness, and family that will make it all so familiar and provoke empathy, allowing R. J. Anderson to share much wisdom to middle-grade readers.

You don’t have to be sad all the itime, you know.  It doesn’t make anything better. (pg. 138) 

…he believed things like friendship could be bought and sold so easily.  Everything was negotiable to him, even his principles.  But what was the point of being wealthy, or even comfortabley well off if you had to betray the people who cared about you  to get there?  What was the use of having everything if it cost you your soul? (pg. 335)

A Pocket Full of Murder has a superbly crafted murder mystery charmed with a world of new characters and a curious culture that will surely sustain a succession of plots featuring Isaveth and her compatriots.  And I look forward to revisiting Tarreton and its inhabitants in a new puzzle from R. J. Anderson, who continues to impress with the richness of her plots and the intricacy of her story-telling.