Dr. Sigmundus: The Cracked Mirror (The Promises of Dr. Sigmundus)
Grade 6–9—This second act in a dystopian trilogy follows young Dante Cazabon, who has escaped from the evil clutches of the mysterious Dr. Sigmundus, the tyrannical ruler of Gehenna, where people 14 and older are given a drug that renders them docile and unable to dream. Life is horrific for those few who still dream, as they are treated as criminally insane. Dante enlists the help of elderly Malachy Mazotta, supervisor of a cemetery, to find his friend Bea and reconnect with the rest of the Púca (a resistance group). During his adventures, the boy gradually learns how to call upon the power of the Odyll, a realm of pure energy, in order to move inside dreams and outside time. He also knows that this special ability comes only with great personal sacrifice. The danger increases as Dante and his friends are tracked by deadly Gallowglass, a seemingly invincible once-human creature, and brought face to face with their enemy. Brief, action-packed chapters make for a quick read. Readers will want to begin withThe Hollow People(Knopf, 2007) to get a handle on the characters' stories and the many abstract concepts relating to the Odylic Force. With themes that address good versus evil and demonic forces at work, this suspenseful series reads like Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" (S & S) and "Midnighters" (HarperCollins) series combined.—Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.