The Pinhoe Egg
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5.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Glorious new rejacket of a Diana Wynne Jones favourite, featuring Chrestomanci – now a book with extra bits!
Spells always have consequences and it's Chrestomanci's job to make sure everything is safely under control. Even so, in the village around Chrestomanci Castle, all sorts of secret magical misuse is going on. And when Cat Chant finds the Pinhoe egg, chaos is just the beginning!
A masterpiece of magic, mayhem and mirth!
Reviews
“…Her hallmarks include laugh-aloud humour, plenty of magic and imaginative array of alternate worlds. Yet, at the same time, a great seriousness is present in all of her novels, a sense of urgency that links Jones’s most outrageous plots to her readers’ hopes and fears…”
Publishers Weekly
“Truly magical – guaranteed to leave you gasping – even hotter than Potter”
The Bookseller
“Diana Wynne Jones could teach Stephen King and JK Rowling a thing or two … [she] has a skill for inserting just the right amount of detail in her written words, leaving you satiated but not stuffed.” SFX
About the author
Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011) spent her childhood in Essex and began writing fantasy novels for children in the 1970s. With her unique combination of magic, humour and imagination, she enthralled generations of children and adults with her work. She won the Guardian Award in 1977 with Charmed Life, was runner-up for the Children's Book Award in 1981 and was twice runner-up for the Carnegie Medal.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wynne Jones is at the top of her form in this excellent addition to the Chrestomanci books, set not long after the events chronicled in Charmed Life. Marianne's summer gets off to an unpromising start, thanks to her grandmother, the willful and manipulative Gammer Pinhoe, head of all Pinhoe family witchcraft in Ulverscote and the other villages surrounding Chrestomanci Castle. Marianne becomes errand-runner for her entire extended family when Gammer lurches into a punning, malicious (and wickedly funny) form of dementia, the seeming result of a run-in with another local witching family. Meanwhile, up at Chrestomanci Castle, Cat Chant (last seen in Charmed Life) has inadvertently become the owner of a horse named Syracuse, whose powers include helping Cat recognize the presence of dwimmer, a mysterious, nature-oriented magic. On a trip to Ulverscote, Cat meets Marianne, recognizes her as a kindred spirit and becomes the caretaker of a mysterious egg they find in the attic of Gammer's house. Wild magic ensues as the egg hatches, long pent-up nature spirits are released, ugly secrets are revealed, and Marianne and Cat confront terrifying challenges. Longtime fans will be pleased to encounter Cat once again, and to watch the early stages of his friendship with Marianne unfold. Newcomers will relish the lavish storytelling, and doubtless be driven back to earlier books. Witty, wise and wonderfully imaginative this novel ranks among the author's best. Ages 10-14.
